VELVET UNDERGROUND & NICO V-5008 MONO unpeeled banana Andy Warhol LP SUPER RARE

	£		750
	$		895

THE VELVET UNDERGROUND & NICO - THE VELVET UNDERGRROUND & NICO

A truly excellent, very impressive and highly presentable copy of this very rare and highly sought after 1967 original US pressing psychedelic rock gem, on the coveted VERVE record label, MONO V-5008

The dead wax matrix numbers are :

Side 1  V - 5008 - S - 1    MG - 558 - REU

Side 2   V - 5008 - S - 2    MG - 559

In normal daylight the appearance of the vinyl is excellent plus (EX+). Gleaming, completely flat and heavy duty vinyl with jet black lacquering and a truly impressive sheen, with no obvious marks at all. Closer scrutiny under a bright light reveals a number of very wispy hairlines and very light paper scuffs on each side of the vinyl - all superficial and there is nothing that is either "feelable" or  below the surface. A solid excellent conditon vinyl, amazing for a 52 year old antiquity such as this.

The labels are pristine. Beautiful labels with the silver text upon the solid blue matt textured background, all colouring, and the iconic grey VERVE logo all perfectly intact. If you look closely at each label under a bright light it is just possible to identify a few very, very faint spindle trails adjacent to the centre hole on each of the labels - apart from that perfect!

The condition of the non-laminated, Andy Warhol designed, iconic gatefold outer sleeve is excellent (EX). Each edge remains firm with, amazingly, no scuffing; each corner remains a nicely defined right angle with no rubbing and just a very small compression (very trivial) on the bottom left and top right corners, the spine is equally impressive with no blemishes whatsoever and all text remaining perfectly intact. The iconic front-sided banana skin remains perfectly intact and completely unpeeled with the "PEEL SLOWLY AND SEE" text towards the top corner perfectly intact. On the reverse side the photos (including the "unauthorised face"), art work, colouring and text remain beautifully vibrant and clear with great definition. The inside of the gatefold is brilliant too - it's just like stepping back in time to the 60's with all text and photos remaining crisp, clear and unfettered by unwanted writing, doodles or nasty marks. There is just the merest hint of a little age discolouration on the front side towards the opening edge and the same can be said of the reverse side, though the opening edges themselves remain rigid with no fraying or feathering. What an iconic sleeve this is, and to find a first pressing copy in as impressive condition as this after all of these years is now very difficult. Wonderful, and a very solid "excellent". 

Finally, the quality of the audio is excellent (EX). No nasty clicks, no skips, no repeats, no jumps, and no background interference either. There is the very occasional very light background click (track 1, side 2 for example) but on the few occasions that this occurs it is very low level and light background and not intrusive at all, and with no scratches on the vinyl can only be down to the odd dust particle caught in the grooves through decades of storage. Indeed, the tone and clarity of the MONO audio sound is brilliant : Lou Reed's vocals simply jump out at you - turn up the volume and you can imagine yourself to be in the same room as the Velvet Undergound in full flight. I love this album!

The tracks are :

Side 1 :

1. SUNDAY MORNING

2. I'M WAITING FOR THE MAN

3. FEMME FATALE

4. VENUS IN FURS

5. RUN RUN RUN

6. ALL TOMORROW'S PARTIES

Side 2 :

1. HEROIN

2. THERE SHE GOES AGAIN

3. I'LL BE YOUR MIRROR

4. THE BLACK ANGEL'S DEATH SONG

5. EUROPEAN SON

Comes with original excellent minus condition Verve advertising inner sleeve with no tears but a 3cm split in the middle of the bottom edge and 3cm splits in the middle of the side edges, and some mild creasing towards the corners. Note that I always post the vinyl (each one in this case) in a new plain white inner sleeve in order to protect the original.

In summary a truly excellent condition copy of this very rare and highly sought after 1967 US 1st press psychedelic gem, with all the original characteristics (unpeeled banana, unauthorised reverse side face) that make this so highly sought after - highly presentable and playable (every track makes for a great listen), worthy of gracing any vinyl collection and only continuing to gain in value.

 If you require any further information, including photos, then let me know and I'll do my best to oblige. 

If this record interests you then take a look at my other 60's & 70's classic vinyl listings.

A bit about myself : I have been collecting vinyl for more than 48 years and have amassed a huge collection covering a varied genre, but mostly of 1960's and 70's origin. Most of my records were originally bought by myself for my own collection, but during the past 30 years I have embellished my collection by buying records from a variety of sources : friends/acquaintances, car boot sales, auctions, and even through putting up a "vinyl wanted" notice in my wife's shop! I am now retired and take great delight in being able to spend more time scouring the country and attending boot sales and auctions in the hope of unearthing more vinyl gems...I am 64 years of age now and am still discovering bands and music of the 60's and 70's that I have never come across before. Wonderful! Richard

My ebay feedback speaks for itself so rest assured that you are buying from a trusted seller and in the very unlikely event that you are unhappy with your purchase just e-mail me and I'll sort out the problem. I offer a "no quibble" refund policy. 

On the subject of postage, I take great care in the packaging of all items, using a proper vinyl thick cardboard "crucifix" style mailer along with at least two thick cardboard stiffeners. I take great care in separating the record from the outer sleeve in order to help prevent sleeve damage in transit and I always insert the vinyl, outer sleeve and inner into a clear plastic sleeve, thus adding further protection. 

For this item postage & packaging will be UK £5.00, Royal Mail special delivery; 

Continental Europe £11 and Rest of the World £15, Royal Mail 1st class tracked and signed for. 

 I DO discount post & packaging costs for multiple purchases. I do NOT profit from postage.

Good luck with your bidding!

NOTE : My vinyl descriptions comply with the official Record Collector vinyl grading guidelines :

Mint

The records itself is in brand new condition with no surface marks or deterioration in sound quality. The cover and any extra items, such as the lyric sheet, booklet or poster are in perfect condition. Records advertised as Sealed or Unplayed should be Mint.

Excellent

The record shows some signs of having been played, but there is very little lessening in sound quality. The cover and packaging might have slight wear and /or creasing.

Very Good

The record has obviously been played many times, but displays no major deterioration in sound quality, despite noticeable surface marks and the occasional light scratch. Normal wear and tear on the cover or extra items, without any major defects, is acceptable.

Good

The record has been played so much that the sound quality has noticeably deteriorated, perhaps with some distortion and mild scratches. The cover and contents suffer from folding, scuffing of edges, spine splits, discolouration, etc.

Fair

The record is still just playable but has not been cared for properly and displays considerable surface noise; it may even jump. The cover and contents are torn, stained and/or defaced

Poor

The record will not play properly due to scratches, bad surface noise, etc. The cover and contents are badly damaged or partly missing.

Bad

The record is unplayable or might even be broken, and is only of use as a collection-filler

For the avoidance of doubt I just want to confirm that this is the original, extremely rare, seldom seen and highly sought after US 1967 1st press release, and not a later US or UK reissue. Richard