Pink Floyd ?– The Dark Side Of The Moon

March 1973 - UK First Issue
1973 first UK issue, with A2 B2 run-out matrices, and Solid Blue Triangle labels.
Midnight Blue gatefold sleeve is in VG condition, no splits, tears or writing - see the pics

Comes with One poster (of the band) with the UK catalog number on the bottom right.  Excellent condition.

The vinyl record Side 1 is in Very Good condition, but on the lower half of the grade.
The audio is VG - Side one plays with some crackle and pops in the heartbeat intro, then plays well until the very start of "Time" "Time" has a non-feelable scratch across it, and plays with a low to moderate singular, but persistent tic. 
It starts when the clocks are ticking, then is completely buried when the alarms are all going off, then it returns as the alarms subside, and remains fairly persistent until the drum solo part ends.
The singing part plays very well, but a couple of buried singular tics can just be heard in this part, though not many, and it is starting to fade away. 
By the time the guitar solo starts, it is playing clean, and plays well for the rest of the record, with some pops toward the end of "Great Gig In The Sky - Side 1 does have some audio imperfections, but the imperfections are surrounded by clean clear audio - Side 1 is still very listenable all the way through, and outside of the surface tics and pops, the audio is still high quality, and dynamic. None of the imperfections are loud or ugly, but I would say that it is more the persistence of the singular tic in the first half of "Time" that is a mild annoyance, but the song is still worthy, and enjoyable (the guitar solo is superb)
Side 2 is far better, and plays with just a small handful of very light imperfections, and just like side 1, the actual audio quality is superb. This side is visually VG+ and the audio is a high VG+, but not quite excellent.
The overall grade for the vinyl, both audio and visual, is VG.
The labels
Are in Excellent condition, no writing, clean, with an unworn spindle hole, and the spindle hole is punched dead centre of the triangle, which is quite rare, as they are most often punched slightly off centre.... I often wonder why they bothered with the black spot marking the centre of the label, because they rarely ever hit it!

The vinyl record is VG
The labels are VG+
The gate-fold cover is VG
The poster is Excellent.
The inner sleeve is not original, it does not have the patent numbers.

This is still a decent playing record, but side 1 is far from perfect audio wise, but it is still a worthy listen. It looks brilliant in your hand, with good shine, and lovely labels The gatefold sleeve is solid, with no splits, tears or writing, just suffers from some surface and edge wear to the ink.

Label: Harvest ?– SHVL 804, Harvest ?– 1E 064 o 05249 Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Gatefold Sleeve
Country: UK Released: 24 Mar 1973 Genre: Rock Style: Prog Rock, Psychedelic Rock

Tracklist Hide Credits

A1 Speak To Me
A2 Breathe
A3 On The Run
A4 Time
A5 The Great Gig In The Sky Vocals – Clare Torry
B1 Money Saxophone – Dick Parry
B2 Us And Them Saxophone – Dick Parry
B3 Any Colour You Like
B4 Brain Damage
B5 Eclipse

Companies, etc.

• Record Company – The Gramophone Co. Ltd.
• Recorded At – Abbey Road Studios
• Phonographic Copyright (p) – The Gramophone Co. Ltd.
• Published By – World Copyrights Ltd.
• Pressed By – The Gramophone Co. Ltd.
• Pressed By – EMI Records Ltd.
• Printed By – Garrod & Lofthouse Ltd.
• Made By – Garrod & Lofthouse Ltd.

Credits

• Artwork [Sleeve Art, Stickers Art] – George Hardie N.T.A.*
• Backing Vocals – Barry St. John, Doris Troy, Lesley Duncan, Liza Strike
• Bass, Vocals, Synthesizer [VCS3], Effects [Tape] – Roger Waters
• Design [Sleeve], Photography By – Hipgnosis (2)
• Engineer – Alan Parsons
• Engineer [Assistant] – Peter James
• Keyboards, Vocals, Synthesizer [VCS3] – Richard Wright
• Lyrics By – Roger Waters
• Music By – Pink Floyd
• Percussion, Effects [Tape] – Nick Mason
• Producer – Pink Floyd
• Supervised By [Mixing] – Chris Thomas
• Vocals, Guitar, Synthesizer [Vcs3] – David Gilmour
• Written-By – Gilmour* (tracks: A2 to A4, B3), Mason* (tracks: A1, A4, B3), Wright* (tracks: A2, A4, A5, B2, B3), Waters* (tracks: A2 to A4, B1, B2, B4, B5)

Notes

Recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London between June 1972 and January 1973.

? 1973 The Gramophone Co. Ltd.
Made in Gt. Britain

E.M.I Records (The Gramophone Co. Ltd.) Hayes · Middlesex · England
File under POPULAR : Pop Groups
_______________

This is the original form of the release, it has solid light blue prism LP picture labels with silver lettering, later forms have an empty prism. It has a gatefold sleeve, and there are several known variations - see below. Originally delivered with 2 posters and 2 stickers.

There are 2 systems for track numbering on the release. The cover lists the titles A1 to B5 (used in this submission). The labels however number the tracks from (a) to (i) so, for example, "Breathe" is listed as "(a)(II)" on the label but "2" on the cover (see images).

The following is a guide to identifying the elements that make up the first pressing, but for a more comprehensive guide it is best to refer to the Pink Floyd Archives website

Huge numbers were pressed to meet advance orders and there are 88 documented run out variations. There are several variations of sleeves, posters and stickers, and as these were produced by different companies and delivered to the pressing plant at different times there are several combinations.

1. The label has a solid light blue prism.
2. 'The Gramophone Co.' text starts at 10 o'clock on label.
3. A-2/B-2 matrix stamps appear in the runout area.
4. There are 2 ink variations used for printing sleeve Midnight blue and black .
5. There are 3 sleeve opening variations. 1. The right front opening of the gatefold cover is sealed with the two sides glued together. 2. The right front opening of the gatefold cover is sealed with a fold over flap that is glued inside the opening. 3. The right front opening of the gatefold cover is not sealed.
6. Inner sleeve is a distinctive polythene lined die cut black semi matt paper with white printed text stating 2 patent numbers bottom left [1125555/1072844] and 'MADE IN GREAT BRITAIN' bottom right.
7. Posters and stickers were printed on either matte or gloss paper
8. Stickers may have printed backs with diagonal lines across them, and the words 'Fasson' 'FasPrint' and 'Crack-Back', or plain white backs with the word "Permanaent"
9. Some copies came with a small round sticker on the front cover stating "Pink Floyd The Dark Side of the Moon" (confirmed for stampers GL/MO). Early cover stickers are a lighter, faded grey-purple/blueish colour and measure ~67mm diameter, later cover stickers are a darker black and measure ~62mm diameter.
10. Some early copies have a manufacturing defect on the track Money, where the song skips. This only appears to affect some records made with A2/B2 stampers

This first edition was initially pressed by The Gramophone Co. Ltd., from July 1st, 1973 by its legal successor, EMI Records Ltd. at the same plant.
International E.M.I. catalog number 1E 064 o 05249 appears in small fonts and parentheses on the cover rear.

Note on Credits:
Though credited for the entire album, Barry St John, Doris Troy, Lesley Duncan, and Liza Strike perform backing vocals only on tracks A4, B2, B4, and B5.

Barcode and Other Identifiers

• Matrix / Runout (Side A label): (SHVL 804A)
• Matrix / Runout (Side B label): (SHVL 804B)
• Other (Printer date/format code, gatefold inner): ? 7303 TPS
• Other (Patent No.s on inner sleeve): 1125555 1072844
• Matrix / Runout (Side A runout, stamped, variant 1): SHVL 804 A-2  1 GH (1st Master 1st Mother 17th Stamper)
  
• Matrix / Runout (Side B runout, stamped, variant 1): SHVL 804 B-2  3 TO  (1st Master 3rd Mother 95th Stamper)

A few words about condition.

Grade & 
score out of 100
                                           GRADING
Mint is a Rigid Band - The next Four Grades are all Narrow Bands, that slightly widen as the condition gradually deteriorates - Good is still Good, but there is a rapid widening of the Grade Bands, as the condition deteriorates over the last Four grades.

MINT
100
The record itself is in brand new condition with no surface marks or deterioration in sound quality.
The cover and any extra items such as the lyric sheet, booklet or poster are in perfect condition.
Only graded on records that are sealed or clearly unplayed.
 
NEAR MINT
97 to 99        

EXCELLENT
90 to 96
The record shows virtually no signs of having been played,  there is no lessening in sound quality.
The cover and  packaging might have the slightest of tiny defects.
 
The record shows some slight signs of having been played, but there is very little, (if any) lessening in sound quality.
The cover and  packaging might have very slight wear. 
 
VERY GOOD PLUS
80 to 89

VERY GOOD
69 to 79
The record shows signs of having been played, but there is very little lessening in sound quality.
The cover and  packaging might have slight wear, light creasing.

The record has obviously been played many times, but displays no major deterioration in sound quality, despite noticeable surface marks and the occasional light scratch.
Normal wear and tear on the cover or extra items, without any major defects.
This is an above average used record, that has been well looked after.




GOOD
56 to 68
The record has been played so much that the sound quality has deteriorated, but the record will still play through, and it will not be a completely unpleasant listening experience, even at the bottom of this grade (56).
The cover and contents may suffer from folding, scuffing of edges, spine splits, discolouration, etc. 




FAIR
41 to 55
The record is still playable but has not been cared for properly and displays considerable surface noise; it may even stick, skip or jump.. This is starting to be an unpleasant listening experience at the top of the grade (55) and will not be a pleasant listening experience at all by the end of it (41).
The cover and contents will be torn, stained and/or defaced. 
 
POOR
25 to 40
The record will not play properly due to scratches, bad surface noise, etc.
The cover and contents will be badly damaged or partly missing. 
 
BAD
0 - 24
The record is unplayable or might even be broken, and is only of use as a collection-filler.
The Sleeve is non existent (0) or what is left, is only just recognisable.

A few words about postage.

Within Australia, the best value for multiple purchases is a 5KG satchel, where as many as 15 to 20 LPs can be posted for $22.00 registered post. (well packed in a box, inside the satchel)

My Policies on postage are simple.

I post at cost.
The user pays.
I package well.

Any item that you purchase without choosing the option of "Signed for" or "Registered" Post, is at your risk.
I do accept that "signed for" can be expensive, especially internationally, but whether you take the option of this insurance, is entirely up to you.
I do not wish to withdraw the option of standard postage for the cheaper records, but it must be at your risk.