FOTHERINGAY Very Rare Orig UK 70 Pink Island 1st Press

	£		90
	$		119

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Artist or Band: FOTHERINGAY

Album Title: Fotheringay.

Producer(s): Joe Boyd.

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Nothing More; The Sea; The Ballad of Ned Kelly; Winter Winds; Peace in the End.

Side 2: The Way I Feel; The Pond and the Stream; Too Much of Nothing; Banks of the Nile.

Cat Number: ILPS 9125.

Label / Format: Island – original deep pink format (please see my label scans).

Label Conditions: Both very clean, fresh and attractive with only a tiny few light spindle marks that show little. Under light, a few dulled areas which appear to me to be light adhesive smears, almost certainly within manufacture. With nigh-on total transparency, these barely even show with normal viewing.

Cat Number: ILPS 9125.

Mode / Speed: Stereo / 33.3 rpm.

Weight of this Record: 143 grams. A very impressive weight for this one, somewhat above average.

Country of Manufacture: England

Rarity: Scarce: and getting hard to find with the record offering top sound. The cover immensely difficult to find devoid of major wear, ringwear, rubbing and sticker marks being the usual culprits. The matrixes below are recognised as a first pressing and this cover version has the much wider, thick spine (which includes full text as seen in close-up). With the original date-coded inner sleeve included that has the exact issue month included of 0670, this ultimate first issued copy will be the rarest seen other than a test pressing.

Original Year of Release: 1970

Matrix Nos: ILPS 9125 A // 2 1 1 & ILPS 9125 B // 2 1 1 4.

Brief Artist & Album Info: After Fairport Convention’s 1969 classic ‘Leige and Leif’, Sandy Denny left the band and formed Fotheringay. Just the one album was issued at this time when they were still together, a self-titled folk-rock classic, and it features Sandy on vocals, piano and guitar; Trevor Lucas, ex-Eclection, on vocals, guitar; Jerry Donahue on lead guitar, backing vocals; Gerry Conway on drums and backing vocals and Pat Donaldson on bass and backing vocals. This is a wonderful one-off gem (until the belated issue of the second many years later) and is a highly prized album on the Pink Island label. Why this album failed to sell well is something of a mystery especially given the popularity of Sandy at this time. The band split and she persued a solo career before rejoining the Fairports in 1974. Featuring stunning artwork and a gatefold design, this cover is as nice to own as the record itself. Neither record or cover are easy find in top conditions: the cover suffers all forms of wear and the record often is less than well pressed and does not tolerate over-use on heavy tracking older equipment of the times. It’s a delicate album and often has surface sounds and crackle on the very quiet moments. Distortion to the more intense vocal parts are common when played on less than worthy equipment. This has none at all and this offers supremely clean sound with no distortions or vocal stressing. Sandy’s wonderful voice makes this lovely album a real joy, proving yet again to me her status as one of the finest female vocalists the UK ever had - her tragic loss, even now, is hard to take. Fotheringay rightly deserves its place in any quality folk or rock collection and this very early pressing is getting quite hard to find.

Cover’s Potential for Wear: Extremely high: the format below will make it more than obvious how difficult these are.

Cover Condition and Details: VERY NEAR EXCELLENT: an unlaminated gatefold format with matt finish. Printed and made in England by the E. J. Day Group.

Cover Front: Not a lot to really fault on this truly beautiful front. Any wear is pretty much confined to the bottom corners with a tiny rub on the bottom right and a small rub opposite left. One of the most unmissable covers of the early 70s, this does it near maximum justice. Clean, fresh, vividly coloured with no sticker marks, rubbing (other than stated) and practically devoid of creasing. Any surface marks or blemishes are fine and faint and this gorgeous front sets a very high standard.

Cover Back: The back has the only significant blemish, hence marked down a little. A small scuff mark just to the left of the ‘i’ logo was neatly tipped by the previous owner, that apart, it’s very similar to front inasmuch it has little other wear or blemishes. One of the least worn backs on this immensely intolerant cover I have seen for some time. The lack of rubbing and especially ringwear is unusual but good news of course. A light ring rub arc near the top edge but barely any trace of ink has eroded, so it shows little. The fine and faint crease or two, but look hard. Very faint rub traces on the right spine fold hinge that few will ever escape totally. The Fotheringay coat-of-arms graphic looks stunning and is totally unworn (please see close-up). It includes the original Basing Street address.

Cover Gatefold Inner: This has little to fault at all and will prove hard to find much better. Just wish I could have been in the audience to watch this fine band.

Top Edges: Any rubbing is very light and faint, hardly any infact.

Bottom Edges: A little light rubbing on the back towards the right corner area, any other is very light indeed and patchy.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean, sharp with little wear and no feathering or trimming. Record entered on the back edge, the front being closed.

Spine and Text: An outstanding spine that shows little wear. Solid and very thick, robust and wide. Not seen one quite this thick before or with much less wear. Straight, and importantly, uncompressed and square with all edges meeting up near flush and parallel. The right top edge a fraction proud of the bottom, this being critical. All text is present and unworn, with close examination, maybe the odd tiny tip-in from clearly a more discerning owner who wanted things to look ‘right’. Indeed if this is the case, it’s hardly obvious (apart from the small scuff mark on the back as mentioned already). Few of these will survive a great deal better.

Corners: Mainly light and small corner and tip rubs that very dark covers emphasise more, and being honest, how many will not have these at the very minimum? Very fine shape is retained.

Cover Summary: A cover crying out to be laminated but Island rarely bothered on their UK issues – many German-made Island albums were but I have never seen this as a German issue. I have seldom seen many of these with less wear and this is really very nice indeed. Not for the perfectionist with the small improved scuff mark on the back (and it is pretty small), but all considered, I think the majority of collectors will enjoy it. If this scuff on the back is indeed an issue or inflicts uncertainty, do not bid.

The Inner Sleeve: EXCELLENT(-): or thereabouts. On paper, just another Polydor-style lined inner sleeve. But when records are found including their original inners and they are cross-referenced with dates-of-issue and match to the exact month (even possibly date on this one?), they become very significant as far as I am concerned, as the prove just how early the record was made and sent to the shop. This one (as seen in close-up) is date-coded 27 0670, obviously meaning 27th June 1970. This one being a little aged, but at nearly 41-years-old, no real surprise I guess. Some mildish seam glue darkening and some corner creases to the bottom pair. The two window circles however are immaculate and crisp and the lining secure and very clear wtih barely any creasing and the edges intact. An inner with important information and guaranteed the one that came with the elusive album.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: MINT(-): very clean, shiny, intense black and very solidly pressed, even heavier than the test pressing I sold last year. Both playing surfaces defy their years and show barely any noteworthy surface blemishes at all, this has all the hallmark of a hardly played copy and for this title, that is somewhat unusual. For those who actually bought this within the first month of issue, most would have enjoyed many times and to find one so little used (and certainly not abused), is difficult. For sure, this has never been subjected to heavy old record players and this Island classic should please most-all collectors.

Album Played For Grading: Yes. [I play ALL records I offer before submitting to Ebay, also the record is played in its entirety unless clearly stated otherwise. I do NOT play snippets or joining grooves to check for sound quality and quietness – I play from the beginning to end via clinically revealing B&W speakers that include the legendary tweeter from their awesome Nautilus range that reveals every blemish or miniscule sound present on any record.]

Sound Quality and Audio Grading: A superb looker and a wonderful pressing that has not been marred by use or potential needle abuse. Some copies I have heard before have had considerable amounts of crackle or even distortion, this album does seem especially prone to this on ‘The Ballad of Ned Kelly’, where Sandy’s vocal gets quite intense. This can, and often does, break up and clip badly – not on this one, all remains pin-sharp and distortion-free. Beautifully recorded with a lovely clean production and sound, but often let down by the pressing quality, this was a sheer joy in terms of detail and focus. The lack of crackle a real bonus, the music so wonderful and no pops or clicks of any note were heard. The earliest-cut records are always extra special and issued examples hardly got earlier. It has been some time since I offered a pink ‘i’ copy of this evergreen folk-rock classic, but it was certainly worth the wait.

End Piece: An album always in demand and not getting any easier to find. Beautiful vocals and gorgeous songs, this an album you won’t want to end. Sandy’s vocals never fail to move me, always hitting the mark, every song she sung had class written all over it. It’s always a pleasure to offer this wonderful record – a first issue makes it a raret one, this deserves my highest recommendation with just the small reservation on the small back cover scuff.

Now one of the most established sellers on Ebay and still offering the finest and most accurately described and graded records I can find. I pride myself on offering a variety of genres to keep my site as interesting as possible. I will rarely offer any record that falls below a true Excellent grading, unless its of a certain rarity which will justify offering a lesser grade. I try, to the best of my ability to describe as accurately and as honesty as I can all items I offer for sale with all the relevant information I can think of to help any potential bidder and collector. You may notice I only submit records sparingly on Ebay - on average ONEADAY, a couple more at weekends if time permits, hence the name - time rarely allows for more as I Play-Grade virtually every record I offer in their entirety, not just bits to guess a grade - visuals alone do not always tell a true or full story. I will mention any defects or flaws no matter how small that I notice to be fair as possible to any interested collector – I am very fussy and my buyers have the right to be too. Every record I offer, whether it be a common or rare item deserves the same respect as far as I am concerned and will be treated the same - just because an item is rare does not always mean its good. I get just as much pleasure offering a relatively common record in stunning near mint condition as the real rare items. All the pictures I use for your guidance are taken with a digital camera or scanned - they are NOT improved, cleaned-up or made better looking than they are with camera trickery or enhancing with digital programmes. What you see is what you get and scanned labels will give a more accurate representation of the genuine colour than flash photography where light is variable. I cannot guarantee total accuracy for colours however but most will be very close. If any picture I take looks more flattering than the actual item for any reason, I will clearly state the fact in the advert and vice-versa. I hope the item below is to your liking - any questions can be emailed and I will do my very best to answer you. I am enthusiastic, and have a fair degree of knowledge about many genres and I promise quality items - bid with confidence - excellence comes as standard and so does Near Mint regularly. Please assume all records I offer have NO jumps, sticks, warps or writing on covers or labels unless clearly stated to the contrary. Thanks for your interest and Good luck – MIKE.

Deck: Linn LP12/Hercules/Cirkus with Ittok Mk II arm and Ortofon Rondo Red moving coil cartridge (tracks at 2 grams). Amps: Naim Nait 5i with Project USB phono stage and Chord interconnects. Speakers: B&W 704 Floorstanding 3-way Monitors (bi-wired with QED Silver terminated cable). All records I offer on Ebay are cleaned on a professional VPI-17 vacuum machine before play-grading for the cleanest and best possible sound and will include a brand new lined inner and protective cover too.

First-time, zero-rated bidders, who do not ask permission to bid, will be cancelled immediately and blocked – NO exceptions. For winning bidders who I consider excessively slow to make contact or submit payment, I will use my right to block future bids. If any bidder who wins in the final seconds is present to do so, surely they can at least email me to inform of intention and payment method? If swift or promp payment is a problem, please do not bid.

PACKING - THIS IS WHAT YOU GET.

What You Get: To confirm to the strict Ebay rules on shipping, I must now send ALL my packets ‘Signed-For’ with NO exceptions. Both buyers and sellers want their packets to have a safer journey and this is not a bad thing.

I now offer the fastest possible posting, often the very next day after payment is received or within two to three days maximum (unless on holiday). I only use FIRST-CLASS Mail. The record’s cover will be placed within a BRAND NEW soft protective sleeve and the actual record will be professionally cleaned on my new VPI-17 Pro vacuum system to give ultimate clean grooves and playing surfaces and the best possible looks and ultimate sound quality. You will NOT get tired, dull looking, dust infested records inside worn and foggy covers with tatty inners from this seller and that’s a promise and guarantee. All records are posted in professional boxes (NOT Mailers, these do not offer any real protection). The record(s) are REMOVED from their main cover to avoid edge splits and placed within a brand new polylined inner. The record’s original inner will be included if available. The boxes are then reinforced with at least TWO, ULTRA THICK stiffeners for maximum extra protection – these are FOUR TIMES thicker than commercial stiffeners and are custom-made for oneadayrecords. Really rare and expensive albums will even be Double Boxed if deemed necessary and possible. When larger boxes are used, the thick record and stiffener ‘sandwich’ is then thickly embedded into bubble-wrap to bulk out the record inside the box to centre the item inside to reduce the risk of damage still further. Printed address labels are used for clarity as well as a sender label. Customers requests or special needs for P&P will be respected if at all possible but ‘Signed-For’ posting is NOT an option anymore. I do not profit on posting and the cost of this lavish packing is NOT even charged for, I offer probably the best-value and safest shipping possible for ultimate confidence. The boxes and ultra thick double-wall stiffners and bubble wrap make a near impregnable fortress for safe shipping and this is used inland and overseas for ALL my records, not just the rare and expensive. I will invoice any winning bidder as soon as possible after the auction ends. My ‘loss’ or ‘damage rate’ is less than one in two thousand based on over 7,000+ items sold in nearly 10 years of Ebay trading and I consider that pretty exceptional. The only damage rate acceptable for this seller is ZERO and I think my packets will offer just that. It would take a vicious postman or postal service to damage these for sure. Even one of these stiffeners cannot be bent by hand, so what chance 3 or 4 inside a box? Oneadayrecords is a MAILER-FREE ZONE. I discount of course for multiple purchases with a maximum of FIVE records per box (one double can sometimes be included subject to total weight). I will not respond to questions on shipping costs as all the details are included here and on ALL of my adverts. Details below:

NOTE: First Time Bidders: I will cancel ALL first-time bidders with no feedbacks or excessive negatives who do not ask me if its OK to bid first – NO EXCEPTIONS.

Please Note: I will now offer any item to the runner-up after the mandatory Ebay 3 days if no contact is made by the winning bidder unless prior notice of any delay is given beforehand. The same applies if no payment is received within the mandatory 7 days so any bidder who has just lost out can still email me to reserve the item as priority second chance – it’s always worth asking.

SHIPPING COSTS & CONDITIONS – THESE comply with EBAY’S RULES - PLEASE READ CAREFULLY:

Posting & Packing: UK & CHANNEL ISLANDS all now sent via Recorded Delivery:

1 LP (FIRST-CLASS Recorded Delivery with Standard Royal Mail Insurance) [Signed For] = £4.

1 LP (Special Delivery with Standard £500 Maximum Insurance) [Signed For, Next Day] = £7.50. (this includes insurance of £500). Add £2 per extra LP.

Posting & Packing: EUROPE & SCANDINAVIA. (Airmail Only):

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with Standard Royal Mail Insurance [£40 maximum]) = £9. (insurance optional extra £3). Add £2.50 per extra LP.

Posting & Packing: ALL OVERSEAS (non-European) e.g. USA (ANY PART OF); South America; New Zealand; Australia; Canada; Japan and other Far East; (Airmail Only: I NEVER use Surface Mail):

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with Standard Royal Mail Insurance [£39 maximum]) = £13. Add £4 per extra LP. (insurance optional extra £3)

Payment Conditions:

I prefer PayPal or cheque from UK winning bidders. I can accept PayPal from overseas bidders or direct payment into my bank account.

Potential Bidders: Please do not bid if you have negative feedback unless checking first, I will cancel any bids I feel are time-wasters. A maximum 3 days for communication and 7 days for payment to arrive - if not I will relist the item or offer to the runner-up. Fast deals get great feedback from me. Any questions - please ask and thanks for looking.

My Guarantee: If any winning bidder is not satisfied with their purchase I will offer a complete refund. I will not refund if any defect detail is clearly stated on the advert and missed by the buyer, so read the item description carefully. If any overseas collector does not understand anything in my listing, please email and ask me to help. Thank You.

SOME GENERAL GUIDES TO WEAR AND CONDITIONS TO HELP YOU DECIDE

My Use of Description Terminology: Surface Marks = Superficial, usually light marks, hairlines or light scuffs that rarely sound. Scratch = a needle mark that goes below the record’s surface, some will sound, some will not, my play-grade will inform. Original = a record that has been pressed with the first label design which does NOT necessarily mean a very first pressed record. First Pressing = A record that I believe or know to be a genuine very first pressed record. I do not claim to always know for sure, and that’s why I state the stamper and matrix numbers if at all possible, for those who claim to know what they all mean, the information is there for the collector to decide. I prefer to use terms like ‘Early Copy’ rather than ‘First Pressing’ if I am not totally sure. Surface Sound = Mild, light sound, usually light crackle or similar. Distortion = Break up of the actual sound caused by groove wear or damage from a chipped stylus – the most undesirable form of unwanted sound, vintage mono records were the most prone to this happening but not exclusively so. The symptoms of distortion are high frequency clipping, moderate constant crackle or an echo type sound quality. Violin, piano and vocals are most prone to groove-wear distortion. Feathering = Fraying or softening of the entry edge of a cover. Covers with feathered entrance edges are more likely to have had the actual record inserted and removed more than a non-feathered, sharp-edged cover which are always far more attractive. Set Off, actually a printer’s term for dark ink leaving mild residue on pale or white ink when rested upon. e.g. when a gatefold cover has black ink closed against white, this can leave some black residue on the pale area – this is mostly unavoidable or course.

The Argument for Vinyl Original sound and mix (mono mixes are rarely available on CD), high quality sound on clean copies (played on a hi-end dedicated analogue system – breathtaking sound!), beautiful, large format covers, artwork, inserts and even full size posters etc; huge investment potential, and the pleasure of owning ‘the real thing’.