BIG SLEEP Bluebell Wood RARE ULTIMATE ORIG 1G/1G UK 1971 'LOST' PEGASUS PROG LP

	£		107
	$		142

ONEADAYRECORDS – Simply Delivering Quality Music to the World.

Postage: UK £4.75 (£1 per extra record). Europe (including Russia) £12.50 (£2 per extra record). Rest of World £16.50 (£3 per extra record). All boxes signed for in quality, safe packaging – I NEVER use mailing envelopes that offer virtually no protection at all. More details on this nearer the end of the listing.

Posting to Russia: Yes, I do post to Russia. But delivery can take up to 4 to 6 weeks from the UK. So please be patient. I will submit a tracking number to the winning bidder, and when the packet arrives there it can be followed online using the Russian post website.

ALSO: I now apply the Ebay ‘4-day’ rule for non-payment. I try to keep my P&P prices as low as possible even yet another Royal Mail price hike, I will never compromise on solid, safe packing that is invariably a little heavier.

Artist or Band: BIG SLEEP

Album Title: Bluebell Wood.

Producer(s): Lou Reizner.

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Death of a Hope; Odd Song; Free Life; Aunty James; Saint And Sceptic.

Side 2: Bluebell Wood; Watching Love Grow; When The Sun Was Out.

Label/Format: Pegasus – matt smooth surfaces (Please see my label scans).

Label Conditions: Both generally clean, quite fresh and attractive. A few very small dull or toning spots mainly seen with angled viewing, but little detracts from these most attractive label designs. In terms of spindle marks, hardly any, however, the record does have a little reasonably gentle surface sound in places.

Cat Number: PEG 4.

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: 130 grams. A very good solid weight.

Country of Manufacture: England.

Rarity: Quite Rare: few sales and seldom seen. Also an immensely wear-prone cover and seldom seen even a decent very good. This is not perfect, but is the best I have seen – that said, this is only the second copy I have ever offered, the last being around six years ago.

Original Year of Release: 1971

Matrix Nos: PEG 4 A-1U / PEG 4 B-1U

Stamper Codes: 1 G / 1 G (these the ultimate mother and stamper codes, ‘G’s being the very first in the sequence)

Musicians: Phil Ryan - Organ, Piano; Ritchie Francis - Bass, Piano, Vocals; John Weathers - Drums, Vocals; Raymond ‘Taff’ Williams - Guitar; Gary Pickford-Hopkins - Vocals, Guitar.

Brief Info: A dark prog-rock classic on a collectable label with a tight production. The album is textured with twin keyboards and plenty of guitar, both electric and acoustic, the material is overall quite varied. The title song is a prog-rock tour-de-force. A somewhat obscure, and a one-off that can almost be described as a ‘lost’ vinyl classic. The band soon split and members ventured forth into more familiar names including Man, Gentle Giant, Wild Turkey and Pete Brown’s Piblokto. ‘Bluebell Wood’ has long remained an elusive album and this is a very respectable copy, but as many collectors will know, Pegasus records often are not the quietest made. This one does have some fairly gentle surface sound in places, mostly on side one. Also a small mark on 'Free Life' has several mostly light clicks, so NOT a perfect copy and not for the highly discerning collector. But overall, I found this record enjoyable if a little light surface sound can be lived with.

Cover Grade and Format: EXCELLENT(–) an unlaminated gatefold format with matt, smooth surfaces. Printed and made in England by the E. J. Day Group.

Cover Front: With most of any wear or issues on the upper and lower edges, the main reason for the slightly lower grading, the main front, back and inside are all strong for such a wear-prone sleeve. The spine is impressive also. This front rarely escapes often heavy rubbing and wear, this has little at all. A little rubbing is seen on the bottom edge near the right corner but little else. A very fine press line is seen under light near the bottom and a fine surface crease near the top right. But this dark and vulnerable front has faired well overall and it really does still look attractive with deep unfaded, fresh colour to the somewhat bizarre graphic.

Cover Back: A little corner rubbing with odd tip crease, The top back edge had a fairly small and quite neat movement split, which I have neatly (as possible) repaired. This can be seen on the centre of this edge viewing from the back, but this is really quite neat, but not for the more discerning, this is the main issue on this very unforgiving cover. Overall, this apart, the back is even better than the front, the odd mark or rub trace, but the lack of ring wear is a massive plus on a cover that rarely escapes it.

Cover Inner Gatefold: A small rub on the very top edge left and a small adhesive smear mark, quite possibly there from manufacture. Yes, covers were not all made pristine perfect and nothing unusual at all. A little rub-scuffs near the right top edge also, but little else to fault on what is still an impressive centrefold.

Top Edges: The front edge has only very light traces of rubbing. The back the same bar the central area repair which I have made as neatly as possible. Actually viewed end-on, it registers or detracts little, if indeed at all really.

Bottom Edges: Both have moderate patchy rubbing, nothing unusual on these vulnerable storage edges.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean and mostly quite sharp with any thickening or burring light as seen more critically viewed end-on. Record entered on the back edge, both guaranteed untrimmed or enhanced in any way.

Spine and Text: Somewhat against the odds, the spine is superb. Solid, straight, uncompressed and folded very close to square, so the edges meet up closely and very near parallel. All text is nigh-on perfect as is the run-out graphic, and even the folds. Any tiny rubbing confined to the very ends. I always consider spines very important, and this will take some beating.

Corners: Only quite light tip rubs to the spine. The rights ones have light+ to moderately rubbed with mainly fine shape retained.

Cover Summary: Most who know this cover well will already know what a difficult one it is even find, let alone in decent condition. I consider this somewhat above ‘decent’, with the most important areas in lovely condition. I do not think the fairly small top edge split could have been repaired much neater than I have made it, but clearly an issue for the more discerning cover collector. But sometimes for the more difficult and rarer items, a little give-and-take has to be made, and this challenging dark unprotected cover should please many collectors. The original plain white unlined solid inner is included in near excellent condition. A little toning of the seam adhesive, but fully intact with no splits, repairs or noteworthy creasing.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: NEAR EXCELLENT: but with a small scratch on ‘Free Life’ that emits around a 20, mostly light clicks. My near excellent grading does not take this into account, any opinion of how it affects the record is somewhat subjective, and you decide. Still a very clean and generally impressive record. It retains fine shine, intense blackness and solidly pressed. A copy with minimal plays on all the evidence, but it has the noticeable mark, but few others, even under light. Visually a quality record that should please many collectors again, but like the cover, not for the perfectionists.

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: Beautiful collectable label, rare record, this sort-after prog album plays around its visual grading, and side two especially, high still. I have already mentioned the clicks on ‘Free Life’ – most are gentle, with four or five more moderate. Overall, strong, distortion-free sound, all frequencies are sharp and clear - sound quality is very high with a wide dynamic range and very detailed sound. Any surface sounds are minimal and I enjoyed hearing this again after what had been at least six years. When great records come along so infrequently, I have no hesitation in offering ones that have the odd relatively small blemish. That is what play-grading records is for, so there are nasty unwanted surprises, so clearly stated, this has a mark that sounds briefly, you can now decide. Little else spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this somewhat ‘lost’ one-off album, the music takes over to lose any relatively light vinyl blemish. This copy could still prove very difficult to find significantly better and can be highly recommended. But again, not for the perfectionists as the grades suggest, overall, it will take some beating I feel.

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 Terrarium Black 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. Pictures taken with a Nikon D5000 SLR Digital Camera.

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 stiffeners 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 10,000+ items sold in over 12 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 2 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). All postage costs are below and at the top of the listing.

NOTE: First Time Bidders: Please ask me first.

PLEASE NOTE: I now exercise my right to open a dispute after the Ebay rule of FOUR days if no payment is received. I will then cancel the dispute to end the, again after the mandatory FOUR days and then offer the item to the runner-up or relist. The non-payer will also be blocked from my Ebay site and they take the Ebay consequences (a strike or removal from the system). Small businesses need prompt payment to trade and these strict rules WILL be applied.

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] = £4.75

1 LP (Special Delivery with Standard £500 Maximum Insurance) [Signed For, Next Day] = £8. (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 [£50 maximum]) = £12.50 (enhanced Royal Mail insurance is an optional extra £3). Add £3 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 [£50 maximum]) = £16.50 (£17.50 for double sets). Add £3 per extra LP. (enhanced Royal Mail insurance is an 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: 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’.