The Beatles : Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band 1st Stereo Press (Complete)

This classic very early first stereo pressing plays to a fantastic standard with only one second of interference!  The clarity and sonic quality is outstanding and the gatefold is also in beautiful condition.  It has the wide spine which is only seen on the very early pressings and the cover is without doubt one of the best I have ever seen.  It is so 'clean' and has no obvious handling wear - the spine is superb!

It comes complete with a perfect 'cut out' insert and the red flame 'fool' inner is also in superb shape with no side splits - how rare is that?!

Just to prove its 'early' credentials it has just the one single H stamper on S1 and GA on S2 which is still very early of course.

A beautiful example of this first pressing!

PCS 7027 // YEX 637 - 1 / YEX 638 - 1 // H 1 / GA 1

The audio on S1 is Mint- (Tracks 6 & 7 Near Mint)

The audio on S2 is Mint- (T6 Ex+)

The gatefold is Near Mint

The labels are Mint-

The red 'Fool' inner is Near Mint

The cut out insert is Mint

Visual grading

  The vinyl is in lovely condition and there are no scratches to be seen.  It still has an impressive glossy sheen and you can tell it has always been very carefully handled and only lightly played.  There is very little spindle wear and whilst there are some faint hairlines they have no affect on the stunning audio.  The run out grooves and labels are also in fantastic condition and the KT tax stamp is on the S1 label.

Play grading

'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band' plays with stunning clarity right from the very first groove.  There is no 'background' on the 'audience' intro and the opening refrains of the track have no distortion at all.  Every note plays so clearly and for once there is no static.  The entire track plays with great power and clarity and provides a fantastic Mint- start to this classic album.

What follows is quite simply the most stunning version of 'With A Little Help From My Friends' that I have heard in many a year.  To think this is such an early first stereo pressing!  The clarity is outstanding and I don't have the words to describe just how perfectly this plays!  There is literally no interference and from start to finish it plays with wonderful precision.  This undoubtedly qualifies as Mint- it could not play any better.

The intro on 'Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds' also plays with impeccable clarity and...continues to do so.  There is no distortion on the top end and again I am blown away by the quality of the audio.  The long fade out provides a fine example of the clarity on offer - only a couple of mega light dust ticks.  Mint- again :-)

'Getting Better' maintains this superb start to the side with no interference.  No clicks or pops, no static or crackle just pure Mint- audio all the way through.  Plus another immaculate fade out.  As my regular customers know I grade honestly as my feedback testifies so when I say Mint- in no way is it an exaggeration!

'Fixing A Hole' again shows this vinyl has only been lightly played and so well preserved down the years.  The clarity and depth of the audio is so strong and...there is no interference to be heard.  You know the grade by now!

The intro on 'She's Leaving Home' is just FANTASTIC!  From the harp to the first vocal the audio is sublime.  This track is so often affected by static distortion on both the mono and stereo versions but this is a super 'clean' version with very little.  I'm sure this is the way it was recorded/produced.  There is a minimal amount but it is so minor as to be inconsequential.  There are no ticks, clicks or pops and the playback is so impressive.  I will grade this as Near Mint.

'Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite' ends the side with 'high end' audio once more.  The depth and warmth of the audio is superb and rarely there is no obvious inner groove distortion.  The 'wurlitzer' circus sections 'play' with immense quality and the clarity could hardly be any better from beginning to end.  However, I will grade as Near Mint again just to be on the safe side although be doing myself a disservice here!

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With no static on the run in 'Within You Without You' then plays as a barely played vinyl should with incredible sonic quality.  In all honesty you won't find better - this first pressing is 53 this year but it is 'as new' with not one iota of interference and no background static either.  This is a beautiful Mint version I can confidently say.

'When I'm Sixty-Four' is of the same wonderful standard and plays without fault.  There are only a handful of barely audible dust ticks but to all intents and purposes this is Mint from start to finish.

I'm running out of superlatives now but 'Lovely Rita' also plays with impeccable quality and, you guessed it, no interference!  The clarity and depth is again phenomenal and defies its age.  Mint again.

Rarely the 'cockerel' has barely any of the static distortion that you so often find on the 'Good Morning, Good Morning' intro and it then plays with great quality and no clicks or pops etc.  If there is any distortion on the top end it is so minimal and totally non-intrusive.  The 'farmyard' end section is 'as new'!  Overall a Mint- grade is fair.

The segue into the 'Sgt. Pepper's' reprise is perfect and then the sonic quality on this track is out of this world!  Such depth and power it could not play any better.  You can turn it up to loud without fear of any distortion and the bass on the intro is so strong.  You can hear each note so clearly - there is no 'muddiness' to the sound whatsoever.  Mint is well deserved here.

The acoustic intro on the classic 'A Day In The Life' has no 'background' and the verses play with superb clarity with not a single dust tick!  The first 'crescendo' section is nigh on perfect but is immediately followed by a pop which is the first audible interference on the entire album!  It is caused by the smallest 'speck' that you could imagine and not by a scratch so could perhaps be removed although I had no such luck.  The next verse has no 'background' and neither does the following orchestral section which plays with very impressive power.  There is a minimal amount of inner groove distortion on the final vocal section but the power and clarity on the final orchestral 'crescendo' is absolutely stunning!  The extended piano note has only a couple of gentle ticks and clicks right at the end but by then you've lifted the needle anyway!  Overall this is a fine version of this track and only that one frustrating pop stops it from being Near Mint so I would say Ex+ is a fair reflection of the audio here but with the majority being better than that.  By the way the 'nonsense' track at the end of the run out grooves plays perfectly :-)

In summary this very collectable first stereo pressing plays to a wonderful standard with only that one minor aberration near the end.  The clarity and definition of the audio otherwise is so impressive and it is so obvious that it has only ever been lightly played.  The wide spine cover is also very collectable and you will not find a better example than this!  It is so clean and has hardly ever been handled.  The same goes for the 'cut out' and 'fool' inner which are also in sublime condition.  A stunning 'package' overall which will impress any avid fan.  Sadly I can't start this at my usual £9.99 but I am always open to reasonable offers!

The 'Wide Spine' Gatefold

This laminated G & L cover is without question one of the most stunning I have ever seen!  It is in beautiful condition and as stated it is one of the earliest with the wide spine.  It has hardly been handled and none of the edges have any rubbing and just look at the spine!  It is so clean and strong with no wear not even on the corners!  The right hand corners are also in fantastic shape with next to no wear and the opening edges have no obvious handling wear either.  The front cover is nigh on perfect with strong radiant colours, no marking and only a couple of very small faint laminate creases.  There is just one very small area of laminate lift next to the bottom edge but you can only see this when held at a certain angle.  The back cover is absolutely stunning with no wear at all!  As for the inside well you can immediately see that it has never been fully opened as you get that 'crackly' sound when you try to do so!  You can see some minor laminate creasing on the inner spine but there are no splits.  No splits because like I say it has never been fully opened!  The colour throughout is so strong and clean and I repeat this is a STUNNING example of this iconic cover!

The Labels

The yellow/black Parlophone labels are in beautiful condition with very little spindle wear and they have lost none of their original colour.  With no marking or writing they are practically 'as new'.  The KT tax stamp can be clearly seen on the S2 label.

The Red 'Fool' Inner Sleeve & Cut Out Insert

The red 'flame' inner is also one of the finest I have ever seen and has no side splits or tears.  How rare is that?!  It is so clean with no marking and only very minimal creasing.  The original 'cut out' is 'as new' with no marking or creasing.

Play tested on my Pro-Ject Essential III Turntable / B&W 684 Speakers

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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