MARY HOPKIN Postcard SCARCE ORIG UK 1969 MONO Apple LP. PAUL McCARTNEY PRODUCED.

	£		53
	$		70

ONEADAYRECORDS – Simply Delivering Quality Music to the World.

Postage: UK £4.75 (£1 per extra record). Europe (including Russia) £12.50 (£2 per extra record). Rest of World £16.50 (£3 per extra record). All boxes signed for in quality, safe packaging – I NEVER use mailing envelopes that offer virtually no protection at all. More details on this nearer the end of the listing.

Posting to Russia: Yes, I do post to Russia. But delivery can take up to 4 to 6 weeks from the UK. So please be patient. I will submit a tracking number to the winning bidder, and when the packet arrives there it can be followed online using the Russian post website.

ALSO: I now apply the Ebay ‘4-day’ rule for non-payment. I try to keep my P&P prices as low as possible even yet another Royal Mail price hike, I will never compromise on solid, safe packing that is invariably a little heavier.

Artist or Band: MARY HOPKIN

Album Title: Post Card.

Cat Number: APCOR 5

Producer(s): Paul McCartney.

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Lord of the Reedy River; Happiness Runs; Love is the Sweetest Thing; Y Blodyn Gwyn; The Honeymoon Song; The Puppy Song; Inchworm.

Side 2: Voyage of the Moon; Lullaby of the Leaves; Young Love; Someone to Watch Over Me; Prince en Avignon; The Game; Show Business.

Label & Format: Apple – Original very dark examples with ‘Sold in UK’ text, these have a matt, and very gently textured finish, this subtle as seen more under angled light, but this can be felt with the fingertip.

Labels and Conditions: Two beautiful examples of this very famous and collectable Beatles label. Just a small few light and fine spindle marks only.

Country of Manufacture: England.

Mode / Speed: Mono / 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: 146 grams. This quite a heavy Apple pressing.

Rarity: A moderately common title in stereo, the mono version is harder to find, by 1969 the single channel format was in major decline with few new titles even being issued in it. Neither version are easy to find in clean conditions. This album is highly intolerant of overplaying (on older, less sympathic record-players) or abuse and the mono version always suffer most. Clean pressings with minimal surface sound are very difficult to find. This copy mostly plays very well with no groove wear or distortion, but a little surface sound here and there is almost the minimum I expect from this difficult, but beautiful album.

Original Year of Release: February 13, 1969

Matrix Nos: APCOR 5 A-1 / APCOR 5 B-1

Stamper Codes: 1 L / 2 T

font color=blue>Brief Artist & Album Info: Mary’s beautiful debut, as stated, produced by Beatle Paul McCartney. The first of three she made for Apple. I usually state in my adverts for this, not as strong as the follow up Earth Song/Ocean Song, which is probably true – but her second album was an absolutely stunning record and within it’s genre, one of the very best ever. Over the last few years, I have come to truly love this album too, it also has some magical, haunting moments and Mary has the most wonderful enchanting voice. This Welsh lady has a delicate, but warm vocal that does fine justice to all the material here: her rendition of Donovan’s ‘Voyage of the Moon’ is truly beautiful and worthy any price alone, she also covers his haunting ‘Lord of the Reedy River’ which is also sung to perfection with a very moody rendition. It can be argued, one or two songs are maybe not suited to Mary’s style, but even these grow on you and I have come to fast appreciate this album more and more over time. What is often overlooked too is the album’s backing, in small type near the imprint on the back cover is ‘The Mike Cotton Band’, a highly collectable jazz artist in his own right with his early 60s albums commanding big prices. So this album could well appeal to jazz connoisseurs too. The original mono mix is very clear and well defined and McCartney did a sensational job in producing this album. I have always found this album difficult to find that will play clean, this being one of the better mono copies I have heard even with a little surface sound here-and-there – monos with very quiet passages will rarely play silent. A very clean and lightly played copy lacking groove wear and distortion with the vocals all sharp and precise. So maybe just short for the audiophile listeners who only want perfection at any cost, but this I feel sure will please many, if not most collectors. This copy is an easy match for my own.

Cover Grade and Format: EXCELLENT: or very close to. A fully laminated single format. Printed and made in England by MacNeill Press Ltd.

Lamination – Front & Back: This retains a fine shine, freshness and clarity with a little minor spine edge lifting on the front and a little more on the back – this rarely avoided on this cover. A few fine edge mostly hairline type surface creases and a little quite light dulling around the thick record’s rim shape. A tiny white spot on the back is under the laminate, so that a minor manufacture blemish, any other marks are tiny and faint. So gentle hints of it’s considerable age, but this is still attractive and will better many seen these days.

Top Edge: Unworn and very straight.

Bottom Edge: As above with just a tiny chip on the left corner tip.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean, mostly sharp with any thickening or burr traces only seen viewed end-on, any are small and light anyway. Record enters on this edge that is guaranteed untrimmed or enhanced.

Spine and Text: An impresisve spine: solid, straight with any compression light. All text is pristine perfect, large and sharp, totally unworn under the very solid and uncracked laminate that remains very smooth and unscuffed to the fingertip. The ends have manufacturer’s nipping which is still nicely defined and straight. Reitterate the word mono number on this one.

Corners: Small tip rubs on the bottom pair, barely anything of note on the top ones. Very fine shape is retained.

Cover Summary: Always an attractive cover if found with lesser laminate problems. Laminate tightening and subsequent lifting is not wear as such, and this cover is notorious for it. In terms of some I have seen, this has less than average. Still a nice looking late 1960s cover that should please many collectors.

The Inner Sleeve: NEAR EXCELLENT: a plain white unlined inner with ‘PATENTS APPLIED FOR’ text. Little real wear as such, but it toned on the back with one gentle corner semi-crease. All edges unsplit with no repairs.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EXCELLENT: a very few light surface blemishes or fine hairlines, none of which cause any major problems to the sound. A heavy, thick Apple pressing and what a delight to see a mono example this clean, they really are at a premium with many written-off totally with thick, worn, heavy-tracking mono stylus from the era. A really intense black finish with a fine shine and very clean, just compare to many records like this. Under bright angled light, a little gentle inpurity is seen within the pressing, this far from unusual on this album and the reason why so many have varying degree of surface sound, this purely within manufacture of course. As far as this goes, this only very light and amongst the least I have seen. This is a complex and delicate record, easily damaged as mentioned already, a lightly played copy in fine conditions are the only ones acceptable.

Album Played For Grading: Yes. [I play ALL records I offer before submitting to Ebay, also the record is played in its entirety unless clearly stated otherwise. I do NOT play snippets or joining grooves to check for sound quality and quietness – I play from the beginning to end via clinically revealing B&W speakers that include the legendary tweeter from their awesome Nautilus range that reveals every blemish or miniscule sound present on any record.]

Sound Quality and Audio Grading: This lovely mono example plays very well indeed, never forget, this is a very delicate album, no loud heavy music to mask and hide blemishes or pops and clicks and this has few such blemishes. That said absolute ‘silence’ is almost unrealistic on a record that has many quiet passages but this copy gives a fine account of itself overall, a little light surface sound in places, but not too much that will spoil the pleasure for most listeners. One huge factor is the total lack of distortion or groove wear – this is less common than you may think. I have heard quite a few copies of this that crackle badly, often with that dreaded distortion on the vocal, brass and reeds (even on clean looking examples) – I simply will not offer them. This lovely copy has super clear, clean sound with Mary sounding delightful. This was a pleasure to play-grade with any minor blemishes being simply that, little spoilt the pleasure for this listener anyway. The brass instruments have real sharpness and all remain focused and clear. Let’s be honest, most who bought the mono version of this album did so to play on a mono record player – it was briefly available on both mono and stereo – so there was a choice. For the reasons already mentioned above, few of these will survive unscathed. So a very fine example, not quite for the perfectionists, but unless a pristine pressing that has never been played can be found – how likely is that? – this should please many collectors.

End Piece: Bought to the British public’s attention via the TV talent show, Opportunity Knocks and then recommended to Paul McCartney by Twiggy in the late 1960s, she was soon signed to the newly formed Apple label. This attractive blonde Welsh lady has a really lovely voice, not twee, but ‘pretty’, full of expression and quality. Still remembered best, for us of a certain age, for her successful Eurovision Song Contest entry ‘Those Were the Days’ (yes I remember being allowed to stay up and watch it), which was also a major hit single in 1968. More hits followed but her career was not a long one with only more minor record appearances later. This successful debut album deserves to be heard again, with McCartney named as producer, it’s sure to appeal to Beatles fans and Apple label collectors. But this record deserves to be heard in its own right for the songs, performance and the lady herself – I still feel Mary Hopkin is still somewhat under-appreciated and that simply should not be. I am a proud owner of this album signed by the lady herself which I now have in a frame. Listen to this one again and certainly the follow-up and brings those memories flooding back – ah yes, those were the days my friend… .

Now one of the most established sellers on Ebay and still offering the finest and most accurately described and graded records I can find. 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, a couple more at weekends if time permits, 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 - 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 collector – 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 and scanned labels will give a more accurate representation of the genuine colour than flash photography where light is variable. I cannot guarantee total accuracy for colours however but most will be very close. If any picture I take looks more flattering than the actual item for any reason, I will clearly state the fact in the advert and vice-versa. 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, sticks, warps or writing on covers or labels unless clearly stated to the contrary. Thanks for your interest and Good luck – MIKE.

Deck: Linn LP12/Hercules/Cirkus with Ittok Mk II arm and Ortofon Rondo Red moving coil cartridge (tracks at 2 grams). Amps: Naim Nait 5i with Project USB phono stage and Chord interconnects. Speakers: B&W 704 Floorstanding 3-way Monitors (bi-wired with Terrarium Black terminated cable). All records I offer on Ebay are cleaned on a professional VPI-17 vacuum machine before play-grading for the cleanest and best possible sound and will include a brand new lined inner and protective cover too. Pictures taken with a Nikon D5000 SLR Digital Camera.

PACKING - THIS IS WHAT YOU GET.

What You Get: To confirm to the strict Ebay rules on shipping, I must now send ALL my packets ‘Signed-For’ with NO exceptions. Both buyers and sellers want their packets to have a safer journey and this is not a bad thing.

I now offer the fastest possible posting, often the very next day after payment is received or within two to three days maximum (unless on holiday). I only use FIRST-CLASS Mail. The record’s cover will be placed within a BRAND NEW soft protective sleeve and the actual record will be professionally cleaned on my new VPI-17 Pro vacuum system to give ultimate clean grooves and playing surfaces and the best possible looks and ultimate sound quality. You will NOT get tired, dull looking, dust infested records inside worn and foggy covers with tatty inners from this seller and that’s a promise and guarantee. All records are posted in professional boxes (NOT Mailers, these do not offer any real protection). The record(s) are REMOVED from their main cover to avoid edge splits and placed within a brand new polylined inner. The record’s original inner will be included if available. The boxes are then reinforced with at least TWO, ULTRA THICK stiffeners for maximum extra protection – these are FOUR TIMES thicker than commercial stiffeners and are custom-made for oneadayrecords. Really rare and expensive albums will even be Double Boxed if deemed necessary and possible. When larger boxes are used, the thick record and stiffener ‘sandwich’ is then thickly embedded into bubble-wrap to bulk out the record inside the box to centre the item inside to reduce the risk of damage still further. Printed address labels are used for clarity as well as a sender label. Customers requests or special needs for P&P will be respected if at all possible but ‘Signed-For’ posting is NOT an option anymore. I do not profit on posting and the cost of this lavish packing is NOT even charged for, I offer probably the best-value and safest shipping possible for ultimate confidence. The boxes and ultra thick double-wall stiffeners and bubble wrap make a near impregnable fortress for safe shipping and this is used inland and overseas for ALL my records, not just the rare and expensive. I will invoice any winning bidder as soon as possible after the auction ends. My ‘loss’ or ‘damage rate’ is less than one in two thousand+ based on over 10,000+ items sold in over 12 years of Ebay trading and I consider that pretty exceptional. The only damage rate acceptable for this seller is ZERO and I think my packets will offer just that. It would take a vicious postman or postal service to damage these for sure. Even one of these stiffeners cannot be bent by hand, so what chance 2 inside a box? Oneadayrecords is a MAILER-FREE ZONE. I discount of course for multiple purchases with a maximum of FIVE records per box (one double can sometimes be included subject to total weight). All postage costs are below and at the top of the listing.

NOTE: First Time Bidders: Please ask me first.

PLEASE NOTE: I now exercise my right to open a dispute after the Ebay rule of FOUR days if no payment is received. I will then cancel the dispute to end the, again after the mandatory FOUR days and then offer the item to the runner-up or relist. The non-payer will also be blocked from my Ebay site and they take the Ebay consequences (a strike or removal from the system). Small businesses need prompt payment to trade and these strict rules WILL be applied.

SHIPPING COSTS & CONDITIONS – THESE comply with EBAY’S RULES - PLEASE READ CAREFULLY:

Posting & Packing: UK & CHANNEL ISLANDS all now sent via Recorded Delivery:

1 LP (FIRST-CLASS Recorded Delivery with Standard Royal Mail Insurance) [Signed For] = £4.75

1 LP (Special Delivery with Standard £500 Maximum Insurance) [Signed For, Next Day] = £8. (this includes insurance of £500). Add £2 per extra LP.

Posting & Packing: EUROPE & SCANDINAVIA. (Airmail Only):

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with Standard Royal Mail Insurance [£50 maximum]) = £12.50 (enhanced Royal Mail insurance is an optional extra £3). Add £3 per extra LP.

Posting & Packing: ALL OVERSEAS (non-European) e.g. USA (ANY PART OF); South America; New Zealand; Australia; Canada; Japan and other Far East; (Airmail Only: I NEVER use Surface Mail):

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with Standard Royal Mail Insurance [£50 maximum]) = £16.50 (£17.50 for double sets). Add £3 per extra LP. (enhanced Royal Mail insurance is an optional extra £3)

Payment Conditions:

I prefer PayPal or cheque from UK winning bidders. I can accept PayPal from overseas bidders or direct payment into my bank account.

Potential Bidders: I will cancel any bids I feel are time-wasters. 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. I will not refund if any defect detail is clearly stated on the advert and missed by the buyer, so read the item description carefully. If any overseas collector does not understand anything in my listing, please email and ask me to help. Thank You.

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 necessarily 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’.