DAVID BOWIE Ziggy Stardust RARE 1972 Pressing UK N/M LP - Titanic Music Credits

	£		102
	$		135

Artist or Band: DAVID BOWIE

Album Title: The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars.

Producer(s): David Bowie & Ken Scott.

TRACK LIST: Side 1: Five Years; Soul Love; Moonage Daydream; Starman; It Ain’t Easy.

Side 2: Lady Stardust; Star; Hang on to Yourself; Ziggy Stardust; Suffragette City; Rock n Roll Suicide.

Label/Format: RCA Victor – Original genuine first orange pressing with the ultra shiny, glass smooth finish. Importantly this has the ‘Titanic Music’ credits which indicates a first pressed 1972 copy. [Pressed on real high quality vinyl – NOT DYNAFLEX!] (Please see my label scans).

Label Conditions: Both immaculate almost as new. Definitive and ultra attractive with no discernable spindle marks and the supreme glossy finish looks hardly unhandled. What a joy to offer and own one of the most famous albums of all-time as a genuine early 1972 pressing and in sublime condition. This record was purchased by a teenage girl back in 1972, played no more than once or twice and carefully stored away. This record has not seen light of day since that famous year and is unlikely to ever be found in better condition and has to be one of greatest true classic records I have ever held.

Cat Number: BGBS 0864.

Mode / Speed: Stereo / 33.3 rpm.

Warps: Assume all records I offer have no warping of any significance and all tracking is easy and effortless and should play on all turntables and even ‘budget’ decks.

Weight of this Record: 137 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. Some records pressed around 1973 were very thin and light due an oil crisis and shortage around this time. Some records were even issued on recycled vinyl from this period and sounded poor with crackle and surface noise evident from the very first play. If any record I buy is deemed ‘recycled’, I will never offer it, I have a very simple test to detect these records if I suspect this to be the case other than audible imperfection. Some records from this period were even pressed on other materials the most notable was ‘Dynaflex’, used by RCA around this time. Although inferior to vinyl, this at least mostly sounded reasonably acceptable but pressings on this material were wafer thin and flimsy. Beyond the 70s, records often became thinner and lighter still but most played fine but were never quite the quality as from the ‘Golden Era’]. (This was based on ‘average’ weights for 20 records from these eras. Later pressings were usually lighter still).

Country of Manufacture: England.

Rarity: The earliest pressings from 1972 on the RCA Victor label are very scarce, make no mistake. This copy is pressed on real vinyl, NOT Dynaflex. This is easily determined as RCA orange copies pressed on the stuff had the word ‘Dynaflex’ printed on the labels – they are best avoided, they usually sound terrible and are not audiophile standard. The price guides seem to value ALL RCA copies the same which is plain stupid. The title itself is fairly easily found but most are later pressings, often pressed on Dynaflex or imported wafer thin US pressings. The majority on RCA International with different coloured labels or matt finished orange RCA’s, the true original glossy labels are far more elusive. A heavy pressed UK example with the -1E/-2E matrixes in pristine conditions will rarely be found. The matrixes on this example are deeply punched and very clear and precise in solid roman type (please see my close-up of the highly sort-after -1E matrix). For those who bought this album when first released, most played them into submission and finding originals that play perfectly are incredibly difficult. Often fans bought later copies as replacements for their originals. The more discerning collectors who do own the first made pressings will rarely want to part with them – and why would they? Not only that, the cover is a nightmare for rubbing and ringwear, when was the last time you saw this album with a cover like this? Also, the very delicate lyric inner is near immaculate also and for a change, unsplit or torn and devoid of creasing and that is near impossible as its predominately white and made with very thin unlined paper. This record is 36-years-old, how many will ever be found like this? Only one in a thousand copies of this title will be found in such conditions, I occasionally see this at fairs but invariably the cover is heavily worn and tatty, the lyric inner often missing or so damaged and torn it’s hardly worth having and the records worn and clearly heavily played. Often US pressings or Dynaflex copies that sag in the middle pressed so thin you can almost see through them. This Bowie masterwork is the best looking -1E/-2E example I have ever seen and collectors will know just how difficult this one is. For fans needing this album or an upgrade, a better one is unlikely to be found, do not lose this outstanding, and genuine 1972 pressed copy.

Original Year of Release: 1972

Matrix Nos: BGBS 0864-1E / BGBS 0865-2E (Again please see close-up). All deeply punched in block characters. Later copies were scripted and appear scratched on.

Musicians: David Bowie – vocals, guitar, saxophone; Mick Ronson – guitar, piano, vocals; Trevor Bolder – bass guitar; Mick Woodmansey – drums.