WINGS/McCARTNEY BACK TO THE EGG UK TEST PRESSING LP UNRELEASED SLEEVE BEATLES

	£		520
	$		621

BILLINGHAMMACHINEBOY

UK RECORD COLLECTOR GRADINGS USED. SLIDING SCALE OF: MINT/NEAR MINT/EXCELLENT/VERY GOOD/GOOD/FAIR/POOR/BAD. PLEASE MAKE SURE THAT YOU ARE FAMILIAR WITH THESE BEFORE BUYING.

ARTIST:WINGS
TITLE: BACK TO THE EGG
LABEL: MPL
CATALOGUE NUMBER: PCTC 257
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: ENGLAND
YEAR OF MANUFACTURE:1979
FORMAT: 12 INCH VINYL RECORD

CONDITION: RECORD (VISUAL GRADE ) LOVELY GLOSS BUT UNDER VERY CLOSE SCRUTINY SOME VERY LIGHT HAIRLINES CAN BE SEEN . NOTHING FEELABLE OR OF ANY SIGNIFICANCE. RECORD IS PERFECTLY FLAT. GRADES EX.

PLAYGRADE:  SIDE ONE  PLAYS SUPERBLY . GRADES EX+/NM. SIDE TWO HAS A TINY HINT OF SURFACE NOISE IN THE QUIETEST PASSAGES (AFTER THE BALL/WINTER ROSE. I BELIEVE ALL COPIES PLAY LIKE THIS. I HAVE A MINTY STOCK COPY OF BACK TO THE EGG AND IT TOO PLAYS WITH A TINY HINT OF SURFACE NOISE AROUND THE AFTER THE BALL/WINTER ROSE AREA)  NO CLICKS OR POPS PRESENT.GRADES EX.

OUTER SLEEVE. THIS IS AN UNRELEASED 'PROOF' SLEEVE WHICH IS MADE PRE PRODUCTION AS A 'TEST' TO CHECK PRINT /COLOUR QUALITY AND ALSO TO SEE IF THE ORIGINAL SLEEVE DESIGN 'WORKS'.SOMETIMES,AS IN THIS CASE, THE ORIGINAL DESIGN IS CHANGED AND A NEW SLEEVE/DESIGN IS PRINTED. AS THIS IS A 'PROOF' SLEEVE THIS IS 'OPEN'/ NOT JOINED TOGETHER AND THERE ARE NO INTERNAL FLAPS (NORMALLY, THESE WOULD BE GLUED TOGETHER TO JOIN THE SLEEVE). THE MATT SLEEVE IS IN VERY GOOD CONDITION BUT NOT EXCELLENT AS THERE ARE A FEW THINGS TO MENTION.FIRSTLY, AT SOME POINT SOMEBODY HAS SELLOTAPED THE BOTTOM AND SIDE OPENING TOGETHER. THIS HAS BEEN REMOVED AND HAS LEFT AN IMPRESSION AND SLIGHT RESIDUE ON THESE AREAS. SPINE IS FLAT BUT I BELIEVE THAT THIS IS NORMAL FOR PROOF SLEEVES.SLEEVE HAS VERY LIGHT RINGWEAR AND SOME VERY LIGHT CREASING AT THE TOP EDGE (WHERE THE RECORD HAS BEEN PLACED INSIDE). ON THE PLUS SIDE THERE ARE NO SIGNIFICANT PROBLEMS SUCH AS HEAVY CREASES OR RIPS. DECENT CONDITION. GRADES VG.

INNER SLEEVE: THE INNER IS DIFFERENT TO THE OFFICIAL RELEASE IN THAT THERE IS NO CIRCULAR DIE CUT CENTRE!! AS THE OUTER SLEEVE , THIS TOO UNJOINED AND THERE ARE NO INTERNAL FLAPS PRESENT. I HAVE TAKEN PICTURES OF THE RELEASED COPY AND THE UNRELEASED COPY FOR YOU TO COMPARE THE DIFFERENCES. AT SOME POINT IN PRE PRODUCTION, A DECISION MUST HAVE BEEN TAKEN TO PLACE A DIE CUT CIRCULAR HOLE IN THE CENTRE AND THIS IS FASCINATING INSIGHT INTO HOW THESE IDEAS CHANGE IN PRE PRODUCTION!! CONDITION OF THE INNER SLEEVE IS SLIGHTLY TATTY . SOME LIGHT RINGWEAR AND SCUFFING. NO TEARS OR WRITING.GRADES VG

PLEASE SEE ALL 12 PICTURES THAT I HAVE TAKEN OF THIS ITEM . I HAVE PLACED A STANDARD COPY (NOT FOR SALE) NEXT TO THE TEST PRESSING FOR YOU TO SEE THE DIFFERENCES.

LABELS: WHITE LABELS HAVE THE NUMBERS 1 AND 2 ON EITHER SIDE AND THE NUMBER 10 PRINTED ON BOTH SIDES . SOME SPINDLE MARKS PRESENT TOO WHEN RECORD IS TILTED AT AN ANGLE.

MATRIX INFORMATION:

SIDE 1:YEX 987-2 (MACHINE STAMPED) 'NICK W' (SCRATCHED IN DEAD WAX)
SIDE 2: YEX 988-2 (MACHINE STAMPED) 'NICK' (SCRATCHED IN DEAD WAX)

MOTHER/ STAMPER INFORMATION:
1 STAMPED ON BOTH SIDES AT 3 O CLOCK TO THE MATRIX STAMP. NO ' STAMPER' INFORMATION PRESENT. (THIS IS A TEST PRESS SO THEY WOULD AVOID DOING THIS). STANDARD COPIES OF BACK TO THE EGG HAVE BOTH MOTHER/STAMPER INFORMATION IN THE DEAD WAX)

COMMENTS:THIS IS AN AMAZING RARITY WHICH I MANAGED TO GET FROM AN EX EMPLOYEE OF MPL. IT IS WAAAAY RARER THAN THE BACK TO THE EGG PICTURE DISC! TEST PRESSINGS ARE VERY RARE BUT WHAT MAKES THIS REALLY SPECIAL IS THE PRESENCE OF AN UNDOCUMENTED,YET TO BE FINALISED ,PRE PRODUCTION PROOF SLEEVE. I HAVE SEEN McCARTNEY TEST PRESSINGS SELL ON EBAY BEFORE BUT THEY HAVE JUST BEEN HOUSED IN GENERIC WHITE SLEEVES. THIS IS THE FIRST TIME THAT I HAVE EVER SEEN A MACCA TEST PRESS WITH AN UNRELEASED PROOF SLEEVE.THE SLEEVE , WHICH WAS DESIGNED BY DESIGN LEGENDS ,HIPGNOSIS (OF PINK FLOYD FAME) HAS BEEN CHANGED WITH A DIE CUT INNER BEING ADDED AND THE WORDING OF 'WINGS BACK TO THE EGG' REMOVED FROM THE FRONT.THIS LAST DESIGN CHANGE WILL HAVE ALMOST CERTAINLY CAUSED SOME TENSION AND ANXIETY FROM THE MARKETING/PROMOTIONS TEAM WHO WILL HAVE WORKED ON THIS AS THEY BELIEVE THAT NOT HAVING THE ARTISTS NAME AND THE TITLE OF THE ALBUM OF THE SLEEVE ON THE FRONT COVER WILL LEAD TO PEOPLE FLICKING PAST THIS IN RECORD STORES. I WILL BET MY BOTTOM DOLLAR THAT THERE WILL HAVE BEEN ARGUMENTS OVER THIS! RELEASED IN 1979, THIS LP IS NEARING IT'S 40TH ANNIVERSARY RELEASE; A BRILLIANT MACCA ALBUM ( AND THE LAST ONE WINGS RECORDED ) IT IS MY THIRD FAVOURITE MACCA LP BEHIND BAND ON THE RUN AND McCARTNEY 1!! IT FEATURES MEMBERS OF PINK FLOYD AND LED ZEPPELIN PLAYING ON THE GRAMMY WINNING 'ROCKESTRA THEME' (IN THE FORM OF DAVID GILMOUR, JOHN PAUL JONES AND JOHN BONHAM - OF WHICH THIS WAS ONE OF HIS LAST RECORDINGS).ASIDE: I ONCE READ THAT DAVID BOWIE TOLD PAUL THAT HE LOVED THE TRACK 'THE BROADCAST'!! (GOOGLE 'DAVID BOWIE BACK TO THE EGG' FOR MORE ON THIS) IN SUMMARY , WE HAVE A DOUBLE RARITY, NOT JUST A TEST PRESSING BUT IT COMES WITH AN UNRELEASED PROOF SLEEVE. NOT EVEN SURE PAUL HAS A COPY OF THIS!. I THINK THAT THIS IS POSSIBLY THE ONLY COPY OF THIS IN EXISTENCE! I DO NOT THINK ONE WILL EVER APPEAR ON EBAY AGAIN....

POSTAGE FROM SURREY,UK
UK:£2.99 ( 2ND CLASS SIGNED DELIVERY)
REST OF WORLD: PLEASE WAIT FOR INVOICE AS EXTRA INSURANCE MAY BE REQUIRED.

RECORD WILL BE SENT OUT IN A PROPER RECORD MAILER WITH STIFFENERS/BUBBLE WRAP TO PROVIDE EXTRA PROTECTION.I WILL SEPARATE THE RECORD FROM THE SLEEVE TO PREVENT SPLITTING IN TRANSIT.

NO QUIBBLE FULL MONEY BACK GUARANTEE IF NOT SATISFIED IN ANY WAY,SHAPE OR FORM.

THANKS