THE BEATLES Sgt Pepper VERY RARE 67 FOURTH PROOF COVER.

	£		372
	$		444

ONEADAYRECORDS – Delivering Quality Music to the World.

Artist or Band: THE BEATLES

Album Title: Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.

Producer(s): George Martin.

A Special Note About This Copy and It’s Rarity: As I always state, most Beatles standard issue albums are not rare, far from it, but there are some exceptions. All their albums sold in vast numbers, pressing plants could hardly keep up with demand. Finding clean, lightly played copies that still play well are a different matter however. So many were played into submission, trashed even, so when a very clean copy that has clearly hardly ever been played comes along it’s more of an exception. This landmark issue in the history of popular music sold in colossal amounts and still does even today. It’s popularity and importance within its genre cannot be overstated. What makes this early-pressed complete mono copy rarer than just about all others is the fact it has the very elusive ‘Fourth Proof’ cover. This can be classified as ‘rare’ as so few ever made it into the shops. This cover was never intended to be released and few found their way out.

What is a ‘Fourth Proof’ Cover: Album covers and most-all colour printed matter are made up four colour plates in manufacture. These colours are Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black (CMYK) as known in the printing trade of which I know a fair bit about. These four basic colours are then printed atop each other in process to give all the other colours as they blend on to the printed sheet. Each colour plate has a reference and many would have seen ‘target registration marks’ that are usually hidden when the cover is made. Here the black plate has retained process text that would normally be deleted before manufacture of the cover hence virtually all ‘Pepper’ covers are seen without this text which in some ways can be classified as an ‘error’. When covers are designed, they go through ‘proof stages’, and this is a ‘Fourth proof’ stage. The ‘AR’ is likely to be the reader’s initials and other characters clerical details.

Is Your Copy a ‘Fourth Proof’ Cover and How Can I Tell?: Possibly, but unlikely, very few are. These unusual early versions must be checked on the inside of the gatefold. The right face, top flipback on the right corner area has ‘Fourth proof’ in fairly small black type which is inverted (please see close-up). Directly opposite on the same flipback is the text ‘AR D 1321’, possibly an extra digit was there but was trimmed off in manufacture as there is a tiny dot near the last figure (again see close-up). I have also taken a picture of the entire relevant flipback to show the scale of the text - its fairly small but not tiny. The ‘Fourth proof’ cover will also have ‘Patents pending’ on the bottom of the back next to the printer’s imprint, again see my close-up to show this detail. The vast majority of ‘Pepper’ covers have not got this patent pending text. All other details on the cover appear the same with one important exception: Back to the inside and the flipbacks, the end-of-laminate line on this rare cover ends higher e.g. nearer the top cover edge than the standard cover, also the flipbacks themselves are fully laminated. So there you have it, a very rare ‘Pepper’ variant and one of the first ever manufactured. Highly desirable, elusive and seldom seen or offered. One for Beatles connoisseurs and completists. Finding examples with all the original contents in very fine condition is difficult too and NOTHING has been substituted here. We all know too well the fate of so many mono ‘Peppers’, most played into the ground and now rendered unlistenable. This copy is very clean indeed and plays beautifully and devoid of the usual ‘mono horrors’ that vintage piledriver stylus usually inflicted, and often in a short space of time. One more thing I noticed with direct comparison to two other standard issues I have in stock. The insert colour is much darker especially the green which has a very distinctly different shade, making for another variation for the discerning collector.

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band; With a Little Help From My Friends; Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds; Getting Better; Fixing a Hole; She’s Leaving Home; Being For the Benefit of Mr Kite.

Side 2: Within You Without You; When I’m Sixty-Four; Lovely Rita; Good Morning Good Morning; Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise); A Day in the Life.

Label/Format: Parlophone – Yellow and Black format. Text and detail includes: ‘Sold in UK Subject to Resale’ etc, ‘The Gramophone Co Ltd’ etc, ‘Made in Gt Britain’. Also the embossed KT tax codes are included on this unbanded mono copy. All this criteria meets with the recognised ‘First Pressing’ format of this classic masterpiece.

Label Conditions: Two highly impressive labels that will take an awful lot of beating. Beautiful clean and attractive examples that show barely any spindle marks at all. I am truly struggling to find any of note and any present are incredibly fine and barely register. No wear around the hole area and this record remains a very snug fit on my LP12 spindle with no ‘movement at all’. The ‘K T’ embossed tax codes on side one are pristine perfect also with all ink fully intact and no flattening. These are so perfect in fact, even seeing them is not easy, when worn these will show all the more of course as they thicken and lose their ink. These two fine letters are delicate and invariably wear badly, so another indicator of a copy hardly played which is reinforced by very clean sound. Both clean and fresh looking and clearly little handled with hardly any traces of fingermarks which will show up all too easily and near impossible to remove once applied These two early Parlophone labels will be very difficult to find better on an early mono copy of this landmark Beatles album.

Cat Number: PMC 7027.

Mode / Speed: Mono / 33.3 rpm.

Weight of this Record: 138 grams.

Country of Manufacture: England.

Original Year of Release: 1967

Matrix Nos: XEX 637-1 / XEX 638-1

Stamper Codes: 1 GP / 2 RR [in context, these are early, remember just how many times this one was pressed].

Brief Artist & Album Info: Any music lover, collector and Beatles fan will know most all there is to know already and almost certainly will know more than me anyway regarding fine details. What I think is far more important is to make clear what is actually here on offer and the visual and playing conditions, because simply I do not offer albums of this magnitude lightly. A copy of ‘Pepper’ has to be a minimum of excellent for me to offer. I have already outlined above what this copy is all about and it’s rarity, I do not wish to repeat myself (too often anyway), but this is a genuine rarer early example in lovely visual and playing conditions. Whenever I manage to get a copy of Sgt Pepper the first ‘Test’ track I play is ‘She’s Leaving Home’, only very rarely will this song play anything like well with distortion and breakup being almost the norm. As I have stated many times before, Beatles albums always have at least one ‘critical track’ that nearly always gives problems. On Rubber Soul it’s ‘Michelle’, on Revolver it’s ‘In My Life’ and ‘Got to Get You Into My Life’, on Help! it’s ‘Yesterday’, on For Sale its ‘Mr Moonlight’ on With the Beatles it’s ‘Money’ - on this album it’s ‘She’s Leaving Home’ and sometimes the final song, ‘A Day in the Life’ can sometimes suffer too. I can only assume the groove patterns on these tracks were such they clipped and damaged more easily along with the fact they are tracks nearer the centre which were more critical to the tracking angle. Let’s be honest, how many people using Dansettes or similar mono record players, actually took the time to check and align the stylus or even ever replaced them? All the warnings on inner sleeves went unheeded, the owners preferring to buy another record rather than look after the ones they already owned. Only changing them when the sound got so bad it became obvious it was time to do so – but by then, the damage was already done. This copy plays the near impossible ‘She’s Leaving Home’ with excellent sound with minimal traces of crackle or inherent distortion – not quite totally silent but it sure gives it a real good go. I can hardly reiterate enough this is an exception rather than the rule, if you dont believe me, try listening to your own copy, is it totally noise-free, distortion-free, devoid of pops or clicks and all high frequencies sharp and clear? If it is, treasure it because few will be. This beautifuly, fresh copy is truly exceptional and could mean a huge upgrade for many collectors, I would guess most serious collectors will have this already but are the conditions up to scratch (or not as the case may be). Not a ‘perfect’ copy as there are a few non-sounding surface marks but most are merely surface traces or hairlines, and again, how many examples of this will be totally devoid of minor marks? This splendid copy sets a high standard and many Beatles fans and collectors will be more than happy to own it especially with the rare and highly sort-after ‘Fourth proof’ cover.

Cover Grade and Format: An attractive and solid EX, a gatefold format, laminated all over (including the centrefold). Two flipbacks on the top of the inner that include the definitive text to prove it’s the rare ‘Fourth proof’ variant. This has the PMC 7027 Mono cover number. Printed and made by Garrod & Lofthouse Ltd and with the also elusive ‘Patents pending’ text. Also includes the flipback laminate ends variation as described above.

Cover Front and Laminate: The front laminate retains a fine shine and clarity and all is fully adhered with on lifting or blisters. Any friction rubs or dulling is very light but a mild record rim impression is evident under light. There are a few light creases, mainly on the fine edge types, also a couple of smallish ones on the bottom corner areas. A few small half moons are just evident near the right edge. Although this is the rare ‘Fourth proof’ cover, I can see no disnernible differences in the main artwork on any face other than what’s described above.

Cover Back and Laminate: The back is very similar in all respect and retains a superb intense deep red colour. Emphasise again, this one has the early original ‘Patents pending’ text.

Cover Inner Gatefold: The inside gatefold is where the important ‘Fourth proof’ text can be found on the top right flipback, all explained above. This vital text from the black plate in production should have been removed but clearly a few sneaked through the system. There is little to fault inside here apart from the central fold in the middle has pressed. Hardly unusual, more unusual to see the vast majority retaining the original shape as most will flatten totally. The flipbacks have full lamination so these will not stick together like so many covers of a similar design. Also the laminate under the flipback ends higher up towards the edge than the standard cover which is correct for this unusual variant.

Top & Bottom Edges: Unworn up to the right cornertip, full laminate intact and strong. Both pairs very straight too.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean, with a quite sharp front, and sharper back with little wear and no feathering. The front being slightly thickened but only really evident when viewed end-on. Record enters on either edge as both are open which is totally correct.

Spine and Text: The spine on this cover always seems to bear the brunt of any wear or less than perfect storage time has to offer, and let’s face it, this one has been around since 1967. This has some minor wear and blemishing, it’s one that goes out-of-shape all too easily and this one has compressed slightly in places. It has a few crease-cracks, one of which has crossed over a few characters of the text. Also a small few laminate chips but remaing solid a quite straight. Most the text is present with that crease. Not the best spine I have seen on a ‘Pepper’, but light years away from the worst.

Corners: A few small corner tip rubs or chips on the right pairs, the spine have mild rubs. Overall fine shape is retained.

Cover Summary: A strong all round example of this classic 1967 cover, in terms of the this rare variant, one that will prove difficult to find much better. Only one in many thousands will ever prove to be the ‘Fourth proof’ variation and the chances of finding a near mint example that is available will be slim. Although this has light traces of wear, there is no real damage and overall attractiveness remains high. A fine solid EX example, it will please many collectors, but not the perfectionists. But then again…

The Inner: EX++, a real beauty and way above the ‘average’ found. Made with very thin and unforgiving paper, most of these are split on all seam edges, creased, torn, rubbed or missing altogether – some even have substantial ringwear. This is a lovely clean example that is totally unsplit. It has NO repairs. The ultra fragile, shaped top entrance edge is near pristine with no burring or tears. This has the ‘Made in Great Britain’ and ‘Patents Applied For’ text and is a classy inner with robust flipback construction. This famous psych design never looked much better than this and even the seams are rock solid and unlifted or creased. Minimal glue darkeing on the edges and only a slight record rim impression that no ‘used’ example will ever avoid. The lack of creasing is unusual, but great news and this retains fine freshness, this is an exceptional overall ‘Pepper’ inner that will prove difficult to find better.

The Insert: Practically Mint: clean, attractive with no creasing or burring, all edges crisp and sharp. For those familiar, and I guess most reading this will be, it will be immediately apparent the green colour is different to the standard one. It’s much darker and has a totally different shade. This I also consider to be an important variant over the norm and again should appeal the Beatles completist.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EX is probably way undergraded for an early mono copy of this record but it does have very light and fine surface marks that have NO effect on audio quality. Unbanded and solidly pressed and still a superb visual copy. Very clean with a nice shine, intense black with deep and wide grooves, this record still looks pretty amazing and I have few doubts it has been played very little. Few mono ‘Peppers’ will look this clean and fresh these days, looking closely at the ultra clean grooves reveals shows the jagged information that lies embedded within them – this is a breathtaking recording and this one retains great sound. Collectors will know what most copies of this, and similar aged Beatles items will look like these days. Often seen more grey and dulled with a maze of fingermarks and deep sounding scratches (or worse). One slip or jolt or drop from an unforgiving heavy vintage arm could have put a ‘terminal’ furrow or crater on this record – we have all seen them at sometime. As stated, this copy has avoided any abuse or accidents and is an unusual early pressing with few plays on the clock. This copy is beautiful and I would think has been played very little at all, a view reinforced by the wonderful audio quality my play-grade revealed. 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: Any collector needing an early pressed mono copy of this record will want one that not only looks good but sounds good too – this copy has fantastic overall sound with little to fault at all. This exceptional record plays well above it’s conservative visual grading. Strong distortion-free sound, all frequencies are sharp and clear - sound quality is astonishing with a massive dynamic range and very detailed sound, another George Martin masterpiece of production. This mono version has few unwanted sounds and I am one who thinks vinyl can rarely ever play ‘dead silent’ in its entirity, and any mono records that come anywhere close are truly exceptional, especially the ultra popular classics like this that were usually played into submission. Few copies will match or better this significantly I feel sure. Both channels are clean and sharp and remain fully focused with breathtaking sound. The detail and sounds locked into these vintage, virtually wear-free grooves is astonishing. This is still one of the most important mono issues ever and sounds very different to the stereo version. An album of amazing depth with complex sounds that still astound even today. The impossibly critical ‘She’s Leaving Home’ plays very well indeed with just the faintest of faint sporadic traces of crackle, probably as close to perfect as it realistically gets without finding an unplayed copy. This being my benchmark song on the album. I usually find if this critical and unforgiving track plays well, the entire album usually does too which was the case here. Any stresses to those critical high frequencies being minor and light, this has a genuine hi-fi sound. Believe me, I have heard this track that will make most listeners cringe, with echo, noise and break up on the vocals all so common. This, where present, so often blamed on static, well it seems strange why static only would affect one track while the rest plays okay. If any record is so impregnated with static, it’s best avoided or at least treated with an anti-static pistol or better still, invest in a quality carbon brush arm that tracks on any turntable. I never find static causes crackle or sound degrading anyway, but produces a spike discharge down through the speakers if sufficiently present. After fitting the carbon brush arm, I have had no problems with static whatsoever and strongly recommend one. What causes the unwanted sounds is either groovewear or inground debris. Nothing can be done about groovewear of course, but dust and grime can be removed by a professional quality record cleaner such as my Moth. I will rarely touch any Beatles album that I cannot hear before I buy to offer, its just too risky. We all know what these mono records were usually played on and the horrible results of. Ultra faint surface sound is just about acceptable – (but only just), but copies with more I simply refuse to offer – if they don’t please me why would they please others? Practially nothing spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this vintage mono classic. A copy that will again prove difficult to find significantly better for quality sound. Any faint and brief sound blemishes are simply brushed aside by the massive majority playing with truly breathtaking clean sound and on a highly revealing a clinical turntable that this mono record was never really designed to be played on. An overall much rarer copy worthy of high consideration and I can strongly recommend it with only tiny reservations for the most highly critical collectors. If you have doubts, simple – do not bid.

End Piece: To sum up: ‘Sgt Pepper’ is not even remotely rare in mono or stereo, it sold millions. Clean, lightly played examples are harder to find however, especially in mono. This early cut with the ‘Fourth proof’ cover is rare, make no mistake about that. This is simply telling the truth. Clearly a piece for the discerning completist collector, it will not be seen too often and possibly less so in better overall condition. The cover is clean and attractive with a few blemishes. The LP has a few light surface marks but plays superbly with immaculate labels. Both the insert and inner are in supreme condition and are guaranteed original with this rarer cover variant. You the collector now decide.

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 (SECOND Class Recorded Delivery with Standard Royal Mail Insurance) [Signed For] = FREE. This is the new Ebay rule. HOWEVER I STRONGLY URGE UK WINNERS TO PAY THE £3 FOR THE FIRST-CLASS SERVICE AS THE PACKETS WILL ARRIVE MUCH FASTER AND SAFER.

1 LP (FIRST-CLASS Recorded Delivery with Standard Royal Mail Insurance) [Signed For] = £3.

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’.