LED ZEPPELIN 1 1969 1ST UK PRESS A//1 B//1 TURQUOISE UNCORRECTED MATRICES

	£		338
	$		448

BIDDERS ARE POLITELY REQUESTED TO PLEASE READ THIS LISTING IN ITS ENTIRETY BEFORE BIDDING.

For auction here is a very nice and totally authentic copy of the now legendary "Turquoise" 1st album by the equally legendary Led Zeppelin. Issued in 1969 on the Atlantic label, the very first pressings of this album displayed turquoise lettering on the front of the laminated sleeve which was quickly changed to the much more common orange lettering by band manager Peter Grant who felt that the turquoise lettering did not project the right image for such a heavy progressive rock outfit! Bit gay maybe?! Who can say...

Never mind. For me personally the birth of Led Zeppelin was a revelation and a turning point in my life. Based as I was then in my first London flat close to Hampstead Heath, like so many other young musicians I revelled in such music and I am still a hardcore fan of Led Zeppelin to this day. In those days of course no-one was thinking in terms of investment. Everyone was buying this sort of music to play to death all day and night and enjoy at every party, which probably means that the Holy Grail for Led Zep fanatics - a MINT UNPLAYED copy of the Turquoise 1st album - probably doesn't even exist! (Bad luck everyone).

However, what this inevitably means is that the few copies that are still in circulation are highly sought after and are very highly prized in 2012 by serious vinyl collectors. Which is good news for me! lol

I'm not going to rave on at great length concerning all the details of this very rare record because such listings are extremely tiresome. Anyone who is after one of these is probably just as well clued up as I am so I'm going to keep it brief and let the item sell itself.

1ST UK PRESSING - UNCORRECTED MATRICES 588171 A//1 B//1 - ATLANTIC PURPLE LABEL - RARE GREY LINE AT BOTTOM OF FRONT OF SLEEVE PRINTED & MADE BY MACNEILL PRESS LTD. LONDON S.E.1. - ALL SONGS CORRECTLY CREDITED TO SUPERHYPE MUSIC OR JEWEL MUSIC.

And so to the overall condition, which is probably a lot more important. I am selling this item on behalf of a very close friend who has sadly got herself into debt following her recent battle with breast cancer, otherwise this treasured album would not be for sale at all. It has been owned from new by this person who is the biggest Led Zeppelin fan I have ever met, so it needs to go now to a suitably appreciative new home. It is by no means the best example in the world, but it has many pluses which are as follows: 100% original 1st UK press. Original "plastic bags can be dangerous" inner paper sleeve. Vinyl is completely flat and shiny and both sides play extremely quietly with only a couple of audible clicks on Dazed & Confused. No skips, no jumps, and only very slight crackle between tracks. Audio playback quality is dynamically superb as this one has not been played to death, just loved and played very occasionally. All this has been fully tested on state-of-the-art equipment and the record has also been professionally cleaned. Overall vinyl condition then: VG+.

However there are also a few minuses which I will deal with in full: the sleeve shows its age as I have been very careful to show in my images - laminate creasing, quite a few slight side splits along the spine, quite a lot of handling creases on both sides of the sleeve, some discolouration on the front, and a clearly visible "ring mark" on the back. Not a great sleeve then and no better than a G grade. The actual disc has various surface marks on both sides which don't actually affect playback quality apart from the two clicks already mentioned. So probably a visual VG grade. And then there's the labels, which unfortunately both bear the owner's name quite clearly marked in biro. It would be futile to try and remove these since it would ruin what are otherwise two excellent labels - strong colour on both sides, no visible damage, and only a very few slight spindle marks.

So that's it then. A nice and wholly original example of a deservedly legendary rock album and one for the serious collector who perhaps cannot afford a better copy? I have presented it with absolute honesty and transparency and started it at a sensible price. The rest I leave to you and the high bidder will claim the prize!

Needless to say the album will be extremely carefully packaged and I will ship it with full insurance anywhere in the world.

Finally I would like to thank all participants in this auction and I would encourage any successful UK bidder to please pay me by personal check to avoid the usual Paypal charges! Any and all questions will be welcomed and I will answer them to the very best of my ability both as an experienced eBayer and as a lifelong vinyl enthusiast. Thankyou for your interest, and good luck.