THE BEATLES, Long Tall Sally EP (1964 PARLOPHONE 1ST)

	£		20
	$		26

This is a massively collectable & rare 1964 first pressing of The Beatles EP ‘Long Tall Sally’ complete with picture sleeve. This was a classic rock ‘n’ roll Beatles EP that usually shows up in a heavily used condition having been regularly taken to swinging 60s parties & resulting in scuffed/damaged sleeves and records that can barely still play: this one on the other hand looks & sounds like it never left the one original owners possession! No way has this one been either heavily used or handled and it has been maintained to an extremely high ‘collectors’ standard so don’t miss out...

Year of original release: 1964

Year of this pressings release: 1964

Label: Parlophone (With all first pressing details: ‘Parlophone Co...’, ‘Recording First Published...’ & ‘Sold in UK...’ label text as well as the 60s KT Tax code across the side A spindle. The round push-out centre is intact)

Catalogue No: GEP 8913

Matrix No’s: 7TCE 822-1N / 7TCE 823-1N

Country of Manufacture: England

 Mode: Mono

RECORD CONDITION

Labels: NEAR MINT

Both of these labels are in perfect order; there is no writing on either side nor are there marks or any kind of defacement on either side. The round push out centre remains completely intact and the spindle area shows wear that is extremely minimal; I suspect that the record was used a little but the crucial detail is that the previous owner was very meticulous in his handling leaving us with two superb looking original labels.

Visual: EXCELLENT+

The playing surfaces have both maintained a brilliant clean appearance and gloss. There are no marks or scratches to be found so instantly the impression is that this is great quality vinyl. A closer inspection under strong light doesn’t reveal anything bad either; there are the smallest details here that show the record was used a little but they are literally just 4-5 of the lightest possible paper brush marks and a very light scuff on side 2 (read the play grade below for assurance that this is in no way a problem) but these are all completely non-sounding and there’s nothing here to affect the playing of the disc. This is an original Beatles EP that has been very carefully looked after for sure!

Play: EXCELLENT+

The run in grooves are close to silent; the only sound you hear before the music kicks in is the sound of the needle running through the grooves but there are no pops or clicks or any of the background hissing that you’ll hear on so many run-in grooves of used 1960’s 45s. The one scuff I mentioned above has no impression at all on the tracks; there was just one very faint pop between ‘Slow Down ‘ and ‘Matchbox’ which may be a result of it but essentially it is totally non-sounding and not worthy of any greater scrutiny that this brief text. Elsewhere there was nothing, a couple of isolated pops perhaps but nothing that impeded on the sound of the music. In fact I’ll stick my neck out and state that, as a long term fan, I’m literally so familiar with all permutations of every Beatle track that no issue with the audio would go by unnoticed. Throughout all four songs the sound really is clear, this is powerful mono audio that stands up to playing at a high volume (there’s absolutely no distortion) which, of course, is what the rock ‘n’ roll sound of the Beatles demands on well cared for original vinyl like this!

COVER CONDITION

Front laminate flip-back picture sleeve: EXCELLENT+

A brilliantly maintained original picture sleeve; it remains completely intact and only displays the tiniest clues to its 45 years of age. The front and the back both have no marks, writing, bad creases or any kind of faults. There is just one single laminate crease on the front and that’s not very long! All the edges are smooth, straight and completely un-scuffed. It literally is only on the non-laminate part of the rear where there is arguably a slight lessening in the bright white sheen and the darker non-laminated parts of the flip-over edges have also darkened a little giving a hint to the age of the sleeve. There is a faint circle just about visible on the rear which is very minor ring-wear from the edges of the records label. Basically it’s only these extremely minor points that have prevented this wonderful sleeve from getting the even higher grade it certainly deserves; this is great stuff!

ABOUT THE BEATLES - ‘LONG TALL SALLY EP’

‘Long Tall Sally’ is The Beatles fifth official EP, released on 19th June 1964 after recording sessions on 1st March & 1st June 1964 at Abbey Road. This EP was the first UK EP to feature all four tracks that had not previously been available on album or single.  ‘I Call Your Name’ was written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, a song they originally gave to Billy J. Kramer and his backing band the Dakotas. Kramer released it as the B-side to ‘Bad to Me’, a Lennon song that Kramer took to number 1. The remaining songs, ‘Long Tall Sally’, ‘Slow Down’ & ‘Matchbox’ were covers. The picture on the album cover is taken by the Swedish photographer Bosse Trenter in Stockholm on 25th October 1963.

POSTAGE & PACKING

UK:

Basic option – FREE / Recorded Delivery (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!) £3.50

EUROPE:

Basic airmail - £4.00 / Insured delivery £8.00

REST OF WORLD:

Basic airmail - £7.00 / Insured delivery £12.00

We will always ensure that our records will be well packed in a secure manner. We do everything we can to provide a safe delivery and ensure that your records arrive in the same condition that they left us in. We use professionally packed heavy-duty mailers. We are also happy to accommodate pick up in person.

CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

If you are unhappy with your purchase, for any reason, we are not going to get into a long dispute with you about the items merits. We offer a no nonsense money back promise including postage upon return of the item. Obviously we do ask that you raise any issues within 7 days of delivery. Just get in touch, we can work it out.

GRADING

‘Record Collector Magazine’ have for years promoted a grading system that has been accepted as the all round standard amongst dealers and collectors. We too use that system but just in case anyone’s not sure here’s my basic interpretation:

MINT: Only ever used if a record is totally un-played and therefore can be classed as brand new. Even if a record has only had one play it can no longer be Mint.

NEAR MINT: This grading applies to a record that has no visible faults and no lessening in sound quality. Other than perhaps a little dust and in some cases the lightest of totally non-sounding paper scuffs visible under strong light, vinyl graded Nr.Mint will be extremely well cared for. Sleeves graded Nr.Mint will have no damage and only the vaguest suggestion of any handling or use.

EXCELLENT: Records graded thus will essentially be in a very well cared for condition and play without any problems. Excellent records have been used but they will have been well looked after and the worst you can expect with the audio will be the odd light pop or click and perhaps a little bit of light background noise in a couple of places, but certainly nothing that will spoil your enjoyment of the music. Covers graded Excellent have no damage or defacement to the artwork , their evidence of handling will only be in minor details like a few faint creases, tiny edge scuffs or a small amount of writing or sticker residue but certainly no serious damage.

VERY GOOD: Records graded VG will be totally satisfactory to all but those looking for total perfection. They will be used but still fully playable and only show the kind of wear you would expect to find on a second hand record that has had a few plays. The odd light scratch may be evident as well as general spindle wear and paper scuffs but nothing to cause any overall problems with your enjoyment of the record. Basically, be realistic in what you’d expect a used record to look and sound like and you won’t have any disappointments with a record that is graded Very Good. Covers graded VG may show a bit of general wear or scuffing around the edges, there could be some light ring-wear, a few creases and perhaps a little bit of writing (1960’s record owners seemed to always write their name somewhere on the sleeve) but they will still be fully intact and certainly not abused in any way.

GOOD: Vinyl graded as Good should be approached with a little more caution, as most dealers will tell you in record collecting terms ‘good’ means ‘bad’! We try and keep our items above this standard, however Good does have some saving graces and is not the lowest grading vinyl can be given. A record graded thus will still be just about playable although it will clearly have been played a lot by previous owners. You can also expect light scratches and definitely some surface noise. Covers graded as Good will be just about holding it together although you will inevitable find plenty of creases, maybe a few rips and seam splits as well as possibly chunks missing, writing or stains and indeed any other kind of defacement that it’s possible to find on record sleeves without them being totally destroyed.

FAIR: Don’t bother bidding!

NB. There may be occasions when we add a + or a – to a grading. The reason for this is fairly self explanatory but essentially, if something is VG+ that means it is a seriously strong example of that particular grading and potentially worth a higher grade. Please also remember that there are variables within all of these gradings (for example, it is not impossible for a Nr.Mint sleeve to have a tiny bit of writing present) but we’ll always endeavour to mention any especially relevant points within the bulk of the main description text