The Beatles - With the Beatles. Genuine MONO 1st Pressing from 1963

	£		20
	$		27

THE BEATLES WITH THE BEATLES ALBUM - 1963

GENUINE ORIGINAL 1ST PRESSING FROM MY OWN PERSONAL COLLECTION 

Welcome to my auction of The Beatles “With the Beatles" Yellow / Black Mono LP Album which is just approaching its 50th anniversary. This is genuine original 1st pressing of this album which is very hard to find these days especially in the great condition this copy is in.

This fantastic album is a genuine original released on 22nd November 1963 (the same day as the assassination of President John F Kennedy) and is The Beatles second official album release.

Two weeks BEFORE release, "With The Beatles" had advance orders of 270,000, and before the first week of release was out, the half-a-million figure had been beaten and they were awarded a Silver disc for sales of 250,000 on 18th November 1963, 4 days prior to the album actually being released!!!

This album replaced "Please Please Me" at the No 1 slot in the charts and stayed there for 21 weeks giving The Beatles a continuous run of 51 weeks at the top of the charts.

In September 1965 this album became the first ever British album to sell 1,000,000 copies in the UK.

Parlophone:                            PMC 1206

Matrix Numbers:                   Side 1:    XEX 447 – 1N

                                              Side 2:   XEX 422 – 1N

Stamper Codes:                     Side 1:    4 - GL

                                                              Side 2:  5 – AM

Tax Code:                               KT

The album is housed in an Ernest J. Day & Co front laminated cover with the large “mono” in the top right corner' Later pressings had a smaller "mono" version.

The inner sleeve is the original polythene-lined “Use Emitex” die-cut sleeve.

The "All rights of the manufacturer" message around the edge of the label starts with "THE PARLOPHONE CO. LTD."

The label DOES have "Recording first published 1963", but NOT "Sold in the U.K..." statements.

Side 2:

Label incorrectly spells track 3 as "You Really Gotta Hold on Me" Later pressings have been changed to "You Really Got A Hold On Me".

Side 2:

The publishing credit for "Money" says "Jobete Mus."

Tracks: (14 in total)

Side 1:

It Won't Be Long / All I've Got To Do / All My Loving / Don't Bother Me / Little Child / Till There was You / Please Mister Postman

Side 2:

Roll Over Beethoven / Hold Me Tight / You Really Gotta Hold On Me / I Wanna Be Your Man / Devil In Her Heart / Not A Second Time / Money

CONDITION:

The Sleeve:

This rare Ernest J Day laminated sleeve still maintains its high gloss finish and shows the incorrect "You Really Gotta Hold On Me" for Track 3 on the back cover.

The very artful half-shadow black and white shot of The Beatles taken by fashion photographer Robert Freeman inside the Palace Court Hotel in Bournemouth is still as clear and bright as on the first day of issue. There is slight disc impression and some very minor creasing mainly to the bottom of the front sleeve. As you would expect after 50 years the 4 corners are scuffed but nothing major.

The back of the sleeve is amazingly clean and bright. There is some laminate lift and creasing to the bottom flip back and also a little damage to the top left corner (please see photographs). However for a cover of its age it is in great condition.

The spine is still strong and the text is bright, clear and fully legible. The laminate has suffered some minor "time" damage towards the bottom.

Overall this is a great cover and in my opinion grades as VG+.

Inner Sleeve:

White "Use Emitex" polythene-lined, die-cut inner sleeve is a great example with just creasing to the bottom corner due to storage in the outer sleeve. There are a couple of "age marks" at the top opening and a clean 1" split to the top left seam and a clean 2.5" split to the top right seam. A very nice clean, white bright inner sleeve which has survived the test of time well.

Labels:

These are the black and yellow labels and have the "All rights of the manufacturer" message around the edge of the label which starts with "THE PARLOPHONE CO. LTD."

They DO have "Recording first published 1963", but NOT "Sold in the U.K..." statements.

Side 1:

This is in fantastic condition. There are a couple of minor marks and some normal spindle wear but absolutely nothing major (please see photographs) It's bright, clean and strong and the text is still vibrant and clear. I would grade this as EXCELLENT.

Side 2:

Again excellent condition. It has the incorrect spelling of "You Really Gotta Hold on Me" for Track 3 (later pressings show " You Really Got A Hold On Me") and the Jobete Mus credit for Track 7 "Money". There are a couple of very minor blemishes and the expected spindle wear but a brilliant example for its age. It has the KT tax code embossed across the centre either side of the spindle hole. Again I would grade this as EXCELLENT.

The Vinyl:

The early versions of this great album were manufactured on the very thick vinyl that is renowned for its fantastic audio.

I have play checked this album from start to finish and was blown away by the quality of it.

The tracks are obviously iconic for that era (my era!!) and the audio is awesome. Listening to this and singing along with it was a real trip back in time and reminded me of all the pubs, clubs and dancehalls I used to frequent in my younger days!! Wherever did they go?

Please be aware that I do not have “state of the art” all singing all dancing equipment just a bog standard turntable. So can only judge the quality of sound as produced by my specific turntable. Nor do I have halogen lamps so can only give a naked eye guide.

Side 1:

Visual:

The vinyl has retained its original gloss shine and I picked up on only a couple of harmless wispy hairlines that are hardly noticeable and do not impact on the play back whatsoever.

Audio:

Very minor short lived crackle in the run up to the first track. This is one of my loves of vinyls. The moment you lower the stylus the record springs to life. Amazing!! No clicks, pops, jumps or anything else that could be intrusive. This is as Near Mint as you are likely to find.

Side 2:

Visual:

Again this has retained its original gloss finish and looks brilliant. I picked up on maybe 3 or 4 harmless wispy hairlines and a tiny, tiny mark on Track 5. None of these are feelable and certainly do not interfere with the audio quality.

Audio:

Again a little crackle in the run up to Track 1 but other than that stunning condition. No clicks, pops, crackles, jumps or anything else that could be intrusive. Awesome!! Again as Near Mint as you are likely to find.

I have described this album as honestly as I can and have included photographs which I would ask you to view before bidding.

Should you have any queries or questions please contact me.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND HAPPY BIDDING.

POSTAGE & PACKING

I apologise for the high cost of P&P but unfortunately with effect from 28th October 2013 Royal Mail changed some of their policies and this has had an impact of my P&P costs. To ensure that you receive your purchase I will always despatch as "Signed For" deliveries as this protects both the buyer and the seller. Please see below:

PACKAGING

I feel that the records I sell should be carefully and securely packaged to ensure that they arrive in the same conditon as they were posted. The Vinyl will be removed from both the outer and inner sleeves and placed into a new plain white inner sleeve for posting. The outer sleeve, original inner sleeve and the vinyl record will be protected with rigid cardboard stiffeners and placed into a rigid cardboard mailer which will be sealed and securely taped with "FRAGILE" parcel tape.

P&P CHARGES

I need to cover the cost of postage and packing materials, but I try not to charge more for packing and posting your item than it actually costs me.

The majority of single LPs, when packed, will weigh around 550 grams and I have based my P&P rates on this.

UK First Class  - items valued below £50 are sent using first class signed for post. The cost for this is will be £4.60

UK Special Delivery - Any order valued over £50 will be sent fully insured using Royal Mail Special Delivery and the total cost of this will be £8.75.

Airmail (with tracking and insurance) OUTSIDE the UK

Overseas orders will ONLY be sent Internationally Signed For and fully insured. 

Basic insurance (for items valued up to £50) is included in the costs below.

Europe (Items valued up to £50)                     =    £12.00

Rest of the world (Items valued up to £50)    =    £16.00

Overseas orders valued between £50 and £500 will be insured for an additional £2.60

For overseas orders valued over £500, please contact me.

Customs declaration for overseas orders: Please note that for overseas orders outside the EU I need to complete a customs declaration form and must enter the value of the package on the declaration.