BONZO DOG DOO-DAH BAND Gorilla Rare UK 1967 MONO + Book

	£		45
	$		60

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: Gorilla.

Producer(s): Gerry Bron.

Track Listing: Side 1: Cool Britannia; The Equestrian Statue; Jollity Farm; I Left My Heart in San Francisco; Look Out, There’s a Monster Coming; Jazz, Delicious Hot, Disgusting Cold; Death Cab for Cutie; Narcissus. Side 2: The Intro, and the Outro; Micky’s Son and Daughter; Big Shot; Music For Head Ballet; Piggy Bank Love; I’m Bored; The Sound of Music.

Label/Format: Liberty – Original Blue format.

Label Condition: Very clean and attractive showing only light+ spindle marks and no wear around the hole area. The original owner put his name on both sides, hardly unusual around this time, this is something that personally bothers me little.

Cat Number: LBL 83056.

Mode: Mono.

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: Quite rare, reissues are far more common on Sunset but this is the real thing. It even includes the original book which is rarer still and in superb condition.

Original Year of Release: 1967

Matrix Nos: LBL 83056 A1 420 1 and LBL 83056 B1 420 1

Musicians: Sam Spoons – Rhythm pole, string bass, spoons, percussion; Vivian Stanshall – vocals, trumpet, euphonium, tuba, ukelele; Vernon Dudley Bohay-Nowell – bass, banjo, baritone sax, bass sax, nightingale; Neil Innes – musical direction, piano, harpsichord, guitar; ‘Legs’ Larry Smith – drums, tuba, tap-dancing; Roger Ruskin Spear – creator of electrical props and devices; Rodney Slater – alto, baritone, bass sax, clarinet, trombone, bass clarinet.

Brief Artist & Album Info: Probably one of the more overlooked ‘classics’ from this famous music year. Originally formed as a 20s-style jazz revivalist band but they soon found their nichè elsewhere. This debut album, dedicated to King Kong, from the British kings of satire around this time. A brilliant album, my personal favourite and I never tire hearing it. It includes some absolutely wonderful songs, witty, catchy and a little eccentric and all are priceless gems. Comedy and satire are blended with zany jazz-rock and their appearance and style was not a million miles away from Zappa’s Mothers of Invention that recorded at this time. Check out the front cover: Smith in the centre could almost be Frank. The ‘Bonzo’s’ became relatively popular in the late 60’s and even had regular TV appearances on programmes like ‘Do Not Adjust Your Set’ and even a hit single followed with ‘The Urban Spaceman’. The material was often revolutionary and a little risqué but rarely ever as smutty as Zappa or The Fugs and the humour flowed with all its typically British style. Wacky, zany, inventive and original, this is great entertainment and copy and I thoroughly enjoyed playing it.

Cover’s Potential for Wear: Moderate in theory, but even laminated white covers darken, yellow and tone and often simply age badly.

Cover Grade and Format: EX+, single format, laminated front and back, mono clearly stated on the cover with its original number. Printed and made by MacNeill Press Ltd, London.

Lamination, Front & Back: Great artwork that in some ways reminds me of the Mothers Absolutely Free. Clean, clear and rock solid – only a mere trace of any spine-edge lifting and it barely shows on a white backdrop. Retaining a lovely shine and freshness with only light traces of dulling or friction rubs. Marks or wear on either side is minimal and a fine ‘whiteness’ still apparent, more a slight ‘off-white’, not yellowed, with few traces of any age toning. Fine surface marks under angled light and a trace of a record press rub – few, if any will avoid this but only very light on this one. A huge bonus on this vintage cover is the lack of creasing. Just a couple of light ‘half moons’ away from the edges on the front and none on the back. Even the almost mandatory edge creases are few and mostly light too. Overall a very fine cover and given its age and type, exceptional.

Top Edge: Virtually unworn.

Bottom Edge: Light rubs near the corner areas, that apart as the top edge.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean, sharp with no wear, feathering or ‘grime-lines’. Record is stored on this edge.

Spine and Text: A few fine laminate creases and a couple of very light surface ruffles. Solidly laminated, quite straight, white with minimal compression. All text is perfect and unworn.

Corners: Tip rubs on the bottom pair, little on the top ones and all retain neat, sharp shape with just the odd light tip crease.

Cover Summary: The best ‘Gorilla’ original cover I have ever had, this is really attractive and will not be easy to find much better overall. This should please the majority of collectors.

The Book: Mint(-), a truly incredible example that will probably never be matched or beaten. Still held together strongly with the two original staples that have not rusted or aged at all. This amazing book looks practically unhandled and could conceivably pass as new, yes it is THAT good. All pages are very clean, near immaculate including the vulnerable covers. A mere trace of a couple of tiny marks on the back – and this is truly nit-picking – and a tiny ‘white’ trace on the bottom edge of the front – the spine has light rubs also. I would happily put this book up against any other, few will get close. Just look at the whiteness of pages 2 and 3 (the large ‘Bonzo Dog Doo/Dah Band’ spread. All pages are fresh and clean with no creasing, bending or grubbiness, it lies dead flat with no humidity ‘warping’. A practically reference standard book insert with all 12 pages looking superb, even the corners are pristine with clear pointed right-angles.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: Undergraded at EX(–) a copy that plays beautifully, but it does have a few light surface marks or hairlines – all are ignored and sound quality is superb especially being a mono copy. Still an attractive visual copy and most are usually found in poor shape with heavy spindle marks, deep scratches, fingermarks and dulled vinyl – this is light years above all that. Very clean, shiny, jet black and quite heavily pressed. Most of few marks (most only show under angled light) are fine hairlines or light paper scuffs, all superficial, non-sounding with no feel to the fingernail touch. This is only a modestly played copy which is confirmed by great sound. Visually a fine 60s mono record that should please many collectors and fans.

Album Played For Grading: Yes.

Sound Quality and Audio Grading: This wonderfully unique record plays above its very respectable grading with little to fault at all. Strong, distortion-free sound (never take this for granted), all frequencies are sharp and clear - sound quality is very high with a wide dynamic range and rich mono sound that sounds just perfect for its vintage. Any unwanted sounds are minimal indeed and little registered at all and few copies will play much better than this. This was a real pleasure to play-grade, I really love this album and it was a delight to hear in mono this clean. Nothing spoiled my pleasure when play-grading this record. This copy could prove very difficult to find better for sound, especially in mono.

End Piece: A band musically more talented than given credit for and their music and satire broke new grounds here at the time – but not to everyone’s taste of course – they were a little crazy and eccentric and with the legendary Viv Stanshall in line-up who could be surprised? A lovely record, a supreme book and strong, attractive cover, overall a great all round copy and its one I can recommend strongly.

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.