THE BEATLES White Album 1968 UK 1st Press MONO PMC 7067/68 TOP OPENING NO EMI

	£		780
	$		1,034

The BEATLES - THE WHITE ALBUM

A lovely condition, highly presentable, complete and extremely low numbered copy of this increasingly hard to find and sought after 1968 original UK very 1st press Beatles masterpiece, on the APPLE record label, MONO, PMC 7067/8

The dead wax matrix numbers are :

Side 1    XEX 709 - 1  with stampers "1" and "HR" at 5 o'clock and 11 o'clock respectively 

Side 2    XEX 710 - 1  with stampers "3" and "HH" at 5 o'clock and 11 o'clock respectively

Side 3    XEX 711 - 1  with stampers "3" and "TH" at 8 o'clock and 2 o'clock respectively 

Side 4    XEX 712 - 1  with stampers "6" (or could be a "G" - hard to distinguish) and "GGG" at 1 o'clock and 5 o'clock respectively

Such a rare and hard to come by (especially in condition as impressive as this) very, very early UK 1st pressing as identified by :

1. The earliest 1/1/1/1 matrix numbers AND the low mother stampers;

2. The exceedingly low number on the front side of the gatefold : 0008241;

3. The lack of the usual "An E.M.I. Recording" text on ANY of the four labels

In normal daylight the appearance of each of the vinyls is excellent (EX). Each vinyl is nice and weighty and completely flat, and each side of each vinyl has retained a nice jet black sheen and they really do gleam. Under a brighter light some surface only scuff marks and wispy hairlines do come into view on each side of each vinyl, but none are "feelable", none appear to be below the surface (and the excellent MONO audio quality testifies to), and all appear to be superficial. None of the wispy hairlines are more that 3cm though some are more noticeable than others but none are obvious in normal daylight. The same goes for the scuff marks - not many, very light, very small and definitely surface only but nonetheless causing some occasional, very light and very background crackle - nothing intrusive and certainly nothing to diminish the overall excellent audio quality.. Clearly each vinyl has had a reasonable number of plays but it's fair to say that they have been underplayed rather than overplayed. Taking all of this into consideration I would grade the overall appearance and condition of the vinyls as very good plus (VG+).

The labels are excellent (EX). Wonderfully impressive labels with all text, all colouring, and the iconic dark green (not lighter green as on subsequent non-first press releases) APPLE logo with black writing upon the smooth textured white background all remaining in perfect condition with some faint spindle trails on each label. Again, note the absence of any reference to "EMI" on any of the labels - an indicator of a very early UK 1st pressing.

The condition of the laminated outer gatefold sleeve is excellent (EX) . All edges remain firm with no scuffing at all (amazing!), each corner remains a near perfectly defined right angle with barely any rubbing at all, and the spine also remains firm with all text beautifully intact as is all of the spine laminate - no lifting, splitting or breaking of the spine laminate at all which is exceptional. All colouring, art work, and photos remain in great shape with vibrancy and clear definition, and there is no unwanted writing or doodles anywhere, and no cardboard creasing either. The top opening edges are firm with no fraying at all,  "The BEATLES" remains beautifully embossed upon the front cover, and the interior flip-backs remain in great shape. The only blemishes, which are each very minor, are a small area (about the size of my thumb nail) of laminate lift on the reverse side adjacent to the spine, three vertical brown lines immediately next to the spine again on the reverse side, just the hint of a small area of discolouration towards the bottom of the inside flipback adjacent to Ringo, and finally a very, very mild stain mark covering a small area either side of the spine and towards the bottom of the spine on both the outside and the inside of the gatefold (you will have to look very closely and in the right light to notice this). There are also x2 very, very light surface laminate creases on the reverse side adjacent and perpendicular to the bottom edge, and a single 3cm such laminate crease on the front side - these are very, very trivial and, again, you will have to look very closely even to notice them. The whole gatefold has a lovely glossy feel and sheen about it and comes across as a showpiece item - not quite perfect, but lovely condition overall and highly presentable. Note the extremely low number of 0008241 on the front side, making this a real rarity.

Finally, the quality of the audio is very good plus (VG+). There is great tone and clarity throughout even at higher volume and frequencies. There are no skips, jumps, repeats or obvious clicking, and just some occasional and very mild background crackle during some of the quieter moments...this background crackle is slightly more noticeable on side 3 (still a great listen, by the way) for some reason and I suspect that a proper clean would help eradicate it. You may also come across the very occasional odd light click (no rotational clicking at all) but I should stress that there is nothing nasty here, and nothing significantly intrusive to the overall great mono sound quality, the majority of which is truly excellent with every track still making for a great listen. As far as the sound quality is concerned both vinyls come into the "very good plus" category but sides 1 and 2 are slightly better than sides 3 and 4. What a true masterpiece this album was, and still is!

The tracks are :

Side 1 :

1. BACK IN THE U.S.S.R.

2. DEAR PRUDENCE

3. GLASS ONION

4. OB-LA-DI, OB-LA-DA

5. WILD HONEY PIE

6. THE CONTINUING STORY OF BUNGALOW BILL

7. WHILE MY GUITAR GENTLY WEEPS

8. HAPPINESS IS A WARM GUN

Side 2 :

1. MARTHA MY DEAR

2. I'M SO TIRED

3. BLACKBIRD

4. PIGGIES

5. ROCKY RACCOON

6. DON'T PASS ME BY

7. WHY DON'T WE DO IT IN THE ROAD

8. I WILL

9. JULIA

Side 3 :

1. BIRTHDAY

2. YER BLUES

3. MOTHER NATURE'S SON

4. EVERYBODY'S GOT SOMETHING TO HIDE EXCEPT ME AND MY MONKEY

5. SEXY SADIE

6. HELTER SKELTER

7. LONG LONG LONG

Side 2 :

1. REVOLUTION 1

2. HONEY PIE

3. SAVOY TRUFFLE

4. CRY BABY CRY

5. REVOLUTION 9

6. GOOD NIGHT

Comes with original lyric poster and x4 Beatle photos, the photos are in truly excellent plus condition and have clearly been little used...note that the coveted original space is also included!

The lyric poster is a solid very good plus with just some very minor wear and an extra horizontal fold in each of the quadrants caused by, at some stage, the folded poster being folded again : no seam splits, no unwanted writing or doodles, no blue tack or drawing pin holes in either the photos or the lyric poster though, which all adds to the value and rarity of this highly desirable 1st pressing. 

Comes with original die-cut black inner sleeves - one sleeve has a 1cm seam split on it's bottom edge and there is just some very minor fraying on one of the sleeves' top edges, but no rips or tears, barely any creasing, no discolouration - a solid excellent overall with each sleeve remaining fully functional. Note that I will post the vinyls each in a new plain white inner sleeve in order to protect the originals during shipping.

In summary a truly impressive condition and highly presentable copy of this fiercely sought after 1968 very first UK press Beatles classic, made all the more rare and desirable by it's extremely low number - a "must" for any serious Beatles vinyl collection and only continuing to gain in value.

 If you require any further information, including photos, then let me know and I'll do my best to oblige. 

If this record interests you then take a look at my other 60's & 70's classic vinyl listings.

A bit about myself : I have been collecting vinyl for more than 49 years and have amassed a huge collection covering a varied genre, but mostly of 1960's and 70's origin. Most of my records were originally bought by myself for my own collection, but during the past 30 years I have embellished my collection by buying records from a variety of sources : friends/acquaintances, car boot sales, auctions, and even through putting up a "vinyl wanted" notice in my wife's shop! I am now retired and take great delight in being able to spend more time scouring the country and attending boot sales and auctions in the hope of unearthing more vinyl gems...I am 64 years of age now and am still discovering bands and music of the 60's and 70's that I have never come across before. Wonderful! Richard

My ebay feedback speaks for itself so rest assured that you are buying from a trusted seller and in the very unlikely event that you are unhappy with your purchase just e-mail me and I'll sort out the problem. I offer a "no quibble" refund policy. 

On the subject of postage, I take great care in the packaging of all items, using a proper vinyl thick cardboard "crucifix" style mailer along with at least two thick cardboard stiffeners. I take great care in separating the record from the outer sleeve in order to help prevent sleeve damage in transit and I always insert the vinyl, outer sleeve and inner into a clear plastic sleeve, thus adding further protection. 

For this item postage & packaging will be UK £7.00, Royal Mail special delivery; continental Europe £12 and Rest of the World £16, Royal Mail 1st class international Airmail, tracked and signed for.

 I DO discount post & packaging costs for multiple purchases. I do NOT profit from postage.

Good luck with your bidding!

NOTE : My vinyl descriptions comply with the official Record Collector vinyl grading guidelines :

Mint

The records 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. Records advertised as Sealed or Unplayed should be Mint.

Excellent

The record shows some signs of having been played, but there is very little lessening in sound quality. The cover and packaging might have slight wear and /or creasing.

Very Good

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, is acceptable.

Good

The record has been played so much that the sound quality has noticeably deteriorated, perhaps with some distortion and mild scratches. The cover and contents suffer from folding, scuffing of edges, spine splits, discolouration, etc.

Fair

The record is still just playable but has not been cared for properly and displays considerable surface noise; it may even jump. The cover and contents are torn, stained and/or defaced

Poor

The record will not play properly due to scratches, bad surface noise, etc. The cover and contents are badly damaged or partly missing.

Bad

The record is unplayable or might even be broken, and is only of use as a collection-filler

Actually, having re-cleaned each vinyl and played both vinyls completely again, I feel that I may have been a little too conservative in my grading of the quality of the audio : sides 1, 2, and 4 are truly excellent with negligible background crackle; side 3 is a solid very good plus with just the hint of some very minor background crackle during a couple of the quieter moments/interludes. No repeats, sticks jumps or clicks...just really impressive MONO audio reproduction with every track a great listen. A brilliant copy of this UK 1st press low numbered rarity.