The Beatles : Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band 1967 (1st 1/1 Mono Pressing)

This rare first pressing is in great condition and contains the original cut-out card and red 'fool' inner sleeve.  The audio plays to a very high standard as detailed below.

Mono 1/1 First pressing on Yellow/Black Parlophone label.  'The Gramophone Co. Ltd' etc is printed around the perimeter edge of the labels.

'Sold in U.K. subject to resale price conditions' etc printed below the Parlophone labels.  This vinyl does not have the K T tax stamp on either label.  This is not rare as the first pressings both came with or without it.

Parlophone PMC 7027

Side One XEX 637 - 1 // Mother Stampers GPL 2

Side Two XEX 638 - 1 // Mother Stampers HT 2

The audio on S1 is Ex+ (Ex on the intro and N/Mint in many sections, 'She's Leaving Home' is Ex)

S2 is Ex (VG+ in a couple of sections and Ex+ / Near Mint in many others)

The gatefold is Ex

The labels are Near Mint

The original red/white inner is Ex+

The Cut-Out card is Near Mint-

Visual grading

This vinyl remains in lovely condition for half a century old.  There are a small number of faint hairlines on each side caused by sleeve removal but there are no scratches at all.  There is a faint band of hairlines across S1 but this has no affect on the high quality audio and was caused, I'm told by the previous owner, during the cleaning process.  It is definitely one of the cleanest first mono pressings I have seen and the sound quality reflects that.  There is also not very much spindle wear on each side suggesting the vinyl has not been played a great deal down the years.

Play grading  

The title track plays extremely well with just a little intermittent static for the first 30 seconds or so, nothing intrusive.  The remainder plays with excellent quality and barely any interference.  'A Little Help From My Friends' is stunning and plays in impeccable style.  With no obvious 'background' this is of Near Mint quality and is without doubt one of the best versions I have ever heard.  No clicks or pops.  The classic 'Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds' is not far off the same grading and again is just so impressive.  If I am being ultra-critical there is just a minor 'touch' of static here and there but is totally in the background and does not intrude on what is a superb listen.  For a 50 year old vinyl the depth and clarity is of a very high standard.  'Getting Better' and 'Fixing A Hole' again impress with wonderful audio and hardly any 'background'.  I'm not sure I have enough adjectives left for the stunning quality of this vinyl!  'She's Leaving Home' does have a little more background static but it is non-intrusive and has no clicks or pops.  In fact there are no clicks or pops anywhere on this side which is a mega rarity for a mono first press.  '...Mr Kite' ends the side with extremely clear audio and only a minor amount of very light static here and there.

'Within You Without You' does have some light crackle for the first few seconds but then plays with wonderfully clear audio and only a minor hint of static and one very faint click.  I reiterate it's so rare to find this now 50 year old first press playing with such definition and clarity.  For a relatively quiet track 'When I'm Sixty-Four' plays with excellent audio with only a touch of static and some soft ticks on the final half of the track.  Don't let this put you off as in my opinion it is very much in the background.  'Lovely Rita' plays with a strength and power that is rarely heard on a first pressing, the audio plays so clearly and grades as Near Mint such is the quality.  'Good Morning, Good Morning' has a little static at the beginning and then is a superb listen with only a hint of distortion.  The 'Sgt. Peppers' reprise is so impressive and has no obvious 'background', a stunning version.  The classic 'A Day In The Life' ends this classic album with fabulous audio.  The quiet opening verses have no static etc and play superbly well.  The remainder plays very clearly with just a little distortion on the top level although this is especially common on this LP and may even be due to me playing it on a stereo system.  It still sounds fantastic!  There is just some crackle on the final few seconds.

In summary this is definitely one of the best first mono presses I have heard in a long time.  Not quite perfect but it nonetheless has audio of wonderful quality for the vast majority and only a little interference which is largely non-intrusive.

Gatefold cover

This iconic G & L gatefold is in excellent condition overall with only minor shelf wear.  The edges are in superb shape and have no rubbing at all.  The corners of the opening edges are very clean and only a couple of them have a minimal amount of wear.  The spine remains 100% legible and is in excellent order apart from 2/3 very small marks and some creasing/wear on the top and bottom.  The laminate throughout is in great condition when you consider this gatefold is now 50 years old and there are no major splits or 'lifts' anywhere, just a couple of tiny 'nicks'.  The inside is in excellent shape with only a little spotting around the spine area and a very slight lifting of the laminate towards the top of the spine.  The flipbacks remain in perfect condition with no marking whatsoever and the opening edges have only the lightest of handling wear.

Red and White Inner sleeve

The original red and white 'fool' inner sleeve is one of the best I have ever seen and has no splits, tears or marks which is a mega rarity.  It only has some mild creasing as you would expect.  It has 'Made in Great Britain' and 'Patents Applied For' printed on the bottom of one side.

Sgt. Pepper Cut-Out Card

This is in near perfect condition with only a couple of very small marks and one minor crease in the bottom left corner.  Still in superb shape!

Labels

The yellow/black Parlophone labels are in superb condition with only a relatively small amount of spindle wear.  As stated the KT tax stamp is on S1.

Play tested on my Pro-Ject Essential III Turntable // B & W 684 Speakers

Parlophone PMC 7027

Side One XEX 637 - 1 // Mother Stampers GPL 2

Side Two XEX 638 - 1 // Mother Stampers HT 2

Any questions please feel free to ask

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