THE ROKES (1st Album) SCARCE 1965 EX++ MONO LP, BARELY PLAYED, SUPERB SOUND.

	£		51
	$		67

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, and records WILL arrive damaged in them at some time as most record buyers will already know. Here, you get what you pay for – SAFE PACKING in BOXES using 7mm DOUBLE-WALL STIFFENERS including full side protection and bubble wrap, the records removed from the covers of course. All this very safe packing means I lose money on every box I post, but safe delivery is, and will always be paramount. You WILL see the difference when my packet arrives. Also, I will pay for 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 if possible.

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.

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 ROKES

Album Title: The Rokes

Producer(s): Ferruccio Ricordi (Teddy Reno)

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Ci Vedremo Domani (Will You Love Me Tomorrow); Walking the Dog; Eravamo Amici; Hi-Heel Sneakers; Strada Della Tristezza (Lonely Avenue); Un’Anima Pura.

Side 2: C’e Una Strana Espressione Nei Tuoi Occhi; Beautiful Delilah; Summertime; Spegni Questa Luce; She Asks of You; Dancing in the Street; Chiama Me.

Label/Format: ARC (American Record Company) with matt, gently textured surfaces. A very deep ring ridge and very smooth rims has all the traits of Decca records of which this company were part of.

Label Conditions: Both very clean, fresh and attractive with hardly a spindle mark to be seen. Actually wondering if this had been played, if so, barely.

Catalogue Number: ALP 11002

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: 140 grams.

Country of Manufacture: Italy

Rarity: Scarce, and outside Italy, and in this superb condition with a promotional photograph, even more so.

Original Year of Release: 1965 [initially issued with a single cover with a catalogue number of SA 4. This was quickly repressed again in 1965 with a more lavish laminated heavyweight gatefold cover with the new ALP 11002 number]

Matrix Nos: QKAP 22624 1S 1A / QKAP 22625 1S 1A

Musicians: Shel Carson – guitar, vocals; Johny Charlton – guitar; Bobby Powell – bass guitar; Mike Rogers – drums.

Brief Info: The Rokes were an Anglo-Italian RnB band of the mid- to late-1960s comprising of four British expatriots. They made four albums, this one is their 1965 debut. They became popular and successful in Italy, but their albums were not issued in the UK, hence they are not seen too often. With a classic mid-60s beat style similar to early Rolling Stones, Kinks and others, they cover several standards of the time, some sung in English, some in Italian. This is a beautifully preserved copy, the second 1965 pressing with the lavish laminated gatefold cover. The high-quality record pressed by Decca plays beautifully in mono. Even the promotional inner sleeve is pure class and also in stunning condition as-seen. The icing on the cake is a large original gloss-finished promotional photograph of the band that will rarely be seen or offered. A copy that found its way to the UK, the cover front still retaining its pre-decimal 20/- (£1) price sticker. For fans of classic RnB, this lesser-known band, certainly outside Italy anyway, this is an unmissable set.

Cover Grade and Format: EXCELLENT(+): and arguably better, this is a superb piece of vintage pop history. A very heavy, top-quality-made gatefold format with the front and back laminated. The inside matt and smooth. Printed and made in Italy, includes the colourful polylined inner sleeve and a glossy black and white large promotional photograph of the band.

Lamination – Front & Back: This cover has the weight of a book with card thickness to match. A beautifully-made gatefold with the laminate retaining excellent shine, clarity and freshness with any dulling light as mostly seen under light. As seen, the front retains its original price sticker, which would easily remove if deemed necessary. Personally, I think they add to the history of the piece. The band portraits look stunning on an intense black background and there is barely a crease to be seen and no lifting. Any marks or blemishes very few, fine and light, this has been cover-protected for over half-a-century and few will match its almost fully retained glory.

Cover Inner Gatefold: Impressive again with only a little gentle darkening of the very edges – and at this considerable age, I think it’s earned the right. No writing or rubbing, only gentle traces of set-off where black ink rests upon white when closed. The inside text is in Italian and English. It mentions the criticism they received for their long hair – that sounds very familiar for other certain British beat bands of the same time.

Top Edges: Both unworn, thick and very robust. Almost too thick to bend, so both are very straight with perfectly smooth unscuffed laminated surfaces.

Bottom Edges: Practically the same, the odd micro-dink being critical.

Right Edge(s), and Type: The front has a real uncut edge, this unrubbed and in perfect condition. The back entrance edges are thick, clean and sharp with any thickening bordering on minuscule. These are guaranteed untrimmed or enhanced.

Spine and Text: Again in superb condition, very solid, straight with minimal compression and folded square, so the edges meet up very closely together and near parallel. All text is perfect and unworn under the solid and uncracked laminate. Even the folds have avoided rubs, chips or scuffs and are unweakened.

Corners: Any tip rubs tiny and light, hardly any really, excellent to practically mint shape retained with no knocks.

Cover Summary: An absolute gem of a cover, made in Italy in the era of quality. A very strong all-round example of this exceptional heavyweight cover – as stated – it’s more like a hardback book. An historic RnB piece that will prove beyond difficult to find better. Finding these at all outside Italy is hard enough, let alone in this condition. This beautiful item should please most collectors.

The Inner Sleeve: EXCELLENT(++): Even the inner sleeve is class and come pretty close to reminding of as-made. Any discolouration is very light, this mostly near the top entrance, any creasing little and light. This also has some weight to it, the polylining is thick and remains very clear as seen through two immaculate window circles. This promotes RCA records of the 1960s – RCA were also pressed by Decca at this time. The back has side flipback construction and are totally undamaged and neat, all edges robustly solid and no splits or repairs. This a contender for the nicest company promotional inner I have seen with a condition that does it maximum justice.

The Band Photograph: EXCELLENT(++): Again beautifully preserved with a lovely glossy finish. Any blemishes tiny and faint with no hard creasing at all. Even the plain back has hardly aged. A lovely promotional piece to add a significant plus-factor for this vintage album.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EXCELLENT(++): arguably better. A superb visual copy that is very clean with equally fine shine and quite heavily pressed by Decca. A copy appearing hardly played on all the evidence with any surface traces minuscule and faint as seen critically under bright light.Viewed in average room light, barely anything even registers. Visually a super record that should please most collectors again.

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 equipment, all listed further down.]

Sound Quality and Audio Grading: This high-quality RnB album 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 barely even registered and this is an exceptional clean pressing with no tracking issues*. Few available copies will outperform this very early pressing I feel sure. Both channels are clean and sharp when played on a stereo system, I am certain this record has been played very lightly, if indeed at all prior to my mandatory sound-check, and has been very well stored and carefully handled, almost certainly in a non-smoking environment. Nothing spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this wonderful record, my first experience of this album, and indeed band. It will prove very difficult to find significantly better and merits my highest possible recommendation.

* 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. Records are a ‘contact’ format, and few will avoid the odd minor sound blemish.

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 the item being offered with no digital enhancements. 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. 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 805 Nautilus (bi-wired with Tellurium Black terminated cable) with REL subwoofer. 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 17­ 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. 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’.