DAVID BOWIE Ziggy Stardust RARE 1972 Pressing UK N/M LP

	£		162
	$		215

Hi, I am Mike, now 50 – yes the big FIVE-O! Old enough to remember the golden era of original, high quality music, bands, artists.

Also records from the 1960s and 70s bought from the shops from new, I have been a music collector and enthusiast for over 37 years now. We all wish we could turn back the clock and buy those wonderful brand new records from the 60s and 70s, but alas, this is not possible; so I always try to offer the finest and most accurately described and graded records I can find. No vinyl/music lover really would choose to buy second-hand, but this is only way now to own these valuable, prized and elusive items now. 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 reader – 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 one hundred percent is exact colour matching for covers - this depends on the lighting at the time and that is out of my control, but I feel sure most items will be very close to the actual real item. 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 Ortophon 520 Mk II cartridge (tracks at 1.75 grams). Amps: Arcam 2 x 125W Pre-Power. 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: I post all my UK items on FRIDAY every week, most will arrive Saturday to make signed-for delivery easier. 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 massively thick stiffners for even extra protection and bubble wrap if deemed necessary. These stiffners are the thickest possible and custom supplied for ‘Oneadayrecords’ – these are NOT commercially available and you will not have seen thicker protection anywhere. 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 as well as ‘Fragile’ tape for that extra professional touch for the packet. 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 NOT surface mail abroad. I never make profit on posting and offer probably the cheapest and safest shipping possible. I will invoice any winning bidder as soon as possible after the auction ends, with the total costs including ‘standard’ or ‘optional extra insurance’ P&P – ALL UK and Russian packets go out non-negotiable Recorded Delivery. My ‘loss’ or ‘damage rate’ is less than 0.1 per percent based on over 3,500+ items sold in over 5 years of Ebay trading (I am now one of most established sellers via Ebay) and I consider that pretty exceptional.

PLEASE NOTE: I will now only send packets to Russia with Recorded Delivery at a cost of £7 per single LP. If this is unacceptable to Russian collectors, please do not bid. I only want my records to arrive safely and this gives packets a better chance to do so. Also ALL UK packets will be sent with either Recorded or Special Delivery as standard (both have to be signed for). All shipping costs and rules can be found after my description. If they are not acceptable, please do not bid.

Album Title: The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars.

Producer(s): David Bowie & Ken Scott.

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Five Years; Soul Love; Moonage Daydream; Starman; It Ain’t Easy.

Side 2: Lady Stardust; Star; Hang on to Yourself; Ziggy Stardust; Suffragette City; Rock n Roll Suicide.

Label/Format: RCA Victor – Original orange pressing with the shiny, glass smooth finish. This is a 1972 pressing, later pressings had matt finished labels and became much thinner pressed. [This very early copy is on proper high quality vinyl – NOT DYNAFLEX!] (Please see my label scans).

Label Conditions: Both immaculate almost as new. Definitive and ultra attractive with only one faint spindle mark on side one and none on side two, both with the supreme glossy finish and incredibly intense orange colour, these look hardly even handled. What a joy to offer and own one of the most famous albums of all-time as a very early 1972 pressing, they seldom get found much better than this.

Cat Number: BGBS 0864.

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: 141 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 140 to 150 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, 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 20 records from these eras. Later pressings were usually lighter still).

Country of Manufacture: England.

Rarity: The earliest pressings from within the year of issue, 1972 on the RCA Victor label are scarce, make no mistake. This copy is pressed on proper vinyl, NOT Dynaflex. This is easily determined as RCA orange copies pressed on the stuff had the word ‘Dynaflex’ printed on the labels – they are best avoided, they usually sound terrible and are not audiophile standard. The price guides seem to value ALL RCA copies the same which is plain stupid. The title itself is fairly easily found but most are later pressings, often pressed on Dynaflex or imported wafer thin US pressings. The majority on RCA International with different coloured labels or matt finished orange RCA’s, the true original glossy labels are far more elusive. A heavy pressed UK example in lovely conditions will rarely be found. Proof of this this albums vintage can be seen via the back of the cover too. Only copies pressed in 1972 had the text ‘A Gem Production’ on the back (please see this in close-up), post 72 covers included the text ‘Mainman’ with the logo. For those who bought this album when first released, most played them into the ground and finding originals that play near perfectly are incredibly difficult. The more discerning collectors who do own the first made pressings will rarely want to part with them – and why would they? Not only that, the cover is a nightmare for rubbing and ringwear, when was the last time you saw this album with a cover like this? Also, the very delicate lyric inner is absolutely immaculate also and for a change, unsplit or torn and devoid of creasing and that is near impossible. Printed on the thinnest of paper, this is even harder to find undamaged or worn. This record is 36-years-old for goodness sake, how many will ever be found like this? Only one in a thousand copies of this title will be found in such conditions, I occasionally see this at fairs but invariably the cover is heavily worn and ugly, the lyric inner often missing or so tatty and torn it’s hardly worth having and the records worn and clearly heavily played. Often US pressings or Dynaflex copies that sag in the middle, pressed so thin you can almost see through them. This Bowie masterwork is up there with the best I have ever seen and collectors will know just how difficult this one is. For fans needing this album or an upgrade, a better one is unlikely to be found, do not lose this outstanding, and genuine 1972 pressed example.

Original Year of Release: 1972

Matrix Nos: BGBS 0864-6E / BGBS 0865-4E

Stamper Codes: A1 AG / A2 J

Musicians: David Bowie – vocals, guitar, saxophone; Mick Ronson – guitar, piano, vocals; Trevor Bolder – bass guitar; Mick Woodmansey – drums.

Brief Info: The most suprising statistic about this groundbreaking masterpiece is the fact it only made number 5 in the UK and a lowly 75 in the US for without doubt this is one of greatest albums ever made. It’s totally timeless and its popularity and charisma only strengthens as it ages (a bit like the man himself). Bowie’s ability to reinvent himself has allowed the singer to follow a fascinating career. The blend of rock star persona and alien creature defining Ziggy Stardust was probably his greatest creation. Buoyed by the support of legendary guitarist Mick Ronson, Bowie produced some of his finest songs, from the raucous ‘Suffragette City’ to the prophetic ‘Rock n Roll Suicide’, also arguably his finest ever song ‘Starman’ which never fails to astound - the singer would famously declare Ziggy dead during a live concert. Science fiction was combined with the love of theatre to bring a visual nature to an album that remains central to Bowie’s wide-ranging catalogue. The opening song is blood-chilling: the apocolyptic ‘Five Years’ is bleak in its intensity and pulls no punches lyrically as planet Earth is dying ‘…With just five years left to cry in’. It boasts one of the most famous covers in music history too - can any record collection ever be complete without a copy of this record? This copy on offer is one of the very finest I have ever seen and that is no great surprise from an genuine pressing made in the year of release, 1972. The cover, never laminated is always seen worn and rubbed as is the frail illustrated inner, very thin paper always makes this seen torn or split or worse. You will be hard pressed to find either better than these. Finding too such a clean and hardly played record is a massive bonus - this is a superb set and it plays beautifully with little unwanted. Bowie gave the world Ziggy – the Starman – and one of the most famous catch-phrases ever to burst-forth from any record – ‘WHAM BAM THANK YOU MA’AM’! This was his route to superstardom.

This Cover’s Potential for Wear: Very High+: [Unlaminated covers are always the most vulnerable for rubbing, fading, sticker tears and ringwear, gatefolds are more prone still and the darker they are, the more this type of wear occurs and shows. Some sleeves have a textured finish or die-cut shaped edges or ‘windows’. These are even more delicate and the hardest to find in top condition. Fully laminated covers are more resistent to wear but often the laminate ages with dulling, creases and blistering. Many 60s covers have outer flipback construction, these are very vulnerable to damage]. (US covers are the most fragile of all, very rarely laminated and made with thick brittle card that rubs and ringwears badly. Seams and edges split easily). Please see format below to access this cover’s potential for wear and damage.

Cover Grade and Format: A truly stunning, practically reference standard example, I am surely tempted to grade it Mint. But can any cover this great age really be said to be Mint? well possibly not but I am more than happy to grade this famous cover Mint(-). There is practically no wear to any surface and that is near impossible to find on the first made. A definite 1972 made cover that has the back text and logo ‘A Gem Production’ and NO ‘Mainman’ logo or text, these came post 72 and are far more common. A single unlaminated format that has the RCA Victor logo (NOT INTERNATIONAL) as seen on many reprinted repressings. This has the SF 8287 (LSP 4702) number and it was printed and made in England by Robert Stace. This includes the very fragile, thin paper lyric inner.

Cover Front: The genuine 1972 printings will rarely be found quite like this, this may indeed even exceed the stunning last copy of this title I sold a few months ago on Ebay. This is as close to perfect as they ever get: nit-picking blemishes, well very few. A miniscule rub trace near the bottom edge but look very hard. Four ultra fine and faint hairline surface creases on the spine edge but that’s about it. Ultra clean, fresh with very dark, totally unfaded colour, this looks hardly even handled and its protection within a cover is more than obvious. I doubt this famous cover has seen daylight since the mid-70s.

Cover Back: The back is even better, yes true, no rubbing at all and totally devoid of any ringwear or pressmarks. Why? well the original owner removed the record from the inner, placed into a Decca polylined replacement inner and stored the record outside of the cover, how many collectors had the foresight to do this? This equally famous ‘telephone’ booth back is incredible and has to be seen to be believed. Just two ultra faint spine hairline creases and that’s it again. Not even a hint of any wear or rubbing. I keep looking and scrutinising, but this really is that good, if anyone has a better example of a pre-Mainman cover, well I would love to see it.

Top & Bottom Edges: Both totally unworn and dead straight.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean, very sharp with no wear or feathering. Record enters on this edge.

Spine and Text: A reference standard spine also, this looks just made. Solid, straight, uncrushed, uncompressed and dead square. All text is pristine perfect and unworn and is totally unaged or darkened, this is pure snowy white. I have never, ever seen better.

Corners: The odd tiny tip rub but even this is nit-picking, I can imagine such tiny rubs would have been present from day one. All retain amazing crisp pointed shape and superb definition with not even one single surface tip crease.

Cover Summary: An incredible all round example of this very fragile 70’s cover, one that will prove close to impossible to find better. An investment standard example for the most fussy of collectors, this will prove near impossible to find better. If you only want the genuine classics in pristine condition, this is for you. A fairly flimsy cover made from relatively thin card that is ruthlessly uncompromising, few survive like this. A beautiful item should please most all collectors, even the connoisseur Bowie purist.

The Inner: Mint(-), close to Mint again, yes true. Made with thin paper and unlined, this is rarely seen unsplit or torn but this one is just that. There is not even any stressing to the edges that remain as solid as manufacture day – guaranteed NO repairs – this is one of the very few I have seen with all the edges as new for the reasons mentioned above. The record was removed immediately after purchase and stored in a polylined replacement inner hence, this is exactly as made. Clean, fresh and devoid of creasing, even the top opening is pristine with no bending or burring. The heavy pressed record has barely left no impression and this sublime inner will again be nearly impossible to find better.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: Mint(-), there are a very few ultra fine and faint surface traces or fine hairlines under light but how many records this age will not have? A superb clean and fresh visual copy that is intense black, very shiny and even heavier pressed than the aforementioned last copy I sold. A copy hardly even played on all the evidence, of that I am certain. For any copy to survive so clean with pristine covers and inners is unusual. Remember these things were handled in manufacture and packing and blemishes happened. Without doubt, one of the best visual copies I have ever seen. So many were purchased by teenagers of the day in the era of ‘glamrock’ and played into submission. Only a small percentage of the more serious collectors would have purchased this almost immediately and kept it like this. Visually a super record that should please most 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 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 superb early pressed example plays up to 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 wide dynamic range and very detailed sound. Nothing will ever beat the early real-vinyl copies of this classic album. The sound is so clean with details any CD collector will have certainly not have heard before. The sounds just flow with crispness and real sonic power – the pace and rhythm is second-to-none and the Starman could almost be in the room with you. Minimal surface sounds, the odd trace just noted very briefly on a quieter segment but of little consequence unless silence is mandatory. A dead silent Ziggy is a near impossible ask but this gives a fantastic performance overall. No pops or clicks were noted and this is an exceptional clean pressing for a fairly intense and demanding album. Later pressings of this were variable (to say the very least) and avoid those wretched Dynaflex copies at all costs. I have heard some really dreadful pressings of this album before and I simply will not offer them, most being post 72 pressings which were markely inferior and more mass produced. The sound on these near virgin grooves are definitive and this can be played loud, as the cover suggests. Few copies will match or outperform this vintage pressing I feel sure. Both channels are clean and sharp, I am certain this record has been played very lightly and has been clearly well stored and carefully handled within a non-smoking environment. Little to nothing spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this wonderful record – time has not changed this one, a real pleasure to view and hear. This copy will prove very difficult to find significantly better and can be strongly recommended – ‘WHAM BAM THANK YOU MA’AM’!

End Piece: One of the defining moments in popular music history and a pivitol release in Bowie’s vast catalogue. This copy does it near full justice and both cover and inner are outstanding and the record a mere whisker behind. As I have clearly stated above, this is not the rarest album in the world per se, but the genuine 1972 made copies certainly are far more elusive and few survive the years so well preserved. One for the connoisseur, do not lose this fabulous album.

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 & OPTIONS:

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

1 LP (First Class Recorded Delivery with Standard Royal Mail Insurance) [Signed For] = £4 (OPTIONAL).

1 LP (Special Delivery with Standard £500 Maximum Insurance) [Signed For, Next Day] = £7 (OPTIONAL).

Posting & Packing: EUROPE & SCANDINAVIA (NOT RUSSIA, see below) (Airmail Only):

1 LP (Small Packet Standard with Standard Royal Mail Insurance) = £5.

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with included Insurance to Item’s ‘Sold’ Value, £500* Maximum) = £9 (OPTIONAL).

Posting & Packing: RUSSIA (Recorded Only, if this is unacceptable, please do not bid):

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ only £7) = £9 (OPTIONAL extra insurance as above).

Posting & Packing: OVERSEAS (non-European) e.g. US; Australia; Far East; (Airmail Only: I NEVER use Surface Mail):

1 LP (Small Packet Standard with Standard Royal Mail Insurance) = £8.

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with included Insurance to Item’s ‘Sold’ Value, £500* Maximum) = £13 (OPTIONAL).

* If Rules allow for that country.

PLEASE NOTE: I always get a Royal Mail ‘Proof-of-Posting’ receipt for ALL packets that are sent out and I am happy to prove this to any customer who wishes to see it via email.

Payment Conditions:

I prefer PayPal or cheque from UK winning bidders. I can accept PayPal from overseas bidders.

The customer can choose their method of shipping with the exception of second class or surface mail overseas – these I will NOT use. The winner bidder chooses his/her posting method and if uninsured is chosen, its their decision and they have to stick with it, I can accept no responsibility if an item is lost in the post. I can only try to claim at standard levels if no enhancement is chosen (£35).

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’.