WITH THE BEATLES 1963 UK Parlophone yellow&black MONO P

	£		36
	$		48

THE BEATLES original 1963 UK 2nd pressing WIth The Beatles

Parlophone MONO PMC 1206

Matrix Numbers : Side 1  XEX 447 - 7N with 'TT' stamper at 3 o'clock   Side 2  XEX 448 - 7N with '2C' and 'GDR' stampers at 9 o'clock and 3 o'clock respectively

This is the much rarer 2nd pressing variant with the side two, track 3 missprint : the outer sleeve states this to be "YOU REALLY GOTTA HOLD ON ME" but on the label itself the track reads "YOU REALLY GOT A HOLD ON ME".

The Garrod & Lofthouse outer sleeve is in very good+ (some might say "excellent") condition with the black and white photo of the "fab four" on the front laminated cover having virtually the same haunting effect as the day the record was bought. There is the faintest hint of some ringwear towards the right hand side of the front, only really noticeable when held up to a bright light, and there is some relatively minor scuffing on the two left hand top and bottom corners, which I have tried to show in my accompanying photos. The edges, including the spine, are in truly excellent condition, being firm, rigid, devoid of creasing and no noticeable scuffing (though there is some very minimal fraying on the opening edge, more visible towards the bottom). Similarly, the reverse side is excellent with the only blemish to speak of being some very slight age discolouration. There are three laminate creases on the right hand ride flipback but overall the flipbacks themselves are in remarkable condition. There are no rips, tears, or unwanted writing. In summary there is no question that this must be one of the much, much better outer sleeves in circulation (remember that this is a 48 year old record!!) : it does have it's minor blemishes but they are exactly that : minor and nothing to diminish the overall stunning effect of this classic offering.

Both sides of the thick, heavy vinyl have retained most of their original sheen though there are some surface hairlines which are more visible when the vinyl is held against a bright light: the overall appearance is excellent. 

The quality of the audio is superb! Crackle is virtually non-existent : II'm scared to say that there is "no crackle" because there is always at least the very occasional low level audible crackle, even on a brand new record and, of course, the noise level is just as much dependent upon the equipment that the record is being played on as the condition of the record itself!. That said, I have just played the album all the way through and I could detect no crackle, skips, ticks, blips, etc...just wonderful, wonderful 1963 Beatles as if they were playing right in my living room!!

 The track listing is :

Side 1:

1. It Won't Be Long

2. All I've Got To Do

3. All My Loving

4. Don't Bother Me

5. Little Child

6. Till There Was You

7. Please Mister Postman

Side 2 :

1. Roll Over Beethoven

2. Hold Me Tight

3. You Really Gotta Hold On Me

4. I Wanna Be Your Man

5. Devil In Her Heart

6. Not A Second Time

7. Money

Each label is excellent - again, no unwanted writing of significant blemish apart from a few surface spindle trails just in evidence immediately adjacent to the spindle hole. The "K" and "T" tax codes are clearly visible and sit proud adjacnt to the centre hole on the side 1 label with the giveaway "Recording First Published" text on side 1 and the "Dominion, Belinda" publishing credit on side 2 authenticating this as a true UK 2nd pressing.

The original "Emitex" polythene lined inner sleeve is excellent and fully functional with barely any creasing nor age discolouration and certainly no splits or tears.

I have no hesitation in grading the overall condition of this item as excellent - the minor blemishes as mentioned above mean that it's not perfect, mint, or near mint, however, but at the same time I know that you would have to go a long way to find a better copy.

A bit about myself : I have been collecting UK vinyl for over 40 years and have a huge collection. A combination of space requirements and a need to help fund my retirement has prompted me to "rationalise" my collection and sell some of my much loved gems. 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 questions asked" refund policy. If you require any further information, including photos, then let me know and I'll do my best to oblige. There is NO RESERVE on this item, by the way. Richard

Descriptions of any records I sell comply with the Rare Record Price Guide grading guidelines :

Mint

Description: 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. Records advertised as Sealed or Unplayed should be Mint.

Fair

Description: 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 will be torn, stained and/or defaced.