The Smiths Barbarism RARE Original 1985 1-Sided UK Prom

£ 52

$ 69

£ 52 Sold For

Sep 19, 2011 Sold Date

Sep 12, 2011 Start Date

6 Number Of Bids

Great Britain Country Of Seller

eBay Auctioned at

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Description

The experience of buying records on Ebay is ruined if, when they arrive, you discover that they are either not in the condition stated or have been damaged in the post! For this reason I describe all my items in detail, and only post using strong sturdy packaging. They are also from a non-smoking and pet-free home.
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The Smiths - 'Barbarism Begins At Home' One-Sided Promo 12'' - 1985

Catalogue No. RTT 171 - Rough Trade

Despite never being released as a single in the UK, 'Barbarism Begins At Home' made it only as far as a promotional DJ-only 12" back in 1985 which came in 1- and 2-sided versions. It is believed that 500 copies of these promotional 12"s were pressed, but, as explained in a Record Collector feature, this is likely to include both the one- and two-sided formats, making this 12" effectively rarer than the German multi-coloured version of the debut LP. While the A-Side of this rare record has a full printed Rough Trade label marked "DJ Copy. Not For Sale.", the B-Side has only a plain white label and there is no groove pressed into the blank vinyl. The run-out groove on the A-Side bears the uncharacteristically 'upbeat' etching "THESE ARE THE GOOD TIMES", which does not appear on any other release, and the RTT 171 catalogue number is specific to this promotional release. The sleeve is extremely rare in that this copy comes in the original UK full-artwork sleeve; examples of this promo 12" sometimes appear on the market in plain sleeves where the original has either been lost or was never sent with the record in the first place. The terrific yellow/black sleeve is similar in appearance to the more common German 12" version, but is not identical in that it lists only one track on the front rather than three, and has a different printed catalogue number, making it a unique sleeve. The scarcity with which this record appears for sale may be attributed to a combination of the low numbers which are in existence, the superb sleeve artwork, and its desirability to collectors as an original UK release of a track which never made it to the full release stage. It was listed as high as Number 35 in the 2005 'Smiths Top 100' Record Collector article, which is a testimony to its potential to soar in future value. A fabulous opportunity to own a genuine collectable Smiths record.

The vinyl and labels are in strong excellent condition, with just some very light superficial 'hairline' surface marks visible in a few places if the glossy vinyl is held to the light. The rare sleeve is graded very good due to the presence of a fairly unobtrusive seam split in the middle of the top edge which does not overly spoil the appearance of this great sleeve. In addition, there is some mild to moderate wear around the edges and corners in several places, and the occasional light crease. In the top left corner of the sleeve there is a small region where the surface shine has been compromised by the removal of a dealer sticker by a previous owner, but this cannot be seen at all unless the sleeve is held to the light. Overall, the visual impression created by the sleeve is impressive and not significantly impaired by the aforementioned signs of wear. Please see the accompanying photos for more detail; note that the 'Ebay ID' lettering is just on the pictures and not on the item itself.

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