TYRANNOSAURUS REX Beard of Stars SCARCE UK 1970 REGAL ZONOPHONE EX LP inc INSERT

	£		77
	$		102

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 will now be blocked 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: TYRANNOSAURUS REX

Album Title: A Beard of Stars.

Producer(s): Tony Visconti.

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Prelude; A Day Laye; The Woodland Bop; Fist Heart Mighty Dawn Dart; Pavilions of Sun; Organ Blues; By the Light of a Magical Moon; Wind Cheetah.

Side 2: Great Horse; Dragons Ear; Lofty Skies; Dove; Elemental Child.

Label/Format: Regal Zonophone – original red and silver format with matt, smooth surfaces.

Label Conditions: Both clean, fresh and attractive. Spindle marks are on the lighter side of moderate, but mostly fine and quite faint, side two has the odd tiny chip near the hole rim. The record plays superbly well with little unwanted, that far from assured on these vintage Bolan albums that often took a lot of usage on old record players that ruins the sound. This proved an enjoyable play-grade.

Cat Number: SLRZ 1013.

Mode / Speed: Stereo (this one was not issued in 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: 135 grams. A very good solid weight.

Country of Manufacture: England.

Rarity: Scarce: and never easy to find clean. This a lovely all-round copy that includes the lyric insert sheet.

Original Year of Release: 1970

Matrix Nos: YCARX 65-1U / YCARX 66-3U

Stamper Codes: 1 A / 1 R [these very early indeed]

Musicians: Marc Bolan – Lead vocals, electric guitar and acoustic guitars, organ, bass; Micky Finn – backing vocals, Moroccan clay drums, tabla, bass, finger cymbals.

Brief Artist & Album Info: Formed in 1967 by singer-guitarist Marc Bolan, Tyrannosaurus Rex was originally envisioned as an electric sextet until a hire purchase company repossessed their equipment. Bolan was joined by percussionist Steve ‘Peregrine’ Took in an acoustic-based venture that combined his love of classic rock n roll with an affection for faerie mythology. Fans of this legend will know of his unusual quivering vocal style which often rendered his lyrics incomprehensible, but the effect was captivating and enchanting and the duo were ‘adopted’ by John Peel, at the time an underground ‘progressive’ music specialist. Peel tirelessly promoted the group and they had three minor hit singles. On this final album under this name, Bolan was joined by Mickey Finn on percussion and the band now had a more electric sound which paved the way perfectly for the electric pop and glam sound that became T-Rex. This Regal copy of this album is impressive and should please most Bolan fans. A very early issue too with very low stampers and first mothers. These vintage albums are seldom seen this clean and this includes the somewhat elusive lyric insert sheet.

Cover Grade and Format: EXCELLENT: a single fully laminated cover. Printed and made in England by Garrod & Lofthouse Ltd. This imprint being right on the bottom edge and very difficult to see, but viewed under a magnifier, it can be. It lies on the narrow exposed strip where the laminate ends short on the bottom edge which makes it almost inconspicuous. Includes the plain inner sleeve and the lyric sheet.

Lamination – Front & Back: The laminate retains fine shine, clarity and a high degree of freshness. There is no lifting and any dulling light and mild as mostly seen under angled light. There are several half moon type laminate creases near the entrance edge, but even these show little being largely ‘lost’ in the graphic, but seen more under light. There is one small crease to the front top right corner tip. When viewed normally full-on, both sides look impressive.

Top & Bottom Edges: Both laminated with no scuffs and very smooth to the touch, a small chip to the bottom right corner tip and both straight.

Right Edge(s), and Type: This entrance edge is very crisp and neat with minimal traces of thickening or burring. The exposed strips on the laminate end are both still present and barely worn which reitterates no trimming or enhancements.

Spine and Text: Mostly solid but made thin, so a little more delicate. All the text is pristine and very well centred under the solid laminate, this worth of mention on a thin spine. Compression is negligible, a few fine hairline creases and all laminate retained.

Corners: The odd small tip rub or chip and the crease on the top right front as mentioned already. All still very neat and crisp with excellent shape retained.

Cover Summary: A few blemishes and gentle reminders of age, but overall still an attractive example that should please many collectors.

The Inner Sleeve: EXCELLENT: a plain white unlined inner with only gentle discolour to politely remind of age. Barely any creasing and all edges intact with no repairs.

The Lyric Insert Sheet: EXCELLENT(+): this quite elusive and often missing. A large size lyric insert with a graphic on the other. A little gentle toning spotting near the edges but fully intact with no tears and barely any creasing – one on the bottom corner tip only. So lightly aged, but guaranteed original.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: NEAR EXCELLENT: a very fine visual copy. It does have surface marks, most of which are fine and quite whispy as seen under bright angled light. The odd one or two a little wider, but practically all are superficial and non-penetrating, hence the sound on this copy remains impressively clean. Both surfaces are clean with fine shine and solidly pressed. The grooves have interesting patterns which usually indicates high intensity and complex sound and in this case is true. Bolan’s vocal and guitar have amazing sound that is pure realism in the room. No wonder so many copies clip and distort with many played on vintage record players, often mono – this record was the first NOT to be issued in the single channel mode, so many would have still been subjected to such treatment. This album is highly intolerant of those heavy thick stylus that caused havoc, shredding those delicate groove walls and ruining the clarity of the sound. Well this again proved a delight to play-grade with little unwanted. Visually a lovely record that should please many collectors, but not the more discerning who only want ‘pristine’ whatever the cost.

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 miniscule sound present on any record.]

Sound Quality and Audio Grading: This vintage Regal Zonophone record plays even above it’s very high visual grading with very little to fault. Strong, distortion-free sound, all frequencies are sharp and clear - sound quality is very high with a wide dynamic range and very detailed sound. Barely any surface sounds but a few minor and gentle clicks are rarely avoided on the more delicate, more acoustic albums – that being a pure fact for old vinyl records. That said, this has very few at all and was a joy to hear again. Few available copies will better this very early pressing significantly I feel sure. Nothing of any real spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this wonderful album. It could prove difficult to find better and merits high recommendation. The audio quality of this record should delight the majority of fans of this legendary artist.

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 Blue 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’.