SIX-FIVE SPECIAL – RARE PARLOPHONE BLACK & GOLD LP

	£		46
	$		61

ONEADAYRECORDS – NO Reserves – LOW Starting Bids – Simply Delivering Quality Music to the World.

Please see my Detailed Packing Description Further Down & All Shipping Costs and Options – NOTE: I now apply the Ebay ‘4-day’ rule for non-payment.

Album Title: SIX-FIVE SPECIAL.

Featured Artists: John Barry and the Seven; Jim Dale; The King Brothers; Ken Jones; Jimmy Jakcon; Don Lang; Geoff Love and the Rita Williams Singers; Laurie London; Tony Osborne; Terry Wayne

Producer(s): Jack Good.

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Six-Five Special; Let’s Have a Wonderful Time; Boppin’ the Blues; Crazy Dream; Cold, Cold Shower; Pick a Bale of Cotton; Rock-a-Billy Boogie; Ramshackle Daddy.

Side 2: Party Time; Teenage Boogie; Every Which Way; Just Born (to be your baby); You Started Something; Up Above My Head I Hear Music in the Air; Six-Five Jive.

Label/Format: Parlophone – black and gold format. Side one has the embossed ‘X T’ tax codes, both pristine. (Please see my label scan).

Label Conditions: Arguably, the most famous record label in the world. It will always be associated with the debut of The Beatles and both these examples will prove near impossible to find better. This album even pre-dates the Beatles and few will survive better looking than this. Both very clean, fresh and attractive with barely any spindle traces to be seen and no wear around the hole rim. The record has been played as there are a few light surface marks, but in terms of a record that dates back to the late 1950s and in mono (or course), this is a gem of a timepiece and always a pleasure to see these ‘gold & blacks’ looking little short of as made.

Cat Number: PMC 1047.

Mode / Speed: Mono / 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: 152 grams. A typical heavy pressing from this era.

Country of Manufacture: England.

Rarity: Quite rare, and even more so in anything like decent playable condition. When this was issued, record listeners were still often using steel needles or very early, basic heavy tracking stylus. Hence so many records from this era are simply worn-out. Greyed surfaces, deeply scratched and the sound totally shot-to-bits. This record without doubt has been modestly played and the sound quality is superb. Even on my hugely revealing LP12 for which a record of this type was never really designed to be played on, it plays superbly with any surface sound or degrading minimal. The lack of pops and clicks is almost remarkable on such a vintage piece and all the sound is sharp and still focused. Recorded very loudly, any minor blemishes are largely lost anyway and this – for those of a certain age – will bring those memories flooding back. This album is far rarer than the price guides suggest and most that surface will be write-offs.

Original Year of Release: 1957

Matrix Nos: XEX 204-1N / XEX 205-1N

Mothers / Stampers: 1 G / 1 A [one of the first ever pressed]

Brief Info: The ‘Six-Five Special’ was a UK television show launched in early 1957 when both television and rock and roll were in their relative infancy in Britain. So named due to the time it was broadcast 6.05 on a Saturday evening. The ‘house band’ were Don Lang and his Frantic Five and it was presented by Josephine Douglas and disc jockey Pete Murray – his catchphrase was “Time to jive on the old six five”. The show was broadcast live and was not intended for any more than a six week show. But initial popularity meant it ran into 1958. But when the producer Jack Good left after disagreements with the BBC he left to join ITV and created ‘Oh Boy!’ and the ‘Six-Five Special’ ratings fell. It spelled the end of this pioneering music show that historically is important at bringing sound and vision to it’s audience of the day. This vintage Parlophone record encaptures the mood perfectly and is superbly recorded with volume and energy. A copy that has survived well – this could have been a popular party piece and so few will survive to be playable (and importantly, enjoyable) when played on quality modern stereo systems. For label collectors – and they hardly get more famous than this one – a better pair of black and golds will be hard to find. An important record now in it’s mid 50s (like me) and with two of the earliest mother and stamper codes you will ever see.

Cover Grade and Format: NEAR EXCELLENT: taken into context of what is is, this is a lovely piece. An ultra thin and flimsy cover, as they were at this time. A single format with full lamination. The back has those superb arc shaped flipbacks top and bottom. Printed and made in England with the text ‘RECORDING FIRST PUBLISHED 1957.

Lamination – Front & Back: Firstly, I cannot reitterate enough just how thin and fragile this cover it – the fact it has survived as well as it has is almost remarkable. Holding this in one hand will make it bend and crease, so not to be advised. This retains most of it’s original laminate, but there is scuffing to the top edge and lesser on the bottom. There is a small peel near the front top right that has minimal visual impact. These old covers are very susceptible to shedding their laminate, but this is almost fully infact bar where just stated. It retains super shine, clarity and even freshness, even under light there are minimal traces of friction rubs or dulling. Incredibly, there are barely any traces of lifting and any creases or marks, few and light. There was a small split on the back opening edge just below half way down. This I carefully and very neatly repaired so it now looks like a fine crease and this being the only damage as such on the cover. Both those wonderful old-style flipbacks have survived almost unscathed. Both solid and still crisp with barely any burring to their ends and almost devoid of discolour or creasing. The top edge scuffing does encroach a little, but little else detracts from what is an lovely old cover that deserves it’s place in music history.

Top Edge: This has moderate patchy scuffing and chipping to the red surface.

Bottom Edge: A little light scuffing, far less than the top and with minimal visual impact. All closed edges on this cover are unsplit with no repairs.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean, sharp with little wear and guaranteed untrimmed. Record enters on this delicate edge. As stated above, there was a neat smallish split on the back, this I carefully repaired and it now is secure and tidy and looks like a small crease. A small nick on the front near the top.

Spine and Text: Delicate and thin with several fine creases so typical on flimsy spine edges. Still quite straight with most laminate retained. Likewise, most of the “SIX-FIVE SPECIAL” text is still present with just erosion of the ‘P’ and a clip to the following ‘E’.

Corners: The corners have rubbing but far from excessive on these even more vulnerable areas. All retain fine shape.

Cover Summary: A strong all-round example of this ultra fragile 1950’s cover, one that will prove very difficult to find much better. I make no excuses for a little wear or minor ‘damage’ on a cover of this fragility and incredible age. The majority of these that will surface will be in tatters – large tears, massive creases and splits, partly missing or damaged flipbacks and blistered and shredded laminate. All considered, this has been pretty well stored and loved for over 50 years. This historic document within ‘popular’ music should please many, if not most realistic collectors.

The Inner Sleeve: EXCELLENT(++): and again, probably undergraded. This is the original very heavy duty polylined inner that has the text ‘BRIT PAT APPLIED FOR’ (front bottom right corner). A stunning example of what is quite a rare style inner. The lining solid and very clear as seen through two immaculate crisp window circles. A mere couple of light crease and all edges unsplit with NO repairs. Clean and barely aged an iota, this is the original article and it simply proves the record has been as well looked after, if used a little, as they almost could be.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: VERY GOOD (++) to near EXCELLENT(–): a very fine visual copy that is very clean, shiny, intense black and heavily pressed. A copy with modest plays on all the evidence. It has a few, mostly light surface marks and a number of very fine hairline types seen under light, but way fewer than most records will have seen on this most famous of labels. Simply consider what this and most others of this era would have been played on or subjected to. The age of steel needles, massively heavy tracking early sapphire stylus. As I so often state – one jolt or arm drop – and this is another record written-off. This one has avoided such trauma. There appears no penetrating marks on these playing surfaces, hence no pops, clicks, crunches or bangs were heard. Tracking effortless and enjoyable sound with little unwanted. Visually a super record for this period 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 historic record plays even above it’s very respectable grading with very little to fault. Strong, distortion-free sound, the sound remains mostly sharp and clear with minimal traces of any degrading at all. Audio quality is very high with a wide dynamic range and very detailed sound. A loud, full-on recording that encaptures the spirit of the original show. Super performances by the acts listed above and the title songs is simply fantastic. Any surface sounds are minimal indeed and no pops or noteworthy clicks were noted and this is an exceptional clean pressing. Just enough to remind you of what you are actually listening too, a record that has seen seven actual different decades. Silence is a near impossiable ask, but any surface sound here is very gentle indeed and with the volume in these grooves, most of anything is lost anyway. Few copies will outperform this very early pressing significantly I feel sure. A 1G on a black and gold Parlophone will rarely be seen. Both channels are clean and sharp with no single channel noise, I am certain this record has been played very modestly – these labels do not lie I feel. Generally well stored and fairly carefully handled, almost certainly in a non-smoking environment. Nothing worthy of mention spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this wonderful record. This copy will prove very difficult to find significantly better and can be strongly recommended. Not for the perfectionist maybe, but try finding this a great deal better – it takes you directly back to 1957 – rock on!!

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

Deck: Linn LP12/Hercules/Cirkus with Ittok Mk II arm and Ortofon Rondo Red moving coil cartridge (tracks at 2 grams). Amps: Naim Nait 5i with Project USB phono stage and Chord interconnects. Speakers: B&W 704 Floorstanding 3-way Monitors (bi-wired with QED Silver terminated cable). All records I offer on Ebay are cleaned on a professional VPI-17 vacuum machine before play-grading for the cleanest and best possible sound and will include a brand new lined inner and protective cover too. 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 7,000+ items sold in nearly 10 years of Ebay trading and I consider that pretty exceptional. The only damage rate acceptable for this seller is ZERO and I think my packets will offer just that. It would take a vicious postman or postal service to damage these for sure. Even one of these stiffeners cannot be bent by hand, so what chance 3 or 4 inside a box? Oneadayrecords is a MAILER-FREE ZONE. I discount of course for multiple purchases with a maximum of FIVE records per box (one double can sometimes be included subject to total weight). I will not respond to questions on shipping costs as all the details are included here and on ALL of my adverts. Details below:

NOTE: First Time Bidders: Please as 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.

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

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

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with Standard Royal Mail Insurance [£46 maximum]) = £10. (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 [£46 maximum]) = £14. Add £4 per extra LP. (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’.