HAWKWIND 1st SCARCE Early UK Liberty 1970 SUPERB EX+ LP

	£		46
	$		60

Hi, I am Mike, now 51. Old enough to remember the golden era of original, high quality music, bands, artists.

Also records from the 1960s and 70s bought from the shops from new, I have been a music collector and enthusiast for over 37 years now. We all wish we could turn back the clock and buy those wonderful brand new records from the 60s and 70s, but alas, this is not possible; so I always try to offer the finest and most accurately described and graded records I can find. No vinyl/music lover really would choose to buy second-hand, but this is only way now to own these valuable, prized and elusive items now. 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 - on average ONEADAY, a couple more at weekends if time permits, hence the name - time rarely allows for more as I Play-Grade virtually every record I offer in their entirety, 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 reader – 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 its 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. What you see is what you get and scanned labels will give a more accurate representation of the genuine colour than flash photography where light is variable. I cannot guarantee one hundred percent is exact colour matching for covers - this depends on the lighting at the time and that is out of my control, but I feel sure most items will be very close to the actual real item. 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 with Ittok Mk IV arm and Ortofon Samba Moving Coil cartridge (tracks at 1.8 grams). Amps: Naim Nait 5i with Project USB phono stage and Chord interconnects. Speakers: B&W 704 Floorstanding 3-way Monitors (bi-wired). All records I offer on Ebay are cleaned on a professional Moth vacuum machine before play-grading for the cleanest and best possible sound and will include a brand new lined inner and protective cover too.

First-time, zero-rated bidders, who do not ask permission to bid, will be cancelled immediately and blocked – NO exceptions. For winning bidders who I consider excessively slow to make contact or submit payment, I will use my right to block future bids. If any bidder who wins in the final seconds is present to do so, surely they can at least email me to inform of intention and payment method? If swift or promp payment is a problem, please do not bid.

POSTING & PACKING: What You Get: I post all my UK items on FRIDAY every week, most will arrive Saturday to make signed-for delivery easier. All records are posted in professional boxes (NOT mailers) with the record(s) 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 TWO massively thick stiffners for even extra protection and bubble wrap if deemed necessary. These stiffners are the thickest possible and custom supplied for ‘Oneadayrecords’ – these are NOT commercially available and you will not have seen thicker protection anywhere. The cover will be placed within a BRAND NEW heavy duty soft protective sleeve and the actual record will be professionally cleaned on my Moth Pro vacuum system to give ultimate clean grooves and playing surfaces and the best possible looks and ultimate sound quality. Printed address labels are used as well as ‘Fragile’ tape for that extra professional touch for the packet. 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. Customers requests or special needs for P&P will be respected if at all possible but NOT surface mail abroad. I never make profit on posting and offer probably the cheapest and safest shipping possible. I will invoice any winning bidder as soon as possible after the auction ends, with the total costs including ‘standard’ or ‘optional extra insurance’ P&P – ALL UK and Russian packets go out non-negotiable Recorded Delivery. My ‘loss’ or ‘damage rate’ is less than 0.1 per percent based on over 3,500+ items sold in over 5 years of Ebay trading (I am now one of most established sellers via Ebay) and I consider that pretty exceptional.

PLEASE NOTE: I will now only send packets to Russia with Recorded Delivery at a cost of £7 per single LP. If this is unacceptable to Russian collectors, please do not bid. I only want my records to arrive safely and this gives packets a better chance to do so. Also ALL UK packets will be sent with either Recorded or Special Delivery as standard (both have to be signed for). All shipping costs and rules can be found after my description. If they are not acceptable, please do not bid.

Album Title: Hawkwind.

Producer(s): Dick Taylor and Hawkwind.

Engineer(s): Barry Ainsworth.

TRACK LISTING:

Side 1: Hurry On Sundown; The Reason Is?; Be Yourself; Paranoia – Part 1.

Side 2: Paranoia – Part 2; Seeing It As You Really Are; Mirror of Illusion.

Label/Format: Liberty – Matt black format. Although not a very first that were issued on the rare blue Liberty labels, this still very early and in no way inferior.

Label Conditions: Both immaculate and very clean and highly attractive. Three or four light spindle marks only and no wear around the hole rims. I have rarely seen a better copy of this classic Hawkwind debut.

Cat Number: LBS 83348.

Mode / Speed: Stereo / 33.3 rpm.

Weight of this Record: 136 grams. [These days, many modern Audiophile reissues are pressed on super-heavyweight 180 gram vinyl. Only a small percentage of ‘vintage vinyl’ was ever pressed this heavy. Records pressed in the 1960s averaged around 140 to 150 grams. Records pressed in the 1970s were usually lighter and averaged more around 115 – 125 grams. Some records pressed around 1973 were very thin and light due an oil crisis and shortage around this time. Some records were even issued on recycled vinyl from this period and sounded poor with crackle and surface noise evident from the very first play. If any record I buy is deemed ‘recycled’, I will never offer it, I have a very simple test to detect these records if I suspect this to be the case other than audible imperfection. Some records from this period were even pressed on other materials the most notable was ‘Dynaflex’, used by RCA around this time. Although inferior to vinyl, this at least mostly sounded reasonably acceptable but pressings on this material were wafer thin and flimsy. Beyond the 70s, records often became thinner and lighter still but most played fine but were never quite the quality as from the ‘Golden Era’]. (This was based on ‘average’ weights for 20 records from these eras. Later pressings were usually lighter still).

Country of Manufacture: England.

Rarity: The very first pressings on the blue labels are very rare and were only available for a very short time, they are seldom seen or offered and often trashed when they do. Black copies are more easily found but difficult to find in lightly played conditions with this one looks hardly even played at all. This must rank as one of the best overall Hawkwind debut albums I have seen or heard.

Original Year of Release: 1970

Matrix Nos: LBS 83348 A-2U / LBS 83348 B-2U

Stamper Codes: 1 L / 1 GA

Musicians: Dave Brock – vocals, six and twelve string guitars, harmonica, percussion; John A. Harrison - bass guitar; Huw Lloyd – lead guitar; Terry Ollis - drums; Nik Turner – alto saxophone, vocals, percussion; Dikmik - electronics.

Brief Artist & Album Info: Amazing to think this is a 37-year-old album now and the band, albeit in many different guises, are still recording and touring today. This is not really so much a typical Hawkwind album and remains a fascinating curio, it merges 1967 psych with spacy instrumentals that blend into early acid-rock, at times sounding like a less polished Pink Floyd circa Saucerful of Secrets. Not the most technically gifted band ever, this album received minimal attention when first issued but its stature as one of the best British psych albums has grown immensely with time. Initially it was tried recording all the songs separately but that failed to work well, so the whole album was recorded live in a studio in one take. Much of the music is free-form improvisation with spacey sounds and effects and is captivating and compelling and certainly highly entertaining. For Floyd fans who like ‘Intersteller Overdrive’ and similar early tracks, this album will also appeal. The opening song is a pure Hawkwind classic, the untypical and brilliant ‘Hurry on Sundown’ with acoustic guitars and harmonica but the long trippy ‘Be Yourself’ and ‘Paranoia’ with improvised guitar are far more typical. The front cover gives more than a clue of what to expect with the band name spelt out in marijuana leaves, this mini-classic debut album is the embryo and catalyst of the acid-rock space band they later became with more than a fair degree of success. Needless to say, this album did not chart, and has now become a highly popular and collectable album to own. You may have to wait a eons or travel a few more galaxies to find a much better copy of this record record – strap yourself in and enjoy the trip and set your controls for the heart of the turntable – yeah man!!

This Cover’s Potential for Wear: Very High: [Unlaminated covers are always the most vulnerable for rubbing, fading, sticker tears and ringwear, gatefolds are more prone still and the darker they are, the more this type of wear occurs and shows. Some sleeves have a textured finish or die-cut shaped edges or ‘windows’. These are even more delicate and the hardest to find in top condition. Fully laminated covers are more resistent to wear but often the laminate ages with dulling, creases and blistering. Many 60s covers have outer flipback construction, these are very vulnerable to damage]. (US covers are the most fragile of all, very rarely laminated and made with thick brittle card that rubs and ringwears badly. Seams and edges split easily). Please see format below to access this cover’s potential for wear and damage.

Cover Grade and Format: Critically graded EX++ and I asking myself why not Mint(-), I am looking carefully to find blemishes but it’s proving difficult. I have rarely seen one as good as this. An unlaminated, gatefold format, printed and made in England by E. J. Day Ltd. Great artwork and a very clean example with barely any wear at all. Highly attractive and probably the best I have ever had to offer – and his a hard one.

Cover Front: A superb front and up there with the very best. The odd minor surface mark and a very few light spine hairline creases but this apart, little else to fault. Clean, fresh and with no grubbiness and minimal traces of any handling. Devoid of rubbing and sticker marks and no edge rubbing for a change to encroach into view, this unforgiving front is truly exceptional.

Cover Back: Pretty much the same again and the lack of ringwear is a huge bonus. Again fresh and clean and looking supremely fine to the eye. A very small press indentation near the top right is the only tiny blemish only just worthy of mention (but look very hard to see it).

Cover Inner Gatefold: Both faces look practically as new.

Top Edges: Very light rub traces on the back only.

Bottom Edges: Ultra faint rub traces only, again look hard to see any.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean, sharp with no wear or feathering. Record enters on this back edge.

Spine and Text: A very fine spine also and devoid of the usual wear seen on these. Solid, straight with minimal compression, folded near square, a slight drop on the front face on the right side but still very close together on the opposite edges. All text (for a change) is present and unworn, the orange ink is clean and unrubbed.

Corners: Tiny tip rubs only and all retain fine shape and way better definition that most seen.

Cover Summary: An exceptional cover and never an easy one to say the very least. A title rarely bought by hi-fi connoisseurs or sound purists, many early copies of this cover and record are in poor conditions. This very attractive and vibrant cover should please most-all collectors.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: Probably undergraded again at EX+ without doubt one of the best early pressed Hawkwinds I have ever seen. A superb visual copy with merely a very few, very light, small surface blemishes or hairlines that have no sound whatsoever of course. This classic vintage album is very clean with fine shine, intense black and quite heavily pressed. The lack of playing is very evident not just in the looks but the sound quality which is very high indeed. A title so often in very poor condition, even trashed. Bought initially by the very few and of a certain type – you know what I mean, these were heavily used and so often abused by less than sensitive users and equipment. To see a copy in this ultra clean and little marked condition is a pleasure to view. This trip into the psych-acid world, still relatively new at this time, will seldom be heard better via vinyl than this and it will should please most collectors.

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 snippetts 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 amazing record plays even above its high visual grading with practically nothing 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 spacy sound and production. Any surface sounds are minimal indeed and is devoid of pops or clicks, few early copies will play much better than this. The impossibly quiet beginning to side two with its wobbly solo bass has minimal surface sound and I have yet to hear this challenging beginning sound quieter. Practically all of this groundbreaking Hawkwind debut plays with stunning clean sound. Nothing spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this record – now regarded as a classic within its field and justifiably so. It should please most collectors and is strongly recommended.

NOTE: First Time Bidders: I will cancel ALL first-time bidders with no feedbacks or excessive negatives who do not ask me if its OK to bid first – NO EXCEPTIONS.

Please Note: I will now offer any item to the runner-up after the mandatory Ebay 3 days if no contact is made by the winning bidder unless prior notice of any delay is given beforehand. The same applies if no payment is received within the mandatory 7 days so any bidder who has just lost out can still email me to reserve the item as priority second chance – it’s always worth asking.

SHIPPING COSTS & OPTIONS:

Posting & Packing: UK & CHANNEL ISLANDS all now sent Recorded Delivery:

1 LP (First Class Recorded Delivery with Standard Royal Mail Insurance) [Signed For] = £4 (OPTIONAL).

1 LP (Special Delivery with Standard £500 Maximum Insurance) [Signed For, Next Day] = £7 (OPTIONAL).

Posting & Packing: EUROPE & SCANDINAVIA (NOT RUSSIA, see below) (Airmail Only):

1 LP (Small Packet Standard with Standard Royal Mail Insurance) = £5.

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with included Insurance to Item’s ‘Sold’ Value, £500* Maximum) = £9 (OPTIONAL).

Posting & Packing: RUSSIA (Recorded Only, if this is unacceptable, please do not bid):

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ only £7) = £9 (OPTIONAL extra insurance as above).

Posting & Packing: OVERSEAS (non-European) e.g. US; Australia; Far East; (Airmail Only: I NEVER use Surface Mail):

1 LP (Small Packet Standard with Standard Royal Mail Insurance) = £8.

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with included Insurance to Item’s ‘Sold’ Value, £500* Maximum) = £13 (OPTIONAL).

* If Rules allow for that country.

PLEASE NOTE: I always get a Royal Mail ‘Proof-of-Posting’ receipt for ALL packets that are sent out and I am happy to prove this to any customer who wishes to see it via email.

Payment Conditions:

I prefer PayPal or cheque from UK winning bidders. I can accept PayPal from overseas bidders.

The customer can choose their method of shipping with the exception of second class or surface mail overseas – these I will NOT use. The winner bidder chooses his/her posting method and if uninsured is chosen, its their decision and they have to stick with it, I can accept no responsibility if an item is lost in the post. I can only try to claim at standard levels if no enhancement is chosen (£35).

Potential Bidders: Please do not bid if you have negative feedback unless checking first, I will cancel any bids I feel are timewasters. 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 minus the Posting and All Ebay costs as long as the item detail has been read and understood. I will not refund if any defect detail is clearly stated on the advert and missed by the buyer. If any overseas collector does not understand anything in my listing, please email and ask me to help.

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 neccessarily 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’.