HAWKWIND (1st) SCARCE VERY EARLY UK Liberty 1970 EX+ LP

	£		57
	$		75

ONEADAYRECORDS – Simply Delivering Quality Music to the World.

Postage: UK £4.75. Europe (including Russia) £12.50. Rest of World £16.50. All boxes signed for in quality, safe packaging – I NEVER use mailing envelopes that offer virtually no protection at all. More details on this 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 ‘4-day’ rule for non-payment. I try to keep my P&P prices as low as possible even yet another Royal Mail price hike, I will never compromise on solid, safe packing that is invariably a little heavier.

Artist or Band: HAWKWIND

Album Title: Hawkwind.

Producer(s): Dick Taylor and Hawkwind.

TRACK LIST:

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 – Black format, matt finished with high raised inner circle (please see my label scan).

Label Conditions: Both fresh, clean and attractive with only light, fine and faint spindle marks as mostly seen under angled light. Any handling traces only light, these on very revealing matt black labels that taking no prisoners in showing marks and blemishes.

Cat Number: LBS 83348.

Mode / Speed: Stereo / 33.3 rpm.

Weight of this Record: 132 grams. A very good solid for this copy.

Country of Manufacture: England.

Rarity: First pressings of this classic psych-prog album were issued on the Liberty blue format and are very rare indeed and now command huge prices, even if conditions are down (as many are). Almost immediately repressed on the new black format with different matrixes but that’s only real difference. Of equal or even more importance to this seller is the playing quality of the record and this still scarce early black copy REALLY delivers. I have seen horrendous examples of this one, played ruthlessly and covered in massive scratches with dulled and grubby surfaces and covers – I will not look at them twice, and leave well alone. These early acid-rock albums were usually bought by younger more experimental music fans of time, few were hi-fi connoisseurs and many carelessly stored and played on the most basic of record players. Thus, finding them in top conditions is very difficult. This copy has a very clean and lightly played record, and it plays great with hardly anything unwanted and such copies are pretty hard to find now as increased interest and demand for this legendary debut album rises. Also the cover is in super condition and is at least the very equal of my own copy. So a black label is not as rare as a blue, but conditions are a major factor for these types.

Original Year of Release: 1970

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

Stampers: 1 G D / 1 GP

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 now a 43-year-old album 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 it’s stature as one of the best more ‘out-there’ British psych albums has grown immensely with time. Initially the songs were all recorded separately, but that failed to work, so the whole album was recorded live in a studio in one take. Much of the music is free-form improvisation with spacy sounds and effects and is captivating and compelling and certainly highly entertaining. The opening song is a Hawkwind classic, somewhat 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 of this album. 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 spacy 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 sort-after and collectable album to own. So all you space-cadets, set your controls for the heart of the turntable – yeah man!

This Cover’s Potential for Wear: Very High: this has always been an uncompromising cover and few survive even looking decent. Prone to all forms of wear that time, careless handling and bad storage has to offer.

Cover Grade and Format: EXCELLENT(+): and one of the best I have seen for some time. An unlaminated gatefold format with smooth matt surfaces. Printed and made in England by E. J. Day. Great artwork and a very clean example that remains attractive. Most seen are badly rubbed, very grubby, ringworn and often with major sticker tear damage.

Cover Front: A superb front that graded close to Mint(-) with hardly anything to fault. Retaining deep colour with no fading and barely any rubbing. The same goes for creasing, most of any few present are fine spine edge hairlines. Even under light, hardly a surface blemish to be seen with no sticker issues or press marks. One micro mark on the right edge near the bottom – get out the magnifiers to see it. Overall, a classic early 70s cover and one that does it maximum justice.

Cover Back: Very similar to the front with just light a rim rub at the bottom, few ever avoid this as the very least. Any other traces are even lighter still. A ruthlessly wear-prone cover that takes no prisoners and many are rife with heavy penetrating ring wear, fading and grubbiness, this had largely avoided all of this and the general lack of creasing is also good news. Any surface blemishes on this back are very fine and faint and both sides will prove difficult to much better.

Cover Inner Gatefold: The inside spread is nigh-on perfect and looks terrific.

Top Edges: Both clean and straight, just a couple of very small surface chips and a tiny right on the front right corner tip.

Bottom Edges: Fairly light patchy rubbing, again straight. Few covers of this type will avoid a little rubbing on these traditional storage edges.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Both clean and sharp with hardly any wear at all. Any blemishes, thickening or burring tiny and faint as viewed critically end-on. Record enters on the back edge, the front is closed, both guaranteed untrimmed.

Spine and Text: Solid, quite straight with just a hint of tilt to right. This one folded squarely, so the edges meet up flush and very parallel. The orange surface has gently faded a little – a trait this cover seldom escapes – and no text was ever printed on the originals.

Corners: Most of any tip rubbing is light, barely any on the spine ends which is unusual. Very fine, or better shape is retained.

Cover Summary: With the main four faces and most edges in super shape, this is near exceptional example. Given all the facts, this has withstood the test-of-time very well and many, if not most collectors will enjoy this one.

The Inner Sleeve: EXCELLENT: a plain white unlined, solid format inner, only marked down for moderate age darkening. Barely any creasing at all and few marks, all edges are now unsplit, one tiny one on the bottom edge I neatly repaired to stop it potentially widening in future – you would hardly even know.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EXCELLENT(+): with any surface trace marks very fine and faint as seen critically under bright angled light. Very clean with fine shine, intense black and very solidly pressed. A title so often in very poor condition, even trashed, the majority bought initially by those of a certain type, rarely hi-fi buffs – you know what I mean, these were heavily used and so often abused by less than sensitive users and equipment. To see any early copy in this clean and little marked condition is a pleasure. This trip into the psych-acid world – still relatively new at this time – will seldom be heard a great deal better via vinyl than this and it should should 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 miniscule sound present on any record.]

Sound Quality and Audio Grading: This somewhat groundbreaking record plays even above it’s high visual grading with barely anything 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 psych sound and production. A lovely rawness the band desired and it works to perfection. Any surface sounds hardly even registered little, and this is an album with some quiet passages. The impossibly quiet beginning to side two with its bendy solo bass has very clean sound, often very noisy with inherent crackle and even distortion, this has amongst the cleaned I have heard it. This plays focused with lovely clarity and proved very enjoyable indeed - a gateway into that recording studio where this was recorded live. Nothing of any real note spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this now in-demand record – now regarded as a classic within it’s field and justifiably so. It should please many collectors needing this record and should not break the bank like a blue label copy is likely to these days.

End Piece: Who would have thought some 43 years after this album was first conceived, the Hawkwind band would still be performing with their legendary leader Dave Brock still at the flight controls? A very impressive copy with a lovely cover, record and sound. Remember, the blue pressing was only available for the briefest of time with only a tiny run ever made. Get this on to your deck and transport yourself away to those distant stars with the kings of speed. My highest recommendation is mandatory.

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 - 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 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 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 total accuracy for colours however but most will be very close. 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 Rondo Red moving coil cartridge (tracks at 2 grams). Amps: Naim Nait 5i with Project USB phono stage and Chord interconnects. Speakers: B&W 704 Floorstanding 3-way Monitors (bi-wired with Terrarium 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 and the cost of this lavish packing is NOT even charged for, I offer probably the best-value and safest shipping possible for ultimate confidence. The boxes and ultra thick double-wall stiffeners and bubble wrap 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 less than one in two thousand+ based on over 8,000+ items sold in over 10 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. Even one of these stiffeners cannot be bent by hand, so what chance 2 inside a box? Oneadayrecords is a MAILER-FREE ZONE. 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 FOUR days if no payment is received. I will then cancel the dispute to end the, 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 and they take the Ebay consequences (a strike or removal from the system). 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] = £8. (this includes insurance of £500). Add £2 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 £3 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’.