Free - Tons of Sobs UK 1st Press Pink Island Large Eye Labels A2/B2

	£		226
	$		300

Hello there, come on in and welcome to the auction!

As you can see from my 100% feedback, I sell with complete honesty and reliability.  Above all things I am a record collector and music lover.  I only sell records that I would want to receive. I know well the disappointment of receiving an over-graded record that turns up two weeks late.  That is not the service you will receive here, so bid with total confidence. I don’t sell a lot of records because I spend a lot of time carefully finding, grading and listing them and do not like to rush this process, as many sellers must do to be able to sell 100 records a week!

I am mostly a collector of old time music, pre-war blues and folk, so buy job-lots that often contain rare records that aren’t to my taste so to ebay they go!

(On that note, if you have any early American blues or folk to swap or sell, please get in touch!)

Anyway, enough of the chit chat and on to the record at hand…

 Free

Tons of Sobs

UK 1st Pressing

1969

ILPS 9089

Island

Stereo

Here we have one of the best and rarest Free records of all time, and certainly one of the hardest to find Pink Island labels!

Released in 1969, this is the true first press with the front and rear unlaminated gatefold sleeve with the large “Island Records Ltd., 155 - 157 Oxford Street, London, W1, England” text running across the bottom of the rear. 

The spine is the very 1st press wide spine with catalogue number on.

The 1st press pink Island mat labels with the large orange and black eye to the left are an exclusive only to the very 1st presses.

These Stereo first presses are as rare as hen’s teeth and I imagine if you’re reading this, you already know what you’re bidding on, so on to the description!

Matrix Numbers

ILPS + 9089 + A2

ILPS +9089 + B2

(The Very 1st)

Sleeve Condition.

The very 1st press unlaminated gatefold outer sleeve is in lovely condition!  There are no rips, tear, writing, or stains to mention!  There are 2 small grazes to the front (see pic) There is some shelf wear to the corners and edges! It’s a truly stunning 1st press sleeve and the inside is as new! Overall a really nice sleeve!

Very Good

Label Condition.

The 1st press UK Pink Island labels are in stunning condition.  There are no rips, rubbing, writing or stains to mention.   Under a strong light, some invisible spindle lines can be seen and the shading of where a sticker had once been! It’s clear to see that this record has not been overplayed!

Excellent

Inner Condition.

The original 1st press“patent” inner sleeve with the grey text is in beautiful condition with only some mild discolouring to mention.  There are no rips, stains, writing or splits. 

Excellent +

Vinyl Visual Condition.

The record looks great! It has that “just pressed” look with no dulling, scratches or warping of any sort!  It still retains its factory shine and lustre.  Under a strong halogen, just some random wispy hairlines can be seen with no fellable scratches at all!  It’s a really nice clean copy that won’t disappoint!

Very Good +

Vinyl Audio Condition.

The record sounds really great!  There are no jumps, skips or nasty distortion at all! I heard only a 2 clicks from start to finish, even at full volume!  It’s a crystal, sharp and bouncy sound throughout!  There was just a little static on the run ins and between tracks as is to be expected.  Wild Indian Woman sounded really amazing! This is how Free should be heard, and it doesn’t compare in the slightest to later represses or any other format. A True Rarity

Excellent

So there we have it.  A true rare 1st press Free classic housed in a 1st print great sleeve and inner.

As Rare As They Come!

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to get in touch and I will get back to you as soon as I can.

Happy Bidding

All my records will be sent first class, signed for and insured to their value!

I will package the records with extreme care, with hard stiffeners and the vinyl separate to the sleeve and inner, all housed in a Defenda locktab record box envelope.

 I try to be as honest as I can in my descriptions, taking as many pictures as possible, but if you don’t feel happy with your purchase, I offer no quibble full refunds as soon as the record is sent back.  I will not give partial refunds however, only full.  I think this is fair, Thanks!

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