David Bowie UK MONO album DML7001 – Stunning Original

	£		322
	$		427

This is an opportunity to acquire of the real David Bowie rarities! It has been stored away for many, many years; left untouched and only now has it surfaced again. It was bequeathed to a friend of mine from a relative’s collection and he has asked me to sell it for him, so here it is!

It’s David Bowie’s first album, 'David Bowie', on the DERAM label. It’s the extremely rare and most sought after UK mono version (serial number DML1007). As you can see by the pictures I’ve included, it is in remarkable condition for something that is almost 40 years old. The excellent condition of the record can be attributed to the fact that it was probably only played a few times and then stored away ( I expect due to the dawn of the stereo age or something). Either way, it still has that beautiful black lustre that you always want to see! 

I’ll try and detail things here as comprehensively as I can. This record deserves all the attention! Anyway, here goes: -

Record: David Bowie (33rpm, UK Mono.). Originally released in 1967.

Artist: David Bowie

Label: DERAM (serial number – DML1007)

Track Listing: Side 1

                        Uncle Arthur

                        Sell Me A Coat

                        Rubber Band

                        Love You Till Tuesday

                        There Is A Happy Land

                        We Are Hungry Men

                        When I Live My Dream

                        Side 2:

                        Little Bombardier

                        Silly Boy Blue

                        Come and Buy My Toys

                        Join The Gang

                        She’s Got Medals

                        Maids Of Bond Street

                        Please Mr. Gravedigger

Condition Of Record: - EX. The record has been stored away, un-played, for many years, and is therefore in excellent condition. Given its rarity, I have graded it as excellent. This means that it shows signs of having been played, but is otherwise faultless. I have played the album through on a good turntable with a very unforgiving stylus and there are no jumps or scratches on it. It sits flat on the deck. There are no warps or kinks in the vinyl at all.Visually, there are very few hairline traces at all on side one (I cleaned the record with alcohol-based fluid to remove trace imperfections, then had a really good look at it). On side two, there are a couple of light marks (probably made by an old stylus skate) between tracks two and three. They are visible in a bright light, but they are not deep and do not make the tracks skip at all.

During play, the record sounds great on both sides. I detected a few crackles across the whole of the two sides, as one might expect, but this was mostly static and did not detract from the overall listening experience.

Condition of Labels: EX+. No discernable marks on these at all. No spindle marks around the opening. Colours are as clear and sharp as they were in 1967.

Sleeve:  EX-.  The record has been stored away for many years, so the album sleeve is in excellent condition overall. There is very slight discolouration to the white extremities. I attribute this to the quality of the card used rather than over-handling.  There are no tears on the cover at all. There is a faint impression of the record on the sleeve in the light, but that’s all. The three side spines are all intact and free from all but the smallest of creases. The opening is very clean, save for a couple of fingernail marks that intrude a mere 1 or 2mm at most into the white border of the sleeve – definitely no tears!

Inner sleeve:  EX. Standard paper and polythene inner sleeve. I assume it is the original one, given that the quality of it reflects that of the outer sleeve and the record itself. Again, it is intact with no tears.

Overall: I have been as honest and as accurate as I can in the description of this record. We all know that it’s one of David Bowie’s most rare and sought after artefacts. The last thing I want is for somebody to invest in it and not to be totally satisfied with it when it arrives. As you can see, I have 100% feedback and wish to maintain my unblemished Ebay reputation. It’s a superb example and would grace any collection!

Bidding and Paying for the record: I am expecting a huge amount of interest in this item. If anyone wishes to know anything else about the record (that isn’t covered here) I’ll try and answer your queries, so please feel free to ask. Please do not bid this record if you are not satisfied with the facts presented before you. In addition, please do not bid if you are unable to pay for the record after the auction has ended – you will be denying another bidder the opportunity of owning the record and will be reported to Ebay for non-payment. Bids are welcome from anywhere in the world. I will contact you personally for payment soon after the auction has ended. I will only accept a personal banker’s draft as payment for this. Paypal, cheques and cash are not acceptable, so please consider this before bidding!

Postage Costs: I will despatch this item using a fully insured Royal Mail special delivery service. I will find out how much this costs in terms of where you live (e.g. U.K. or abroad) and will contact you accordingly to let you know. Insurance usually covers the cost of contents up to 500GBP, which should be sufficient. It will of course be packaged with the utmost care!

The Auction: As is usual with items of great value, I have made the auction a private one to protect your interests (if you are a private collector or a dealer, you will remain anonymous to other bidders).

I am not putting a reserve price on this item as I believe it will achieve it's expected price, due to it's condition and rarity. I reserve the right to withdraw it from the auction if I receive an acceptable offer for it privately (it is advertised in a record collector's journal too) before the auction has ended.  

…And finally, thank you for your interest in this item. I am really looking forward to seeing this auction unfold. Feel free to make a bid and believe that you can win it…you never know, you just might!  Thanks, Biglog63

Some additional information has come in about the history of this record. Here's the story: -

My friend's relative worked in London in the '60s, at the Dorchester Hotel (a very prestigious hotel that was and still is patronised by many famous people). It appears that there was a raffle held at the hotel (not sure whether it was for Christmas or not) and this record was donated as one of the prizes in 1967. So, that's how it came into his possession - strange but true!

Anyway, thanks to all who've expressed interest in the record so far - it's a great auction!