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Pet Shop Boys : Actually A/B 1st Press 1987 Translucent Blue Vinyl Limited Edition (Hong Kong 1987)

This rare limited edition album plays to a superb standard with only a little interference on two of the tracks on S2.  Yes it is intrusive but the good news is that it does not last long and it's not on any of the classic tracks!  The rest of the album is incredible!  To name but a few - 'What Have I Done To Deserve This?', 'Rent', 'It Couldn't Happen Here', 'It's A Sin' and 'King's Cross' all play with a clarity, depth and power of the audio that is 'as new' I can pay it no higher compliment, the sonic quality is stunning and all of S1 plays to perfection.

This album is pressed on vivid blue translucent vinyl and has been part of my collection since its release in 1987.  I was living in Singapore at the time and purchased it there.  On Discogs it does say it's a Hong Kong release so I presume it was imported into Singapore.  On the back of the cover it does actually say EMI (Hong Kong / Malaysia / Singapore) but I presume it was pressed in Hong Kong.

The cover itself is in excellent condition with only minor wear and the original insert I have also looked after very well!

PCSD 104 // A/B

The audio on S1 is Mint(-)

The audio on S2 is Mint(-) (T3 mid section & final note G+ / T4 intro & first vocal VG-)

The cover is Ex

The insert is Ex+

The labels are Near Mint / Ex+

Visual description

The vinyl is in excellent condition and still has that translucent vivid blue visual 'look'.  S1 is super clean with only a couple of faint hairlines although S2 does have a very small scratch on track 3 and a hairline scuff type mark on the final two tracks, less so on the last one.  Aside from that this side is in great shape with no other markings/hairlines.  Only the S2 label has a minor mark and there is only very minimal spindle wear.

Play grading

S1 begins with 'One More Chance' and the audio is 'as new' with no intrusion at all.  A common sentence of mine - not even a single dust tick!  From the long intro through every vocal and instrumental section the clarity is STUNNING, it just could not play any better.  It is Mint from the first note to the last including the fade out which again has literally no 'background'.

With complete silence in the dead wax the intro 'What Have I Done To Deserve This?' is faultless and the same applies to Tennant's first vocal.  Of course Dusty Springfield's vocals add so much to this classic 80s track and they are crystal clear here with no interference.  It continues to play with sublime quality and I only detected a handful of very quiet ticks at the halfway point - and by very quiet I mean barely audible!  Even 'ticks' is perhaps too harsh a word!  A touch of very light static on the fade out but Mint- is easily deserved here.

'Shopping' plays with impeccable quality throughout without any 'background'.  As clean as it was back in '87 Mint is again an easy decision.

The superb 'Rent' has 3/4 mega light dust ticks on the intro and it then plays with incredible clarity from then onwards.  A small number of barely audible dust ticks towards the end but obviously they are totally non-intrusive and hardly need a mention really!  Another Mint- track the playback is stunning throughout.

'Hit Music' ends the side with perfect audio from start to finish.  It is Mint no more needs to be said :-)

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The quiet intro on 'It Couldn't Happen Here' again shows just how clean the grooves are and is 'as new'.  The opening vocal is just as good and the first chorus is breath-taking!  There is such depth to the music and it progresses in exactly the same way.  The orchestral sections are just stunning - every note is just so sharp and precise and I have no hesitation in grading this as Mint it truly is the definitive version.

Another classic with 'It's A Sin' and again there are no issues to report.  The clarity and power of the audio is out of this world (!) and this is exactly why we listen to vinyl!  You don't get this definition and warmth via any other medium and this is just Mint from the first note to the last including the thunderbolt!  Wow what a version!

The vast majority of 'I Want To Wake Up' plays with great quality but there is a click once per revolution for 20 seconds just after the halfway mark due to the very small scratch as stated earlier.  Yes it is somewhat 'buried' in the music due to the volume but you can hear it.  The rest of the track plays with superb audio apart from 7 clicks on the final note.  So the majority is Mint but there are two sections that can only grade as G+

The intro on 'Heart' has a few clicks but the music still plays very clearly.  The opening vocal has some light ticks/clicks but they are quieter and are really not that intrusive.  From then on normal service is resumed!  The clarity is flawless so I will grade the intro and first vocal as VG- and the remainder as Mint

'King's Cross' ends the album with superb audio I am pleased to say.  There is no 'background' and the sonic quality can again be described 'as new'.  A stunning Mint finale.

In summary this rare limited edition LP plays with superb 'as new 'audio for the vast majority and it is only those two tracks on S2 that have some interference and even then it does not last long.  As stated this was only issued in limited numbers and whilst not perfect I am sure the winning bidder will not be disappointed as my 'complete' grading explains in full the stunning positives and the negatives of the album.  Like I say only 2/3% of the album is affected by interference , the rest - it has the wow factor!

The Cover & Insert

The cover is in excellent condition with only minimal wear.  The edges have no rubbing and only a very small section in the centre of the spine had lifted slightly but this had not resulted in a split.  I have just done a small glue repair and it does look better so really is not that noticeable now.  Both the front and back cover are very clean without any marking and there is just one small corner crease bottom right which is even smaller on the reverse side.  The opening edge has no handling wear at all.  A fine example overall.

The LP sized picture insert is in great shape with only minor creasing.

Play tested on my Rega P2 Turntable / Denon PMA-520AE Amp / B&W 684 Speakers

This record has been cleaned on a Pro-Ject VC-S machine

PCSD 104 // A/B

I grade according to "Record Collector" guidelines.

Any questions please feel free to ask

Please pay within 4 days of auction end

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