BEATLES HELP 1965 UK 1st Press MONO PMC 1255 LP solid VG with impressive audio

	£		34
	$		45

The BEATLES - HELP!

A nice condition & highly presentable copy of this increasingly hard to find and sought after 1965 UK very 1st press Beatles classic on the yellow & black Parlophone label, 

MONO PMC 1255

The dead wax matrix numbers are :

Side 1    XEX 549 - 2  with stampers "4" and "T D" at 9 o'clock and 3 o'clock respectively 

Side 2    XEX 550 - 2  with stampers "1 6" and "P G" at 9 o'clock and 3 o'clock respectively

GRADINGS :

RECORD (Visual Grade / Aural Grade) :  Very Good (VG) / Very Good (VG)  Completely flat and heavy vinyl with lovely jet black sheen on both sides. Glossy in normal daylight but with closer scrutiny under a bright light a reasonable number of fine hairlines and just a few small and very faint paper scuffs (with a slightly more obvious 2cm scuff mark on side 1) come into view on each side - nothing feelable and all appearing to be superficial, except for a 4cm windy hairline on side 2 which does develop into a just feelable very light scratch which does result in some light background clicking on tracks 4 and 5 on side 2.

LABELS : Excellent for both labels with the silver text, matt black background, and yellow Parlophone writing and logo all beautifully intact. Just a few faint spindle trails on each label, otherwise perfect.

OUTER SLEEVE : Excellent (EX) : Garrod & Lofthouse front side laminated with reverse side flipbacks, with no cardboard creasing, firm edges with no scuffing (remarkable!); corners remain perfectly defined right angles with barely any rubbing at all. x6 1cm (or less) horizontal surface creases adjacent and perpendicular to spine none of which impinge upon the spine. The spine itself is in almost perfect condition. Opening edges firm with no fraying and reverse side in truly excellent condition with flipbacks in great shape. Lovely art work, photos and text all perfectly intact, and no unwanted writing or doodles...just the hint of a little "grubbiness" next to the flipbacks - trivial. Impressive!

INNER SLEEVE : Original "USE EMITEX" and "PATENTS APPLIED FOR" & "MADE IN GREAT BRITAIN" poly-lined, die-cut inner sleeve with no rips or tears but there is a 4cm seam split in the middle of the left edge, and some mild creasing at the bottom right corner - nonetheless still remaining fully functional. NOTE that I will place the record into a plain white inner sleeve (and separate from the outer sleeve) in order to protect the original inner sleeve during posting.

AUDIO QUALITY :  Side 1 is Excellent (or better!) - great tone and clarity, even at higher volume and frequencies, with no skips, sticks, jumps, repeats or background crackle. I think I noticed just one very mild backgrond click on A6. Side 2 is very good (VG) : Again, impressive tone with no skips, sticks, jumps, or repeats, x2 light clicks on B1 and that very fine scratch that I mentioned earlier does result in x13 light clicks towards the beginning of B4 and then some more light clicking starting again about 3/4 of the way through the same track and continuing to the end of that same track, and x14 light background clicks at the beginning of B5; and on B6 there is some very light, but just noticeable, background crackle for a minute or so at about half way through B6 accompanied by x8 very light clicks. Nothing to significantly detract from the fact that every track on this wonderful LP still makes for a great listen, and the side 1 mono audio quality is especially impressive.

The tracks are :

Side 1 :

1. HELP

2. THE NIGHT BEFORE

3. YOU'VE GOT TO HIDE YOUR LOVE AWAY

4. I NEED YOU

5. ANOTHER GIRL

6. YOU'RE GOING TO LOSE THAT GIRL

7. TICKET TO RIDE

Side 2 :

1. ACT NATURALLY

2. IT'S ONLY LOVE

3. YOU LIKE ME TOO MUCH

4. TELL ME WHAT YOU SEE

5. I'VE JUST SEEN A FACE

6. YESTERDAY

7. DIZZY MISS LIZZY

In summary a solid very good condition and highly presentable copy (the outer sleeve is undoubtedly "excellent") of this increasingly hard to find 1965 first UK press Beatles classic - a worthy addition to any serious Beatles vinyl collection, and only continuing to gain in value.

 If you require any further information, including photos, then let me know and I'll do my best to oblige. 

If this record interests you then take a look at my other 60's & 70's classic vinyl listings.

A bit about myself : I have been collecting vinyl for more than 49 years and have amassed a huge collection covering a varied genre, but mostly of 1960's and 70's origin. Most of my records were originally bought by myself for my own collection, but during the past 30 years I have embellished my collection by buying records from a variety of sources : friends/acquaintances, car boot sales, auctions, and even through putting up a "vinyl wanted" notice in my wife's shop! I am now retired and take great delight in being able to spend more time scouring the country and attending boot sales and auctions in the hope of unearthing more vinyl gems...I am 64 years of age now and am still discovering bands and music of the 60's and 70's that I have never come across before. Wonderful! Richard

My ebay feedback speaks for itself so rest assured that you are buying from a trusted seller and in the very unlikely event that you are unhappy with your purchase just e-mail me and I'll sort out the problem. I offer a "no quibble" refund policy. 

On the subject of postage, I take great care in the packaging of all items, using a proper vinyl thick cardboard "crucifix" style mailer along with at least two thick cardboard stiffeners. I take great care in separating the record from the outer sleeve in order to help prevent sleeve damage in transit and I always insert the vinyl, outer sleeve and inner into a clear plastic sleeve, thus adding further protection. 

For this item postage & packaging will be UK £3.00, Royal Mail 1st class signed for; continental Europe £10 and Rest of the World £14, Royal Mail 1st class international Airmail, tracked and signed for.

 I DO discount post & packaging costs for multiple purchases. I do NOT profit from postage.

Good luck with your bidding!

NOTE : My vinyl descriptions comply with the official Record Collector vinyl grading guidelines :

Mint

The records itself is in brand new condition with no surface marks or deterioration in sound quality. The cover and any extra items, such as the lyric sheet, booklet or poster are in perfect condition. Records advertised as Sealed or Unplayed should be Mint.

Excellent

The record shows some signs of having been played, but there is very little lessening in sound quality. The cover and packaging might have slight wear and /or creasing.

Very Good

The record has obviously been played many times, but displays no major deterioration in sound quality, despite noticeable surface marks and the occasional light scratch. Normal wear and tear on the cover or extra items, without any major defects, is acceptable.

Good

The record has been played so much that the sound quality has noticeably deteriorated, perhaps with some distortion and mild scratches. The cover and contents suffer from folding, scuffing of edges, spine splits, discolouration, etc.

Fair

The record is still just playable but has not been cared for properly and displays considerable surface noise; it may even jump. The cover and contents are torn, stained and/or defaced

Poor

The record will not play properly due to scratches, bad surface noise, etc. The cover and contents are badly damaged or partly missing.

Bad

The record is unplayable or might even be broken, and is only of use as a collection-filler