HATFIELD AND THE NORTH (1st) SCARCE ORIG UK 1973 EX LP + FULLY LAMINATED COVER.

	£		40
	$		53

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, 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: HATFIELD AND THE NORTH

Album Title: Hatfield and the North

Producer(s): Hatfield and the North and Tom Newman

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: The Stubbs Effect; Big Jobs (Poo Poo Extract); Going Up To People and Tinkling; Calyx; Son of ‘There’s No Place Like Homerton’; Aigrette; Rifferama.

Side 2: Fol de Rol; Shaving is Boring; Licks for the Ladies; Bossa Nochance; Big Jobs No. 2 (By Poo and the Wee Wees); Lobster in Cleavage Probe; Gigantic Land Crabs in Earth Takeover Bid; The Other Stubbs Effect.

Label/Format: Virgin – original coloured twin virgins format with matt, smooth surfaces.

Label Conditions: Both little short of immaculate: very clean, fresh and highly attractive with only one or two small, light and faint spindle traces, this record appears hardly played.

Cat Number: V 2008

Mode / Speed: Stereo / 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: 124 grams. Actually heavier than most I have had, a fine solid weight for the time.

Country of Manufacture: England

Rarity: Scarce: not a major seller. In the early fledgling Virgin years, this label was taking on less commercial bands and artists and many are now scarce and collectable.

Original Year of Release: 1973

Matrix Nos: V 2008 A-1U / V 2008 B-1U

Mothers / Stampers: 1 O / 1 GR

Musicians: Phil Miller – guitar , acoustic guitars; Dave Stewart – Fender Rhodes electric piano, Hammond Organ, Hohner Pianet, Piano, Tone Generator, Minimoog; Richard Sinclair – Bass Guitar, vocals; Pip Pyle – Drums, percussion, sound effects. Guest artists: Robert Wyatt – vocals, Barbara Gaskin - vocals, Geoff Leigh – Tenor Saxophone, Flute, Didier Malherbe – Tenor Saxophone, Jeremy Baines – Pixiephone, Flute, Cyrille Ayers – vocals, Sam Ellidge – voice.

Brief Info: A short-lived experimental prog-rock band that included band members from Caravan, Egg, Matching Mole and Gong – with a little bit of Henry Cow as well. So it is not hard to imagine their only two albums sound like a blend of them all. This was their self-titled debut and a superb album it is too. Very much in the Canterbury Rock mould, this is progressive rock for the connoisseur. Complex music and time structures and beautifully produced, a challenging album in very fine condition.

Cover Grade and Format: EXCELLENT(+): and this being ultra critical, probably deserving the extra (+). A gatefold format with laminate inside and out. Printed and made in England, uncredited, includes the plain white inner sleeve.

Lamination – Front, Back and Inside: The outside laminate retains excellent shine, clarity and freshness, it has avoided lifting bar a tiny trace near a corner tip (look extra hard). Barely creased, the dark graphics look practically as made. A little dulling mostly seen under light that few ever avoid – the front especially minimal, the back gently around the rim area. The inside is also impressive with minimal hint of laminate end sticking or pulling for which this cover often suffers. There merest trace on the bottom centre being ultra critical. The central hinge area laminate has cracked in places simply from opening, again gatefold covers are opened and this is close to impossible to avoid totally, here the majority intact. Indeed this still has a nice crackle when opened and retains a high degree of ‘spring’. So opening fully is still not really possible without cracking the inside hinge laminate more. All surfaces on this cover are very impressive.

Top Edges: Both pristine: fully laminated, smooth and unworn. These are flush and very straight.

Bottom Edges: Exactly as above, this pair also fully laminated, some versions of this cover have these unlaminated with exposed laminate panel ends. The only exposed strip on this one is the back left opening edge.

Right Edge(s), and Type: The front has a tucked and folded laminated edge that is unworn, as stated, this edge is fully laminated, some end short with a strip. The back entrace edges are clean and mostly sharp, the inside one is immaculate being a little short of the outer one in manufacture. Minor thickening here-and-there on the outer edge, but mostly neat and crisp, both are guaranteed untrimmed or enhanced.

Spine and Text: A cover known to lose its laminate, I have seen and had ones without any retained. This has only a small peel at the very bottom and a mere trace at the top, the rest is very solid, clear and intact. The spine itself if very solid, straight with minimal compression. It always forms a central recess from opening, this because of the high inside central fold hinge, this being the reason the laminate often flakes off, as stated, largely avoided here. Folded squarely, so the edges meet up very closely together and parallel. The white text is present, but the top is not easily seen on a fairly pale area of cover artwork.

Corners: Superb corners with hardly any wear. Excellent or better shape is retained with no bashes or dinks.

Cover Summary: With only gentle hint of age, this is a very impressive example. With the almost complete cover laminate, this version is actually harder to find than those with more panel end laminate – these always look better. One to please many, if not most collectors.

The Inner Sleeve: EXCELLENT(+): a plain white solid unlined inner that has gently aged with quite light darkening of the paper. Barely any creasing and all edges unsplit with no repairs.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EXCELLENT: again, being very critical, this record appears little played and is very clean with equally fine shine and quite solidly pressed. Under bright angled light, minimal surface marks or traces. No penetrating stylus marks, viewed in normal room light, this looks fantastic. A difficult complex album to please many 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 B&W speakers that include the legendary tweeter from their awesome Nautilus range that reveals every blemish or minuscule sound present on any record.]

Sound Quality and Audio Grading: This intricate and challenging prog album plays mostly up to it’s high visual grading or above. 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 and no tracking issues*. This has some very quiet passages, so a little contact sound is so hard to avoid totally, this has gentle traces here-and-there. Some grooves incredibly fine and compact, so the odd gentle tick is also seldom avoided, a tiny few noted, but I reiterate, gentle, light only. No hard crunching clicks from scratches or anything even like it. Be clear: this record offers superb sound and I would doubt many of these will ever play flawlessly. Overall a very fine pressing, which is never so certain from this time. One to please many fans and collectors as long as absolute ‘perfection’ is not expected – and good luck with that on what is always a challenging, complex and difficult album – to date, I have heard few better than this very early example.

* 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.

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 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 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’.