DAVID BOWIE, DIAMOND DOGS. 1ST PRESS. ORANGE RCA LABEL. EXCELLENT ALL ROUND

	£		20
	$		26

 DAVID BOWIE

DIAMOND DOGS

UK Orange Label RCA Victor
Main Man Productions

1974 First Press

This is a superb LP, bought by me on release and fully original, with no very few signs of vinyl wear and just some spindle-rub. I hardly remember playing it, thus it is in Excellent, pretty much marked condition and has that nice, early and heavy RCA Victor vinyl.

This is on the original Orange RCA Victor Label, with the Interpak by Shorewood,  gatefold sleeve, which is in superb, clean, crisp and umarked condition, with the original white, dye cut inner, which has one seam split, but all in all a totally original 1974 release and still in stunning condition, with little use or wear!

Matrices are:
 Side One ARL1-0576A-1-oby & A1AD 
Side Two ARL1-0576B-1-oby &A3

I have been approached and asked about the first gatefold sleeve, which was censored after a debacle re the Diamond Dog's genitals. Airbrushing was hastily added to the cover and any cover with the offending dog's boll**ks was destroyed, so very few, if any, reached the record shops. It is rumoured that there are between four to ten of these covers or sleeves in existance and if you have one, then you are looking at a collectors' sleeve, but the misconception is that the vinyl of the First Presses was changed, too, which is not the case, as the vinyl and the pressing was and still is, totally seperate, with sleeves brought in from printers. So, whilst this sleeve, like all the other First Press sleeves, has been 'toned down' it is still a First Press and a stunning vinyl record, with the Matrices to prove it!  

Grading is, obviously, subjective and all I can do is look and listen and try and be honest, all of which I am doing, so this would, I feel, be Excellent, having been played once or twice, then stored by me!

I have copied 'The Record Collector's Guide' below, for those of you unsure.
   
I will only sell and post in and to the UK.

Thanks.

MINT: 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.

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 will be torn, stained and / or defaced.

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

BAD: The record is unplayable or might even be broken, and is only of use as a collection filler."

As well as the above grades, Near Mint is often used as well; this is really for a record that appears new but is known to have been played because the label has light spindle marks or because it has come from a previous owner and is assumed to have been played by them. For records which appear to fall between the accepted grades, + and - are also often added to the grading.

In addition to the basic grading, any individual faults should be noted separately such as if an otherwise Excellent cover has a name written on it, or a 7" single is missing its original centre etc.