PINK FLOYD Dark Side of the Moon UK 1973 Early Complete

	£		34
	$		44

Hi, I am Mike, now 50 – yes the big FIVE-O! 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 Ortophon 520 Mk II cartridge (tracks at 1.75 grams). Amps: Arcam 2 x 125W Pre-Power. 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: The Dark Side of the Moon.

Producer(s): Pink Floyd.

Engineer(s): Alan Parsons.

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Speak to Me; Breathe in the Air; On the Run; Time; The Great Gig in the Sky.

Side 2: Money; Us and Them; Any Colour You Like; Brain Damage; Eclipse.

Label/Format: Harvest – matt black with outline turquoise triangle. This has ‘The Gramophone Company Limited’ text. This is NOT the rare solid triangle first pressing. (Please see my label scan).

Label Conditions: Both almost as new with just a couple of ultra faint spindle traces, all evidence suggests an incredibly lightly played, early pressed copy.

Cat Number: SHVL 804.

Mode / Speed: Stereo / 33.3 rpm.

Weight of this Record: 135 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 & What’s Included: The album itself is common, and that’s simply being honest. This album has sold in excess of 15,0000,000 copies, by any standards a phenomenal number – hasten to add quickly, not all this vast number would have been on vinyl and this is worldwide figure, so not all UK copies either. The very first pressing with the solid blue triangle label is very scarce but this is NOT that version. This is still an early copy and much heavier pressed than even slightly later pressed examples. This includes the stickered cover which are more elusive and finding copies of this record hardly even played is also less common. A complete copy also, the cover has only one opening edge and has both crack-back stickers and two posters both unmounted and also the EMI inner. I do not offer this album often, so when I do, I only offer strong complete copies. These types are not so easily found with most being heavily played, missing or damaged inserts and badly rubbed, faded or ringworn covers. This cover is not pristine but still an attractive example and the elusie sticker is pristine. Overall a very nice copy that will please many collectors.

Original Year of Release: March 1973

Matrix Nos: SHVL 804 A 3 / SHVL 804 B-3

Stamper Codes: 1 RPP / 1 PM

Musicians: Dave Gilmour – Roger Waters – Roger Wright – Nick Mason. Guest Vocalists/Voices Barry St John, Dick Parry, Doris Troy, Claire Torry, Liza Stuke, Lesley Duncan.

Brief Artist & Album Info: Along with King Crimson’s masterful debut, this must rank as the greatest ‘Progressive Rock’ album ever issued. Okay its not the solid blue triangle original, but its still an early pressing and hardly played. Any interested collector will know all about this album I feel certain with little or no introductions needed. A monumental issue that sold in massive numbers worldwide, and even today, this legendary record is still used as a reference test for hi-fi systems. The sound and production is definitive and will make any worthy system really excel with incredible details and dynamics. I play a copy of this album on average 4 to 5 times a year from different sources and I never tire of hearing again. This album really did bring Pink Floyd even more to the public’s attention and sales of their past and future albums were assured thereafter. I would imagine the majority of rock vinyl collectors will have a copy of this one but those who do need a strong complete copy without splashing out vast amounts for the solid triangle first pressing, this should fit the bill. For any younger collector who want to discover what vinyl has to offer, this too would be a wonderful place to start. This has long remained, and will always will be, one of my personal favourite albums ever – a true landmark recording in the history of rock music.

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: EX, arguably better when most are found in pretty wretched conditions as explained above. This has fine colour depth but not an intense black. It has a pristine sticker on the front that I have shown in close-up. Few of these remain this sharp, clean and ‘unpicked’ all these years – some were removed and many covers have the marks and tears to prove it. The majority of examples never had them. This famous cover was an unlaminated gatefold format and this one only one opening (on the back). This example was printed and made in England by Garrod & Lofthouse Ltd.

Cover Front: Always nice to the one of the most famous covers in rock history with the original front sticker. I have stated and shown clearly this original, and fairly scarce, sticker condition – it truly is in superb condition, these also rub and age badly and a fair percentage would have been removed altogether, most never had them at all (please see this in close-up). The front itself has the a few light surface marks and faint rub trace but will prove hard to find significantly better with an early pressed record inside. This has pretty much avoided any creasing and looks good to the eye.

Cover Back: Very similar to the front in most all respects. A slight trace of a record pressmark – I feel no cover for this title will ever escape this and most all show it far more. Any traces of ringwear are minimal and probably almost as light as it ever gets. Again, I have seen this famous cover with full white rings that simply look plain ugly – I simply leave them well alone. A few ultra fine and faint edge hairline creases and faint surface mark, but this delicate and uncompromising back again sets a high standard.

Cover Inner Gatefold: Little to fault here and both faces will be difficult to find better.

Top & Bottom Edges: Hardly any traces of wear or rubbing at all.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean, sharp with little wear and no feathering. Record and contents are stored within the back edge as the front edge does not open. This one appears glued together and not folded around.

Spine and Text: A practically perfect spine: Solid, straight, uncompressed and square, both right edges meet up very closely together and dead parallel. No text was printed on this spine and all the artwork is pretty much unworn and looks fantastic. Its unusual to find this cover spine with such little wear or damage, this too will be hard to find better.

Corners: The odd tiny tip rub only and all retain fine shape and definition. I have closely checked all edges and corners and I can see no evidence of any touching-in or enhancements.

Cover Summary: A very solid excellent example of this famous cover. Perfect examples may exist but are very hard to find. With any blemising or wear so light on this uncompromising cover, I consider this a fine example, it should please many collectors.

The Inner Sleeve: Little short of Mint. An unlined EMI inner that has no wear, marks or damage. Always a fine indication the record has hardly made the trip out.

The Posters: Both practically mint, both unmounted and quite possibly hardly even unfolded until I checked and photographed them. A small, light corner crease to the band picture one but little else to fault with both being as fresh and clean as manufacture day.

The Stickers: EX++, a very mild surface crease lightly apparent but both clean and attractive – and importantly present, these are more elusive than the posters. These do crease very easily and often get caught in the cover fold which easily damages them. Quite often missing or ‘used’, both posters and stickers were often seen on teenagers walls back in the 1970s. This pair have the ‘Fastprint’ ‘Crack-Back’ patented backs, white with brown diagonal lines. The backing on these stickers do vary considerably.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EX++ with nothing more than a very few ultra faint surface marks, odd fine hairline. A very fine visual copy that is super clean, shiny, intense black and very solidly pressed with a more substantial pressing weight than many examples. This is as solidly pressed as the first-made. A copy with minimal plays on all the evidence. Visually a super record that 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 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: A very fine copy of this most complex of recordings. Absolute silence is probably almost unrealistic on a ‘standard’ copy. The heartbeat intro and outro are ultra difficult and most will have some minor (or not so minor) surface sound, clicks or crackle. This has a little mild but brief surface sound near the very beginning of side one but quite honestly most will have – thereafter, this record plays beautifully with little else unwanted. There is NO groovewear distortions and most plays very quietly indeed but just mild surface sound on the odd quiet segment is almost mandatory, sorry this is a vinyl record and around 35 years old, digital silence is not realistically possible. Many do suffer badly from surface sound and sometimes heavy crackle and only a small percentages of copies will play near ‘silent’ throughout – note the year of issue too – 1973 – the oil crisis year where many records were pressed on recycled or inferior lightweight vinyl. A record also highly intolerant of needle abuse or overplaying on heavy armed turntables, clearly this copy has avoided that. Just looking at the record’s complex groove patterns will tell any ‘vinyl-reader’ this is a phenomenal recording and those jagged grooves can and do easily damage if not treated with utmost respect. Hence any lightly played copy is essential and getting them is not quite so easy as you may think. When acquired, modern, lightweight and ultra-fine stylii cause little to no wear to records and quite honestly, its pretty difficult to even think about wearing out any record these days (unless played about ten times a day for a year). I am more than familiar with the sound of this album and know most all of the notes in my head already. Its a roller-coaster ride of mega-fi sound and pure musical genius. Blistering peaks of high and low frequency sound, technical perfection, excitement and sheer wonderful entertainment. An album that opened many eyes and ears and introduced many to the earlier Pink Floyd catalogue and progressive rock in general. It probably helped sales of better quality hi-fi systems too – and yes this got me hooked fast. This is a splendid looking record that I feel very sure will thrill many but ‘silence’ from a vinyl copy is a near impossible ask. If that is mandatory, well the CD version will give you that but only the vinyl still gives that definitive and sonic accuracy of the original. With the complete package on offer, it’s a fine all round example that should please most collectors and music lovers – if only silence is wanted however, do not bid, I cannot say fairer.

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’.