TOE FAT Very Rare Orig UK Parlophone 70 N/M LP. 2 Plays

	£		160
	$		212

Hi, I am Mike, now 48 and have been a music collector and enthusiast for over 34 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, 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 (on a Rega 3 deck with Ortofon cartridge) - 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. The only thing I cannot guarantee one hundred percent is exact colour matching - 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. Variation can sometimes occur too in colour of the label scans and labels taken next to the sleeve with a digital camera, the scanned full label pictures should be the most accurate. If any picture I take looks more flattering than the actual item for any reason, I will clearly state the fact in the advert. 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 or sticks or writing on covers or labels unless clearly stated to the contrary. Thanks for your interest and Good luck – MIKE.

Album Title: Foe-Fat.

Producer(s): Jonathan Peel.

Engineer(s): Peter Mew.

Track Listing: Side 1: That’s My Love For You; Bad Side of the Moon; Nobody; The Wherefors and the Whys; But I’m Wrong. Side 2: Just Like Me; Just Like All The Rest; I Can’t Believe; Working Nights; You Tried to Take It All.

Label/Format: Parlophone – Original single box and ‘The Gramophone Co Ltd’ text (Please see scans, you will never see better examples than these on this highly elusive record).

Label Conditions: A record played once by the original owner. A stunning pair of Parlophones, both are near immaculate, very clean, fresh and highly attractive with only a couple of light spindle marks on side one and none on side two. This record has not seen light of day for years and these are worthy of a second look.

Cat Number: PCS 7097.

Mode: Stereo.

Weight of this Record: 135 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]. (This was based on ‘average’ weights for 20 records from these eras. Later pressings were usually lighter still).

Country of Manufacture: England.

Rarity: Rare, a highly elusive title and rarely will it be seen in this type of condition. Visually the record could pass for new as could the inner sleeve. The cover, one of the most bizarre ever, has a front right corner area crease but little else. The front cover also has a totally genuine ‘Factory Sample – Not for Sale’ sticker atop the EMI logo (bottom left). This obscures nothing untoward, the cover is laminated and the sticker is semi-transparent and it’s clear nothing sinister lies beneath, the sticker being present from manufacture day, this will be obvious to the winning bidder. This will easily remove if desired but as it’s part of the history of this record, best left alone, but that’s the decision of any new owner.

Original Year of Release: 1970

Matrix Nos: YEX 763-1G / YEX 764-1G

Stamper Codes: 1 G / 1 R

Musicians: Cliff Bennett - lead vocals, piano; Ken Hensley - guitar, organ, piano, vocals; John Konas - bass, vocals; Lee Kerslake - drums , vocals.

Brief Info: Toe Fat were formed in mid-69 by ex-Rebel Rousers vocalist Cliff Bennett who joined ex-Gods members. This was the first of two albums this short-lived progressive band made in the very early 70s – both rare, this being the hardest of the two to find. Famous for its very disturbing front cover with three human males and one female with their heads replaced by giant toes – bizarre and unmissable, some found unsettling and the more you look at it the more I can see why. Including two future Uriah Heep members in Hensley and Kerslake, Toe-Fat played a hard progressive rock and was famously produced by the great (and much missed) John Peel. A poor seller and difficult to find, this copy will never be found looking much better. A now twice played record that could pass for new visually. Side one plays beautifully; side two has a little surface sound, mostly noticeable between songs. This is not crackle or wear of any type, simply manufactured this way – I have been told this minor blemish is mostly found on this title but it’s only a minor blemish and most of anything is lost in the very heavy and deep sound mix. There are no pops, clicks or crackle on this astonishing copy, totally free of any distortion or actual sound degrading at all and it was a thrill to hear – a more ‘minty’ looking example will never be found. The ‘Factory Sample’ stickered cover is superb too and the artwork gets more disturbing by the minute. The ‘patents applied for’ EMI promotional inner is practically as new too – always a strong indicator the record has hardly been handled or removed and this one clearly has not. So for prog-rock fans wanting this rare title, it’s one that will take a lot of beating – the gentle and light ‘pressing sound’ on side two is minor but just detectable via my revealing Rega. It bothered my not one jot and the music blew away and I enjoyed it all – I think most all will too – I have clearly mentioned its presence which is obligatory for me to do.

Cover’s Potential for Wear: Moderate+, the back is unprotected with three huge flipbacks that are always liable to get damaged in storage.

Cover Grade and Format: Even with a front crease I consider this uniquely bizarre cover worthy of EX+. It’s a single format with a laminated front which has a Factory Sample’ sticker as mentioned already. The back has three large flipbacks and it was printed in England by Garrod & Lofthouse Ltd and is patented. Worthy of another look (unless squeamish), it’s one you wont see too often and rarely much better either.

Lamination & Front: This front shows little real wear as such, the paler right edge is due the laminate ending 4 mm short, hence the artwork appears lighter but unworn. The laminate is rock solid with no peeling, dry area blistering, cracking, mottled and no indentations. It retains a fantastic deep shine with hardly any surface rubbing or dulling at all, even surface marks are few and looks superb. This has the almost mandatory fine edge creases but only relatively few off, most on the spine edge as per usual but only very light. There is a moderate crease near the top right corner area which represents the biggest blemish on the whole cover but hardly major and little detracts from the scarcy artwork. Clean and fresh, this front really does ignore its great age and the factory sticker is neat and clean too, clearly never removed and hiding nothing unwanted. Sharp, clean edges with just one ultra tiny pick mark on one corner. The graphic is deeply coloured and unaged and will seldom be seen much better through crystal clear laminate. For collectors of the bizarrest covers ever, this will take some beating.

Cover Back: The actual inner back panel within the flipbacks is near perfect and unworn, not even a trace of ringwear, rubbing, grubbiness or wear – amazing, but true. The flipbacks themselves show little wear either. Slightly unusually, the right one sees its laminate end halfway through the white and the exposed centre area shows traces of grubbiness but this is near nit-picking on a cover like this. All near and firmly stuck down with no catching damage from storage. The edge have avoided grime-lines and creasing is minimal with no cracking or burring of the edges (okay one tiny trace on the bottom centre if being critical). A mildish crease to the top left corner but little else and all the imprint and ‘File Under’ text is pristine perfect. At 36-years-old, this cover is in great overall condition.

Top Edge: Practically unworn.

Bottom Edge: Practically unworn.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean, sharp with little wear and no feathering. Record entered on this right outside edge.

Spine and Text: Solid, straight, minimal compression and retaining quite well defined manufacturers nipped ends. All text is perfect and unworn under the solid and uncracked laminate.

Corners: Very little wear, odd tip rub and tiny tip crease on a couple. All neat and attractive.

Cover Summary: One of rock’s most essential covers. A very strong all round example of this amazing early 70’s cover, one that could prove very difficult to find much better. This beautiful item should please most collectors but not quite the perfectionist.

The Inner: Mint(-), its the unlined EMI ‘The Greatest Recording Organisation in the world’ flipback construction type and one of the best ever seen. Clean, fresh, no splits or tears and practically crease-free. The top opening shaped edge is near pristine – clearly this record has hardly ever been removed. Even the gum has not darkened and this inner has barely aged at all – remarkable.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: For stunning visuals, I am so tempted to grade this as Mint, a grading I do not use lightly or often. But it has been played twice now and under strong light a couple of faint surface traces can just be seen. I will say probably undergraded at Mint(-). A superb visual copy that is super clean, shiny, jet black and heavily pressed. I could hardly imagine a fresher, cleaner, better looking copy – only rarely will any Parlophone record be seen like this – this is near reference standard and a joy to view. For immaculate good looks, this should please all collectors.

Album Played For Grading: Yes.

Sound Quality and Audio Grading: Side one plays as perfect as 36-year-old vinyl will – in this case, superbly. As stated, but I will state again, side two does have a little gentle pressing sound which is mostly only noticeable between songs. This would have been like this from new and its simply just the way it is. A record with a heavy, bass-strong sound, this minor sound is mostly lost in the mix and caused me little to no distraction at all. This has very strong, totally distortion-free sound, all frequencies are sharp and clear, fully focused and as sharp as manufacture day. I noted no pops, clicks or crackle at all and finding a better overall example could prove very difficult. I feel confident this minor sound blemish would be common to this record and few copies will match or outperform it significantly I feel sure. Both channels are clean and sharp, I know for certain this record has been played very lightly and has been clearly well stored and carefully handled, within a non-smoking environment and is a beautiful vintage example. Practically nothing spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this wonderful record and only the ultra sensitive lister and super-fi system owners will find anything remotely detracting. Realistically, this copy could prove very difficult to find significantly better in all departments – for stunning looks and lack of plays, its near unbeatable.

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’.

My Terms For Bidding

Debutant Bidders: Many sellers refuse first time buyers: I do not follow this practice (everybody has to start somewhere), but I would appreciate any first timer letting me know their intentions for payment method and very prompt communication, preferably before any bid or soon after the auctions ends. This gives confidence that their intentions are honourable, and I in return guarantee extra special good feedbacks to get zero rated Ebayers off to a flying start to help them with future transactions.

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. Item wants are always welcome - email me with anything needed, you never know - I may just have a copy in stock. I buy quality single items and collections also (I am regularly told I offer the best prices – please Email me if you have items for sale).

Payment Details please read carefully - I know its boring but essential:

UK First Class: = £3 or Special Delivery (Next day, fully insured), the best service available = £7.00

Europe Air Mail: = £4 Insured & Signed For: £8.00.

Overseas, non-Europe e.g. USA, Japan, Australia etc. Airmail:= £7; Insured & Signed For (where available) = £11.00. Doubles add extra £1. Reductions for multiple items for all.

Any item that sells for over £75 will be sent Special Delivery in the UK at no extra cost. Items over £100 get the same service Overseas. This gives peace of mind for the winning bidder and myself for valuable items. Reduced postage of course for multiple items.

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 (£30).

Mailing Details: Please note I do NOT profit on postage, in fact I lose money on most packets (my packing standards are very high and the package weighs a little more - I simply refuse to compromise with poor packing. All records are sent in plastic covers with the record taken OUT of the sleeve and sent in professional mailers with FOUR proper stiffners for extra protection (if space allows). More expensive items are also inserted into a de-luxe heavy duty padded bag AS WELL to give that extra protection. I truly want ALL my items to arrive to their destination in the same condition they leave me. I will also include in most cases a brand new inner, but will include the original inner if available.

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

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.