PETER HAMMILL (with VAN DER GRAAF GENERATOR) Fool's Mate RARE ORIG UK 1971 EX LP

	£		127
	$		168

ONEADAYRECORDS – Simply Delivering Quality Music to the World in Quality, Safe Packing.

Postage: UK £4.75 (£1 per extra record). Europe (including Russia) £12.50 (£2 per extra record). Rest of World (including ALL parts of the USA) £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 – in fact I think these things should be banned as records WILL arrived damaged in them at some time. More details on my packing 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 to keep things moving – cash-flow is important to any small business. I will always keep my P&P prices as low as possible, and even after yet another Royal Mail price hike from April this year, I have NOT raised my prices and will never compromise on solid, safe packing that is invariably heavier than most you will get. My P&P offers probably the best value-for-money for vinyl records available, and I even will pay for full insurance on any record that sells for over £100 at NO extra cost – that is UK and abroad. Also I aim to post the very same day after payment is received. You WILL see the difference when my packet arrives.

Artist or Band: PETER HAMMILL

Album Title: Fool’s Mate.

Producer(s): John Anthony.

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Imperial Zeppelin; Candle; Happy; Solitude; Vision; Re-Awakening.

Side 2: Sunshine; Child; Summer Song (In The Autumn); Viking; The Birds; I Once Wrote Some Poems.

Label/Format: Charisma – original pink scroll format with matt, smooth surfaces. This has the B&C credits and the record pressed by EMI.

Label Conditions: Both very clean, fresh and attractive with spindle marks around moderate in number, but very fine and faint and hardly even showing with full-on viewing, more evident under angled light. So possibly played a few times, but it appears with utmost care on a quality record player as the sound is still highly impressive, clean and focused. Also very well pressed by EMI with no inherent pressing rasps or distortions, also quiet and devoid of surface noise which can never be taken for granted.

Cat Number: CAS 1037.

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: 140 grams. A very good solid weight for this time.

Country of Manufacture: England.

Rarity: Scarce: I have seen far less of these than any of the early Van der Graaf Generator albums. In fact this could be only my second original copy in the last dozen or so years.

Original Year of Release: 1971

Matrix Nos: CAS 1037 A-2U / CAS 1037 B-1U [first press matrixes]

Mothers / Stampers: 1 M / 1 R

Musicians: Peter Hammill - acoustic guitar, guitar, piano, keyboards, vocals; Hugh Banton - organ, piano, keyboards, background vocals; Rod Clements - bass, violin; Guy Evans - percussion, drums, background vocals; Robert Fripp - electric guitar; David Jackson - saxophone; Ray Jackson - harmonica, mandolin, harp, background vocals; Nic Potter - bass; Martin Pottinger - drums; Paul Whitehead - drums; John Anthony - background vocals.

Brief Info: ‘Fool’s Mate’ was the first ‘solo’ album by the Van der Graaf Generator stalwart and founder Peter Hammill. This is a highly elusive and top quality album issued at the peak of his band’s output. It features a back catalogue of songs with backing by VDGG and includes King Crimson’s guitarist and leader, Robert Fripp – in all tense and purpose, it is another VDGG album but with slightly less intense shorter songs. It received great reviews on issue and even named one of ‘Melody Maker’s albums of the year. However, sales were hardly major and this has always proved quite a difficult one to find. This a very fine all-round example and well pressed by EMI. Any fan of the classic early VDGG albums are sure to treasure this as well.

Cover Grade and Format: NEAR EXCELLENT: mainly due to rubbing on the storage (bottom) edges. An unlaminated gatefold format with matt surfaces. The outer areas being textured and made with soft, quite delicate card, ths inside is smooth. Printed and made in England by the E. J. Day Group.

Cover Front: Superb artwork by Paul Whitehead, famous for early Genesis covers, this front has very little wear, especially for one clearly prone to all forms of wear. Clean, fresh with lovely colour and very little-aged or worn. Just a little gentle rubbing near the bottom edge, but the general lack of speckle (rubbing to the raised textured surface) is unusual and welcome. Any present is very little and faint, also this has no sticker issues. Soft card with a surface like this, hugely prone to pulls and tears. This one is very attractive indeed.

Cover Back: The back is largely the same again, the lack of ringwear a massive plus. Just a little faint edge rubbing, little else. Both sides have hardly any creasing at all, again near impossible to find as such.

Cover Inner Gatefold: Superb, little to fault at all.

Top Edges: Light to moderate fairly patchy rubbing.

Bottom Edges: Moderate consistent rubbing but no splits, tears or repairs. A little gentle ‘wooliness’ seen when held to light caused by friction on these most delicate storage edges. Soft card means this area rarely escapes some wear.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean, mostly sharp with very little wear. Any thickening or burring minimal and light as seen viewed end-on. Record enters on the back edge, both guaranteed untrimmed or enhanced in any way. The front now also open which I decided to leave alone as it is so neat. Adding adhesive to close again in most cases causes waviness and on card like this, best avoided as no harm done at all.

Spine and Text: Solid, straight with minimal compression and folded square, so the edges meet up very closely together and parallel. No text was printed on this one, but the graphic wraps around and most-all still present without fading, a tiny few surface chips only, and even the fragile fold hinges retain most ink with very little wear at all – again that is quite unusual.

Corners: All retain fine to very fine shape.

Cover Summary: A strong all-round example of this very fragile early 1970’s cover, one that could prove difficult to find much better. With most of any wear on the bottom edges, this beautiful designed cover should please many, if not most collectors. A real quality work-of-art with the main four faces and spine in better than excellent condition, my overall grading is arguably too harsh.

The Inner Sleeve: A plain white unlined inner, a little aged with some quite light toning/staining and one corner crease. But all edges unsplit with no repairs, grades excellent minus or thereabouts.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EXCELLENT: a very fine visual copy that is very clean with fine shine and very solidly pressed. A copy played a few times, but generally with care as any surface marks are very fine, light and faint as seen critically under bright angled light. No penetrating scratches and sound quality throughout, high. Visually a super record that should please many collectors again.

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 minuscule sound present on any record.]

Sound Quality and Audio Grading: This quality prog-rock album plays even above it’s high visual grading with very little to fault. 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 indeed and this is an exceptional clean pressing, especially for a pink Charisma record were clean sound was sometimes a lottery. Few copies will outperform this early pressing significantly I feel sure. The odd gentle sporadic tick or crackle trace on a quiet passage is nigh-on impossible to avoid, but nothing of any real note spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this wonderful record. This early copy has the electronic sound looped ending on side two that goes into the run-out grooves. The record will prove very difficult to find significantly better and can be strongly recommended.

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’.