THE PRETTY THINGS - RARE ORIG UK 1975 FONTANA MONO EX++ LP, 1L/2L SUPER SOUND.

	£		200
	$		265

ONEADAYRECORDS – Simply Delivering Quality Music to the World in Quality, Safe Packing.

Postage: UK £4.75 (£1 per extra record). Europe (including Russia) £12.50 (£2 per extra record). Rest of World (including ALL parts of the USA) £16.50 (£3 per extra record). All boxes signed for in quality, safe packaging – I NEVER use mailing envelopes that offer virtually no protection at all – in fact I think these things should be banned as records WILL arrive damaged in them at some time. Here, you get what you pay for – SAFE PACKING in BOXES using 7mm DOUBLE-WALL STIFFENERS. Full details nearer the end of the listing.

Posting to Russia: Yes, I do post to Russia. But delivery can take up to 4 to 6 weeks from the UK. So please be patient. I will submit a tracking number to the winning bidder, and when the packet arrives there it can be followed online using the Russian post website.

ALSO: I now apply the Ebay ‘2-day’ rule for non-payment to keep things moving – cash-flow is important for any small business. I will always keep my P&P prices as low as possible, and even after yet another Royal Mail price hike from April this year, I have NOT raised my prices and will never compromise on solid, safe packing that is invariably heavier than most you will get. My P&P offers probably the best value-for-money for vinyl records available, and I even will pay for full insurance on any record that sells for over £100 at NO extra cost – that is UK and abroad. Also I aim to post the very same day after payment is received. You WILL see the difference when my packet arrives.

FINALLY: Late payers, non-payers and ‘0’ bidders will now be blocked or cancelled at my discretion. As will any bidder who cancels a bid. I do not like this practice as it is most often used to phish out the price to beat. Ebay does not approve and neither do I – so only bid on my items if you want them.

Artist or Band: THE PRETTY THINGS

Album Title: The Pretty Things

Producer(s): Bobby Graham

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Road Runner; Judgement Day; Big City; Unknown Blues; Mama, Keep Your Big Mouth Shut.

Side 2: Honey, I Need; Oh, Baby Doll; She’s Fine, She’s Mine; Don’t Lie to Me; The Moon is Rising; "Pretty Thing.

Label/Format: Fontana – original format with matt and rough textured surfaces.

Label Conditions: Both truly stunning condition: ultra clean, fresh and very attractive with any hint of spindle marks minuscule. A beautiful record around 50-years-old looking little played and offering fantastic clean sound throughout.

Cat Number: TL 5239

Mode / Speed: Mono / 33.3 rpm.

Warps: Assume all records I offer have no warping of any significance and all tracking is easy and effortless and should play on all turntables and even ‘budget’ decks.

Weight of this Record: 155 grams. A heavy pressing from the era of quality.

Country of Manufacture: England

Rarity: Scarce: and rare in this condition.

Original Year of Release: 1965

Matrix Nos: 687341 1L//1 420 1 & 687341 2L//1 420 1 1

Musicians: Phil May - vocals, harmonica; Brian Pendleton - guitar; John Stax - bass; Dick Taylor - guitar; Viv Prince - drums.

Brief Info: The first Pretty Things album and in commercial terms, their most successful. It was their only album to chart until 1970 when ‘Parachute’ scraped into the top 50 in the UK. Featuring a number of RnB covers with a couple of their own songs, this is classic-era British beat, and heard here to near perfection from this really impressive vintage record. One thing of note is the cover: it has hardly any wear, but the front looks quite different. My opinion of this is the black printing plate either had a fault or it ran low on ink which gives a strange negative or even psychedelic effect. This based on the fact the laminate (bar the left spine edge) appears to be fully adhered and retaining super fresh shine, so I am quite sure the effect is not caused by the laminate itself. Now this can be taken either way – many will consider this a very unusual, and possibly even unique front and appeal to specialist collectors. But conversely, it may be deemed to ‘unusual’ and non-standard for others. I have seen a tiny few other album covers with similar traits, but this is highly unusual. I base my theory on the black plate issue as the yellow shade look quite normal, also having been in the print industry for over 35 years, I have seen this type of effect from the presses before. Anyway, it can be seen and you, the collector can be the judge – one thing is very likely – you may never see another quite like it.

Cover Grade and Format: EXCELLENT(+): this based on the condition and wear, and nothing to do with the unusual colour tone of the front cover. This how the cover was made and is nothing to do with wear or mistreatment. A single format with front laminate. This covers all the folds and ends on the spine edge and top and bottom flipbacks. The main back panel is matt and smooth. Printed and made in England, uncredited. Includes the white polylined inner sleeve that is British patented with ‘FOREIGN PATENTS PENDING’ text.

Lamination & Front: I have clearly mentioned the unusual tone and possible black printing plate issue already. Clearly printing covers were not quite as stringently quality checked as, for example, British postage stamps. Any postage stamp that made issue with a printing issue like this would be immensely collectable and massively valuable. Regarding the laminate, there is a little spine edge lifting near the central area, but still solid with no peeling. A tiny few fine edge hairline creases but little else. It retains superb shine, freshness and clarity, and appears to me to be perfectly and correctly adhered (the spine edge area apart). There is barely any hint of dulling at all, even under light with minimal hint of rim impression. So in terms of wear, hardly anything and in age-defying condition. The psychedelic looking graphic for sure is unusual and is highly unlikely to be seen like it again.

Cover Back: The back has aged little either, the main panel mostly clean with minimal grubbiness, any hint of toning little and very faint indeed. Also hardly any creasing and no rubbing. Both the flipbacks are solid and barely worn with crisp neat ends. Fontana covers were never quite as refined as the likes of Garrod & Lofthouse, but this one is much better than many I have seen in that respect. The laminate ends on the flipbacks has naturally darkened a little, but considering the vast age, t his is almost nit-picking. Overall a lovely back and this side, there is no issue with the black graphics and text.

Top Edge: Mainly straight with just one tiny surface chip (but look hard). That apart smooth and very neat indeed.

Bottom Edge: Practically perfect.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean, mostly sharp with very little wear at all. Any thickening or burring minimal and light as seen viewed end-on. Record enters on this edge that is guaranteed untrimmed or enhanced.

Spine and Text: Solid, straight with barely any compression, the ends gently tapered in manufacture. All text is near perfect and unworn under the solid and unpeeled laminate, just a couple of ultra fine hairline creases.

Corners: Any tip rubs are very small and light, excellent shape largely retained with no knocks.

Cover Summary: A very strong, if somewhat ‘unusual’ example of this vintage mid-1960’s cover, one that will prove very difficult to find much better (or quite like it). For this one, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, it will please most-all in terms of condition, but regarding the front graphic, well opinion is all yours.

The Inner Sleeve: EXCELLENT(++): little to fault on this very well preserved polylined inner sleeve. Two pristine window circles and all edges unsplit with no repairs. A little crinkle mostly near the bottom right corner, but minimal creasing as such. This is British patented with ‘FOREIGN PATENTS PENDING’ text.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EXCELLENT(++): or better. A super visual copy that is very clean with equally fine shine and heavily pressed. A copy with minimal plays on all the evidence with any surface marks few, very light and faint as seen critically under bright angled light. There are no penetrating stylus scratches at all and few mono records of this vintage will be seen a great deal better. So many of these classic RnB albums are seen trashed, ruined by heavy usage and covered in heavy scratches on dulled worn-out vinyl. This copy in total opposite retains that fantastic freshness and shine that truly does come close to reminding of when made. Visually a super record that should please many, if not most collectors.

Album Played For Grading: Yes. [I play ALL records I offer before submitting to Ebay, also the record is played in its entirety unless clearly stated otherwise. I do NOT play snippets or joining grooves to check for sound quality and quietness – I play from the beginning to end via clinically revealing B&W speakers that include the legendary tweeter from their awesome Nautilus range that reveals every blemish or minuscule sound present on any record.]

Sound Quality and Audio Grading: This mid-60s beat classic plays even above it’s high visual grading with barely anything to fault. Offering strong, distortion-free sound, all frequencies are sharp and clear - sound quality is very high with a wide dynamic range and very detailed sound. Any surface sounds hardly even registered and this is an exceptional clean pressing with no tracking issues*. I must make this clear: the song ‘13 Chester Street’ has several sounds that may trick listeners into thinking they are pressing noises. But this is NOT the case, the sounds are perfectly correct and normal. Indeed as this is my first copy and experience of this album, it fooled me. So I checked on several websites and listened to this track online, and hey presto, exactly the same sounds were heard in exactly the same places, which came as a major relief. In fact this brilliant record plays little short of perfectly throughout and sounds fantastic. This also being played on a very revealing stereo system (as listed in detailed further down) for which it was never really designed to be. Few copies will match, let alone outperform this incredibly early pressing I feel sure. Both channels are clean and sharp, I am certain this record has been played very lightly and has been carefully stored and handled, almost certainly in a non-smoking environment. Nothing spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this elusive record. It will prove very difficult to find significantly better and can be strongly recommended.

* As played-graded on a high-end Linn LP12 Sondek turntable with Ittok Mk II arm and Ortofon Quintet Black moving coil cartridge tracking at 2.2 grams.

Now one of the most established sellers on Ebay and still offering the finest and most accurately described and graded records I can find. I pride myself on offering a variety of genres to keep my site as interesting as possible. I will rarely offer any record that falls below a true Excellent grading, unless its of a certain rarity which will justify offering a lesser grade. I try, to the best of my ability to describe as accurately and as honesty as I can all items I offer for sale with all the relevant information I can think of to help any potential bidder and collector. You may notice I only submit records sparingly on Ebay as I Play-Grade every record I offer in their entirety – also on higher-end equipment – not just bits to guess a grade - visuals alone do not always tell a true or full story. I will mention any defects or flaws no matter how small that I notice to be fair as possible to any interested collector – I am very fussy and my buyers have the right to be too. Every record I offer, whether it be a common or rare item deserves the same respect as far as I am concerned and will be treated the same - just because an item is rare does not always mean it’s good. I get just as much pleasure offering a relatively common record in stunning near mint condition as the real rare items. All the pictures I use for your guidance are taken with a digital camera or scanned - they are NOT improved, cleaned-up or made better looking than they are with camera trickery or enhancing with digital programmes. Room light factors can make things vary sometimes, that is hard to control, especially in winter. If any picture I take looks more flattering than the actual item for any reason, I will clearly state the fact in the advert and vice-versa. I hope the item below is to your liking - any questions can be emailed and I will do my very best to answer you. I am enthusiastic, and have a fair degree of knowledge about many genres and I promise quality items - bid with confidence - excellence comes as standard and so does Near Mint regularly. Please assume all records I offer have NO jumps, sticks, warps or writing on covers or labels unless clearly stated to the contrary. Thanks for your interest and Good luck – MIKE.

Deck: Linn LP12/Hercules/Cirkus with Ittok Mk II arm and Ortofon Quintet Black moving coil cartridge (tracks at 2.2 grams). Amps: Naim Supernait 2 with Project USB phono stage and Tellerium Black interconnects. Speakers: B&W 704 Floorstanding 3-way Monitors (bi-wired with Tellurium Black terminated cable). All records I offer on Ebay are cleaned on a professional VPI-17 vacuum machine before play-grading for the cleanest and best possible sound and will include a brand new lined inner and protective cover too. Pictures taken with a Nikon D5000 SLR Digital Camera.

PACKING - THIS IS WHAT YOU GET.

What You Get: To confirm to the strict Ebay rules on shipping, I must now send ALL my packets ‘Signed-For’ with NO exceptions. Both buyers and sellers want their packets to have a safer journey and this is not a bad thing.

I now offer the fastest possible posting, often the very next day after payment is received or within two to three days maximum (unless on holiday). I only use FIRST-CLASS Mail. The record’s cover will be placed within a BRAND NEW soft protective sleeve and the actual record will be professionally cleaned on my new VPI-17 Pro vacuum system to give ultimate clean grooves and playing surfaces and the best possible looks and ultimate sound quality. You will NOT get tired, dull looking, dust infested records inside worn and foggy covers with tatty inners from this seller and that’s a promise and guarantee. All records are posted in professional boxes (NOT Mailers, these do not offer any real protection). The record(s) are REMOVED from their main cover to avoid edge splits and placed within a brand new polylined inner. The record’s original inner will be included if available. The boxes are then reinforced with at least TWO, ULTRA THICK stiffeners for maximum extra protection – these are FOUR TIMES thicker than commercial stiffeners and are custom-made for oneadayrecords. Really rare and expensive albums will even be Double Boxed if deemed necessary and possible. When larger boxes are used, the thick record and stiffener ‘sandwich’ is then thickly embedded into bubble-wrap to bulk out the record inside the box to centre the item inside to reduce the risk of damage still further. Printed address labels are used for clarity as well as a sender label. Customers requests or special needs for P&P will be respected if at all possible but ‘Signed-For’ posting is NOT an option anymore. I do not profit on posting, better quality packaging costs, I offer probably the best-value and safest shipping possible for ultimate confidence. The boxes and ultra thick double-wall stiffeners make a near impregnable fortress for safe shipping and this is used inland and overseas for ALL my records, not just the rare and expensive. I will invoice any winning bidder as soon as possible after the auction ends. My ‘loss’ or ‘damage rate’ is minuscule in over 14 years of Ebay trading and I consider that pretty exceptional. The only damage rate acceptable for this seller is ZERO and I think my packets will offer just that. It would take a vicious postman or postal service to damage these for sure. Oneadayrecords is a MAILER-FREE ZONE – they offer next-to-no-protection, and should be banned, no ‘professional’ should consider using them in my opinion. I discount of course for multiple purchases with a maximum of FIVE records per box (one double can sometimes be included subject to total weight). All postage costs are below and at the top of the listing.

NOTE: First Time Bidders: Please ask me first.

PLEASE NOTE: I now exercise my right to open a dispute after the Ebay rule of TWO days if no payment is received. I will then cancel the dispute to end the bid, again after the mandatory FOUR days and then offer the item to the runner-up or relist. The non-payer will also be blocked from my Ebay site as will any suspicious bids or bid withdrawals. Small businesses need prompt payment to trade and these strict rules WILL be applied.

SHIPPING COSTS & CONDITIONS – THESE comply with EBAY’S RULES - PLEASE READ CAREFULLY:

Posting & Packing: UK & CHANNEL ISLANDS all now sent via Recorded Delivery:

1 LP (FIRST-CLASS Recorded Delivery with Standard Royal Mail Insurance) [Signed For] = £4.75

1 LP (Special Delivery with Standard £500 Maximum Insurance) [Signed For, Next Day] = £7.50. (this includes insurance of £500). Add £1 per extra LP.

Posting & Packing: EUROPE & SCANDINAVIA. (Airmail Only):

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with Standard Royal Mail Insurance [£50 maximum]) = £12.50 (enhanced Royal Mail insurance is an optional extra £3). Add £2 per extra LP.

Posting & Packing: ALL OVERSEAS (non-European) e.g. USA (ANY PART OF); South America; New Zealand; Australia; Canada; Japan and other Far East; (Airmail Only: I NEVER use Surface Mail):

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with Standard Royal Mail Insurance [£50 maximum]) = £16.50 (£17.50 for double sets). Add £3 per extra LP. (enhanced Royal Mail insurance is an optional extra £3)

Payment Conditions:

I prefer PayPal or cheque from UK winning bidders. I can accept PayPal from overseas bidders or direct payment into my bank account.

Potential Bidders: I will cancel any bids I feel are time-wasters. A maximum 3 days for communication and 7 days for payment to arrive - if not I will relist the item or offer to the runner-up. Fast deals get great feedback from me. Any questions - please ask and thanks for looking.

My Guarantee: If any winning bidder is not satisfied with their purchase I will offer a complete refund. I will not refund if any defect detail is clearly stated on the advert and missed by the buyer, so read the item description carefully. If any overseas collector does not understand anything in my listing, please email and ask me to help. Thank You.

SOME GENERAL GUIDES TO WEAR AND CONDITIONS TO HELP YOU DECIDE

My Use of Description Terminology: Surface Marks = Superficial, usually light marks, hairlines or light scuffs that rarely sound. Scratch = a needle mark that goes below the record’s surface, some will sound, some will not, my play-grade will inform. Original = a record that has been pressed with the first label design which does NOT necessarily mean a very first pressed record. First Pressing = A record that I believe or know to be a genuine very first pressed record. I do not claim to always know for sure, and that’s why I state the stamper and matrix numbers if at all possible, for those who claim to know what they all mean, the information is there for the collector to decide. I prefer to use terms like ‘Early Copy’ rather than ‘First Pressing’ if I am not totally sure. Surface Sound = Mild, light sound, usually light crackle or similar. Distortion = Break up of the actual sound caused by groove wear or damage from a chipped stylus – the most undesirable form of unwanted sound, vintage mono records were the most prone to this happening but not exclusively so. The symptoms of distortion are high frequency clipping, moderate constant crackle or an echo type sound quality. Violin, piano and vocals are most prone to groove-wear distortion. Feathering = Fraying or softening of the entry edge of a cover. Covers with feathered entrance edges are more likely to have had the actual record inserted and removed more than a non-feathered, sharp-edged cover which are always far more attractive. Set Off, actually a printer’s term for dark ink leaving mild residue on pale or white ink when rested upon. e.g. when a gatefold cover has black ink closed against white, this can leave some black residue on the pale area – this is mostly unavoidable or course.

The Argument for Vinyl Original sound and mix (mono mixes are rarely available on CD), high quality sound on clean copies (played on a hi-end dedicated analogue system – breathtaking sound!), beautiful, large format covers, artwork, inserts and even full size posters etc; huge investment potential, and the pleasure of owning ‘the real thing’.