THE BEATLES Please Please Me UK RARER 1st Y&B MONO EX++

	£		432
	$		572

ONEADAYRECORDS – Delivering Quality Music to the World.

Artist or Band: THE BEATLES

Album Title: Please Please Me.

Producer(s): George Martin.

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: I Saw Her Standing There; Misery; Anna (Go to Him); Chains; Boys; Ask Me Why; Please Please Me.

Side 2: Love Me Do; P.S. I Love You; Baby It’s you; Do You Want to Know a Secret; A Taste of Honey; There’s a Place; Twist and Shout.

Label/Format etc: Parlophone – Black & Yellow format that has the ‘Parlophone Co Ltd’ rim text and NO ‘record first published’ or ‘sold in UK’ making this the third pressed format and the first on the new Yellow and Black style labels. These are intense black with a matt finish and the area within the inner ridge ring is textured.

Label Conditions: Both look superb, both nearly as black as the vinyl itself and so hard to find in such lovely condition from the early pressings. Spindle marks are only light and very faint indeed. No gouging mono spindles have spoilt these beautiful early examples. With superb playing surfaces and truly fantastic sound, all the evidence strongly suggests a very lightly played copy and so unusual on this title. Imperative for maximum audio pleasure of course, most of the early monos are seen played into the ground with worn, noisy sound and often distortion with shredded groove walls. Early mono record players were ruthless with massive tracking weights and very thick diameter stylus that wore and chipped easily. To reitterate the point, please see my picture on the inner sleeve that reminds of the fact – but most ignored it and played them until the tips were worn to stubs. All too late and the damage was done, hence so many are totally unlistenable. Many loaned and taken to parties and played on god-knows-what. Left on floors, tables and covered with scratches and grubby fingermarks – we have all seen such examples – I will not touch such worn-out rubbish, such copies have had their day. This beautiful record has avoided such trauma and abuse and looks and plays beautifully. The cover is fantastic too. For those collectors who cannot afford or choose not to want to spend a king’s ransom on a black and gold copy, this is more than a compromise. A very early Beatles debut in mono that will offer real value-for-money and years of pleasure. Given the respect this deserves on a quality system, this will last indefintely.

Cat Number: PMC 1202.

Mode / Speed: Stereo / 33.3 rpm.

Warps: Assume all records I offer have no warping of any significance and all tracking is easy and effortless and should play on all turntables and even ‘budget’ decks.

Weight of this Record: 161 grams. [These days, many modern Audiophile reissues are pressed on super-heavyweight 180 gram vinyl. Only a small percentage of ‘vintage vinyl’ was ever pressed this heavy. Records pressed in the 1960s averaged around 135 to 145 grams. Records pressed in the 1970s were usually lighter and averaged more around 115 – 125 grams. Some records pressed around 1973 were very thin and light due an oil crisis and shortage around this time. Some records were even issued on recycled vinyl from this period and sounded poor with crackle and surface noise evident from the very first play. If any record I buy is deemed ‘recycled’, I will never offer it, I have a very simple test to detect these records if I suspect this to be the case other than audible imperfection. Some records from this period were even pressed on other materials the most notable was ‘Dynaflex’, used by RCA around this time. Although inferior to vinyl, this at least mostly sounded reasonably acceptable but pressings on this material were wafer thin and flimsy. Beyond the 70s, many records often became thinner and lighter still but most played fine but were never quite the quality as from the ‘Golden Era’]. (This was based on ‘average’ weights for 50 records from these eras.

Country of Manufacture: England.

Rarity & Details: I always state that Beatles albums are not rare with a few exceptions. It’s the conditions that make the early copies exceptional for the reasons outlined above. This album sold in vast numbers, so-much-so, the pressing plant could not keep up with demand and some were contracted out to Decca. This is NOT a Decca pressing. Even the Black & Gold pressings are not that rare in mono but are in conditions like this. Grey, dulled and scratched records are almost the norm for this vintage record, those who bought the early copies played into oblivion and most are only fit for the bin. Cover became tatty and many were written on so when loaned out or taken to parties, they could be easily ID’ed. Finding the utmost lightly played copies is far, far harder and those devoid of damage or groovewear even harder. Just one play with a torn stylus and damage-done. The sound clips and breaks up and horrible noise ruins the sound. This album at its best in mono is stunning, truly stunning – at its worst when worn, horrible. This copy plays with breathtaking sound and clarity and was a joy to listen-to. Such records were not really designed to be played on high-end stereo turntables but when found so clean and clearly little used, they are a real treasure. The sonic power, depth of sound, reality and detail on the clean early pressings can never be beaten and this one delivers. This well looked-after copy includes a lovely, little blemished cover too and please, please remember its great age. Few avoid major damage, ageing and wear, this has few blemishes and looks great. The original inner is included too with its ‘Patents applied for’ text. This has toned but has barely any real wear. Like the Black & Golds, the early format Yellow & Blacks are quite rare in such clean conditions. This is a play-graded copy on a critically revealing turntable, amp and speakers. Do not risk these early classics if they are not or you could be very disappointed. Groovewear is the invisible curse of the vintage mono record and even clean looking copies can fail to sound good. Do no underestimate how rare this debut is in such condition.

Original Year of Release: 1963

Matrix Nos: XEX 421-1N / XEX 422-1N

Stamper Codes: 2 A G / 1 2 R T

Brief Artist & Album Info: The legendary debut that started the greatest musical phenomenon in popular music history. Beautifully produced by George Martin and all that amazing sound is encaptured within these very clean and wear-free grooves. A vintage third pressing and first on the yellow & black format, this is a splendid record and a rare example as described above. Collectors will know about this record anyway (I was only six when this record was made and I never claim to know all the fine details). What is for certain, with so many even later pressings in unplayable conditions, this is a real find and its a scarce opportunity to own one of the earliest Beatles Yellow & Blacks.

Cover Potential for Wear & Damage: High – Simply due to its great age and popularity, this was often moved around and handled a great deal, often found at parties or loaned to friends. The early examples of this cover were much thicker and heavy and this is just that. Examples with minimal dulling, creasing or laminate issues are never easy to find. Back still white with no ring marks, grubbiness or significant flipback damage are getting increasingly difficult to find. The best examples often locked away in valuable collections and rarely made available.

Cover Grade & Format: Probably undergraded at EX+, with all considered, this is even better and will never prove easy to find better. A single format with a laminated front, this wraps around the closed edges on to three huge rear flipbacks. This is very thick card and a real heavyweight. It has the very large ‘mono’ on the front and the Angus McBean credit. It was printed and made in England by Ernest J. Day & Co Ltd, London. An example that defies its great age and is a thing of genuine beauty.

Cover Front: The laminate is very solid and secure and has a lovely semi-gloss sheen with only very mild traces of any dulling or friction rubs, any present only really show with angled viewing (and look hard). It remains very clear and clean and highly attractive with only a few light creases. A couple of light ones near the right edge and any others are edge hairline types. All is fully adhered with no lifting or blisters which almost makes for the most attractive viewing. Actual marks to the surface are very few and very light indeed and actual wear to any parts is minuscule. The famous balcony artwork is superb and will seldom be seen better. The sense of holding a real early cover for this landmark recording will detract from any microscopic blemish and few will have fewer than this front.

Cover Back: Firstly, the inner panel: this has barely any real wear and is still incredibly white. So many get very toned and brown, often stained and defaced. This incredibly has has avoided creasing and any traces of grubbiness are tiny, little and very faint. All the text is pristine with no erosion or damage. The only small blemish, a fine surface scratch near the top, it has minimal visibility. The flipbacks are huge, the spine one especially. All are exceptional with little to fault bar the usual hairline laminate creases, but all neat, well adhered, clean with no edge burring or damage. There are a couple of small cornertip creases but few will ever avoid them. Even these flipbacks are unyellowed or aged and the text is pristine. The lack of grime-line formation to the ends is significant and unusual but what a difference it makes to the visual appearance. This original cover is so important for this album, I hope my pictures do this justice and both front and back will prove very difficult to find much better.

Top Edge: Unworn and dead straight and white.

Bottom Edge: Unworn up to the corner tips that have small rubs. One of the very few I have seen with NO chips or laminate damage.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean, and quite sharp, slightly thickened but very neatly so, only apparent when viewed end-on. Few examples with have such a neat entrance edge, remember the sheer weight of the record inside for five decades. Absolutely guaranteed, NO trimming.

Spine and Text: Stunning!, practically pristine as made bar an ultra faint bottom corner surface graze to the laminate, this too being critical, it shows little. Solid, dead straight, uncompressed and square. All text pristine Mint perfect under clean, solid and shiny laminate. Really beautiful, I hope my picture shows this well.

Corners: [As viewed from front]: Top left: Immaculate, almost as new as is the flipback end (shown in close-up). Top right: Small tip crease only but barely a trace of real wear. Bottom left: Light graze on back with a crease on back. Put into context, the most wear on the cover is here, it should reitterate just how good the rest is. Right bottom: Tiny tip chip only. Front viewing, all the corners look superb. The back the same bar the small crinkle-crease on the bottom right. Again, these will prove hard to find better on the early covers.

Cover Summary: One of the rarest ever Beatles covers and a delightful example. This is highly attractive and a very important piece of musical history. For me personally, it has to be my best yet and it will please most realistic Beatles fans that should very much enjoy owning it. EX+? well I think I have been far to conservative but better than overgrading eh?

The Inner: Even with some age toning, I have to grade this inner as EX as it has barely any real wear and guaranteed the original that came with the record. A very solid inner that is polylined with a clear, neat window with pristine circles. The lining very solid with barely any ruffling. This has the important ‘PATENTS APPLIED FOR’ text and shows no noteworthy creases and all edges unsplit. The top opening is very sharp and neat too with just two pin-prick sized nicks to the front edge (being almost hyper-critical now). A lovely inner and just right for its considerable age.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: Again critically graded EX++, for any ultra popular 45-year-old mono record a beautiful example. Feel sure many would grade this still higher and such clean examples have to be put into context which I have done above. Just compare to most around that will be more recent copies too. A superb visual copy that is super clean, shiny, intense black and a real heavyweight pressing. Very thick vinyl with wide, deep grooves and looking superb. Yes a few very light and small surface marks, none penetrate and NOTHING sound. The most surface marks can be seen on the run-out grooves on side one but any on the playing areas are few and very faint. Those ultra small faint types that just catch angled light. If the odd ultra fine and faint hairline is the worst I can offer on this record, God help the rest. Few mono records of this age or popularity will better this significantly. Clearly it’s avoided all the usual traumas of the Dansette or other vintage single-channel record players, genuine early copies rarely do so and there lies the difference. This major Beatles record will never be easy to find significantly better.

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 snippetts 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: This wonderful and groundbreaking piece of vinyl history plays even above its high visual grading with practically nothing to fault. Strong, distortion-free sound, all frequencies are sharp and clear - sound quality is astonishing with a massive dynamic range and a ultra loud mono mix. The rule applies, the earlier the pressing, the cleaner the sound and this album was pressed so many times. The intense sound intact and so few ever will be. What a joy to hear this album with such clarity, all instruments focused and devoid of surface noise, pops or clicks and clipping caused by overplaying or damage from old worn pick-ups. This really does sound incredible, it’s almost unreasonable not top expect the odd light blemish or crackle, but this has practically nothing. Lennon’s shrill harmonica almost removes the speaker cloth and sends a shiver down the spine – all focused, clear and precise. This record tracks perfectly and any groove-wear traces were minuscule. Even the final song, ‘Twist & Shout’ plays supremely well – the sheer volume and power on this difficult track is truly incredible. Here at the most critical tracking angle, so many break-up badly with the complex sounds shredded by blunt needles. Genuine hi-fi sound is apparent throughout, the legendary production by Martin takes you into the recording studio itself. Both channels are clean and sharp with no single channel noise that often occurs when playing a mono record on a stereo deck. Bad stylus alignment the culprit here when present (but not here) but hardly uncommon. This can occur if the groove walls are stripped or damaged from heavyweight or chipped needles too – visuals can never tell you this – the invisible curse. Nothing spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this astonishing record. This copy will prove very difficult to find significantly better and can be strongly recommended to most-all collectors. It will take something extra special to better the visuals and sound quality of this total package.

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 with Ittok Mk IV arm and Ortofon Samba Moving Coil cartridge (tracks at 1.8 grams). Amps: Naim Nait 5i with Project USB phono stage and Chord interconnects. Speakers: B&W 704 Floorstanding 3-way Monitors (bi-wired). All records I offer on Ebay are cleaned on a professional Moth 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.

POSTING & PACKING: 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, mostly the very next day after payment is received or within three days maximum (unless on holiday). All records are posted in professional boxes (NOT mailers) with the record(s) 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 TWO VERY THICK stiffners for even extra protection – these are FOUR TIMES thicker than commercial stiffners and are custom-made for oneadayrecords. Really rare and expensive albums will even be Double Boxed. The cover will be placed within a BRAND NEW heavy duty soft protective sleeve and the actual record will be professionally cleaned on my Moth Pro vacuum system to give ultimate clean grooves and playing surfaces and the best possible looks and ultimate sound quality. Printed address labels are used for clarity as well as a sender label. 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. 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 offer probably the best-value and safest shipping possible. I will invoice any winning bidder as soon as possible after the auction ends. My ‘loss’ or ‘damage rate’ is less than 0.1 per percent based on over 5,000+ items sold in over 8 years of Ebay trading and I consider that pretty exceptional. I discount of course for multiple purchases with a maximum of FOUR records per packet. I will not respond to questions on shipping costs as all the details are included in the advert.

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).

Posting & Packing: ALL EUROPE & SCANDINAVIA including RUSSIA and nearby countries. (Airmail Only):

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with Standard Royal Mail Insurance [£39 maximum]) = £8. (insurance optional extra £3).

Posting & Packing: ALL OVERSEAS (non-European) e.g. USA (any part); 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]) = £12. (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 timewasters. 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 minus the Posting and All Ebay costs as long as the item detail has been read and understood. I will not refund if any defect detail is clearly stated on the advert and missed by the buyer. If any overseas collector does not understand anything in my listing, please email and ask me to help.

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 neccessarily 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’.