Pink Floyd ?– The Dark Side Of The Moon

Original 1973 UK First Issue, on solid Blue triangle labels, with Gramophone Co. label rim text.
Solid Blue triangle label with A2 B2 matrices -  Comes in a Midnight Blue, gatefold sleeve, with Purple hype sticker. Heavy card sleeve, with the front opening left open, with no glue, or folded flap. Comes complete with
Both posters
Both stickers
Original Black, poly lined inner sleeve, with patent numbers in Silver text.
The vinyl record.
Side One
Visual - VG  nice shine, faint lines, and a small pressing fault visible under scrutiny. (Side One stamper separation fault)
Audio - VG  The audio is a high VG+, but the pressing fault does sound with a brief singular dull tic, so VG seems fair.
It sounds very faintly at the start of the long space after the end of "On The Run" and gradually gets slightly louder, peaks (and is quite buried) with the clock chimes all going off, then equally fades away, and is gone a few seconds into the drum solo at the start of "Time" and it is pretty faint by then.
It plays like a tic, but a duller sound, a lot less sharp, and not as intrusive, but it is a singular sound of varying volume, for about a minute, but in an area that really is the least intrusive minute on the record.
There is no loss of audio, it is just accompanied by a dull tic as it goes over the fault. No tracking issues, tracked well at 1.2 grams Labels - VG+  - see pics

Side Two
Visual - VG+  nice shine, faint lines - The pressing fault is barely visible (very faint), but it has no effect at all.
Audio - VG+  Fantastic audio quality, and only minor, faint, singular interference's
Labels - VG  - see pics

The Gatefold Sleeve (VG)
Original Midnight Blue, Gatefold sleeve, with purple Hype Sticker.
The sleeve is in VG+ condition, but there is a patch of ink missing inside the gatefold, so VG - see pics


All extras
The stickers.  (Original and Mint)
The backing paper is tan with 45 degree angled diagonal stripes of dark brown from the top to bottom, and "FasPrint Permanent," and "Crack Back Patented." on the paper. There is no catalog number on either of the stickers.
Astounding condition
Like New

The Original Poly Lined, Black Inner Sleeve.
With "Made In Great Britain" and patent numbers, printed in Silver text. In Excellent condition.
The posters (2 - Original and Near Mint) In Near Mint condition. Original wide border, matte finish. No signs of use, minimal signs of handling.


Label: Harvest ?– SHVL 804, Harvest ?– 1E 064 o 05249 Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Gatefold Sleeve
Country: UK Released: 24 Mar 1973 Genre: Rock Style: Prog Rock, Psychedelic Rock

Tracklist Hide Credits

A1 Speak To Me
A2 Breathe
A3 On The Run
A4 Time
A5 The Great Gig In The Sky Vocals – Clare Torry
B1 Money Saxophone – Dick Parry
B2 Us And Them Saxophone – Dick Parry
B3 Any Colour You Like
B4 Brain Damage
B5 Eclipse

Companies, etc.

• Record Company – The Gramophone Co. Ltd.
• Recorded At – Abbey Road Studios
• Phonographic Copyright (p) – The Gramophone Co. Ltd.
• Published By – World Copyrights Ltd.
• Pressed By – The Gramophone Co. Ltd.
• Pressed By – EMI Records Ltd.
• Printed By – Garrod & Lofthouse Ltd.

Credits

• Artwork [Sleeve Art, Stickers Art] – George Hardie N.T.A.*
• Backing Vocals – Barry St. John, Doris Troy, Lesley Duncan, Liza Strike
• Bass, Vocals, Synthesizer [VCS3], Effects [Tape] – Roger Waters
• Design [Sleeve], Photography By – Hipgnosis (2)
• Engineer – Alan Parsons
• Engineer [Assistant] – Peter James
• Keyboards, Vocals, Synthesizer [VCS3] – Richard Wright
• Lyrics By – Roger Waters
• Music By – Pink Floyd
• Percussion, Effects [Tape] – Nick Mason
• Producer – Pink Floyd
• Supervised By [Mixing] – Chris Thomas
• Vocals, Guitar, Synthesizer [Vcs3] – David Gilmour
• Written-By – Gilmour* (tracks: A2 to A4, B3), Mason* (tracks: A1, A4, B3), Wright* (tracks: A2, A4, A5, B2, B3), Waters* (tracks: A2 to A4, B1, B2, B4, B5)

Notes

Recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London between June 1972 and January 1973.

? 1973 The Gramophone Co. Ltd.
Made in Gt. Britain

E.M.I Records (The Gramophone Co. Ltd.) Hayes · Middlesex · England
File under POPULAR : Pop Groups
_______________

This is the original form of the release, it has solid light blue prism LP picture labels with silver lettering, later forms have an empty prism. It has a gatefold sleeve, and there are three known variations of the original blue-tinged sleeve - see below. Originally delivered with 2 posters and 2 stickers.

There are 2 systems for track numbering on the release. The cover lists the titles A1 to B5 (used in this submission). The labels however number the tracks from (a) to (i) so, for example, "Breathe" is listed as "(a)(II)" on the label but "2" on the cover (see images).

The following is a guide to identifying all of the elements that make up the first pressing:

1. The label has a solid light blue prism. Subsequent pressings have a blue glowing inner edge prism with the centre black.
2. 'The Gramophone Co.' text starts at 10 o'clock on label.
3. A-2/B-2 matrix stamps appear in the runout area.
4. Thick heavyweight vinyl believed by some to be the 'finest' and most true encapsulation of this historical recording as the first pressing was pressed direct from the original masterplate.
5. There is a distinct bluish tint/tinge in the black ink of the cover.
6. There are three known original sleeve variations. 1. The right front opening of the gatefold cover is sealed with the two sides glued together. 2. The right front opening of the gatefold cover is sealed with a fold over flap that is glued inside the opening. 3. The right front opening of the gatefold cover is not sealed. A known 2/2 matrix, 1 mother, G stamper copy came with (3), an unglued and non-'folded in' sleeve at time of release, which hints at the possibility that very first pressings did not come with glued flaps, which is where the poster and stickers were located.
7. Inner sleeve is a distinctive polythene lined die cut black semi matt paper with white printed text stating 2 patent numbers bottom left [1125555/1072844] and 'MADE IN GREAT BRITAIN' bottom right.
8. Posters and stickers were printed on paper stock that has a rough texture (later pressings used paper that was gloss laminated).
9. Stickers have printed backs with diagonal lines across them, and the words 'Fasson' 'FasPrint' and 'Crack-Back'.
10. Some copies came with a small round sticker white text on blueish black stating 'Pink Floyd The Dark Side of the Moon' (confirmed for stampers GL/MO), while some others do not.
____________

This first edition was initially pressed by The Gramophone Co. Ltd., from July 1st, 1973 by its legal successor, EMI Records Ltd. at the same plant.
International E.M.I. catalog number 1E 064 o 05249 appears in small fonts and parentheses on the cover rear.

Note on Credits:
Though credited for the entire album, Barry St John, Doris Troy, Lesley Duncan, and Liza Strike perform backing vocals only on tracks A4, B2, B4, and B5.

Barcode and Other Identifiers

• Matrix / Runout (Label A): SHVL 804A
• Matrix / Runout (Label B): SHVL 804B
• Matrix / Runout (Runout A, stamped): SHVL 804 A-2  3 GOM
  
• Matrix / Runout (Runout B, stamped): SHVL 804 B-2  1 GGD
  

A few words about condition.

Grade & 
score out of 100
                                           GRADING
Mint is a Rigid Band - The next Four Grades are all Narrow Bands, that slightly widen as the condition gradually deteriorates - Good is still Good, but there is a rapid widening of the Grade Bands, as the condition deteriorates over the last Four grades.

MINT
100
The record itself is in brand new condition with no surface marks or deterioration in sound quality.
The cover and any extra items such as the lyric sheet, booklet or poster are in perfect condition.
Only graded on records that are sealed or clearly unplayed.
 
NEAR MINT
97 to 99        

EXCELLENT
90 to 96
The record shows virtually no signs of having been played,  there is no lessening in sound quality.
The cover and  packaging might have the slightest of tiny defects.
 
The record shows some slight signs of having been played, but there is very little, (if any) lessening in sound quality.
The cover and  packaging might have very slight wear. 
 
VERY GOOD PLUS
80 to 89

VERY GOOD
69 to 79
The record shows signs of having been played, but there is very little lessening in sound quality.
The cover and  packaging might have slight wear, light creasing.

The record has obviously been played many times, but displays no major deterioration in sound quality, despite noticeable surface marks and the occasional light scratch.
Normal wear and tear on the cover or extra items, without any major defects.
This is an above average used record, that has been well looked after.




GOOD
56 to 68
The record has been played so much that the sound quality has deteriorated, but the record will still play through, and it will not be a completely unpleasant listening experience, even at the bottom of this grade (56).
The cover and contents may suffer from folding, scuffing of edges, spine splits, discolouration, etc. 




FAIR
41 to 55
The record is still playable but has not been cared for properly and displays considerable surface noise; it may even stick, skip or jump.. This is starting to be an unpleasant listening experience at the top of the grade (55) and will not be a pleasant listening experience at all by the end of it (41).
The cover and contents will be torn, stained and/or defaced. 
 
POOR
25 to 40
The record will not play properly due to scratches, bad surface noise, etc.
The cover and contents will be badly damaged or partly missing. 
 
BAD
0 - 24
The record is unplayable or might even be broken, and is only of use as a collection-filler.
The Sleeve is non existent (0) or what is left, is only just recognisable.

A few words about postage.

Within Australia, the best value for multiple purchases is a 5KG satchel, where as many as 15 to 20 LPs can be posted for $22.00 registered post. (well packed in a box, inside the satchel)

My Policies on postage are simple.

I post at cost.
The user pays.
I package well.

Any item that you purchase without choosing the option of "Signed for" or "Registered" Post, is at your risk.
I do accept that "signed for" can be expensive, especially internationally, but whether you take the option of this insurance, is entirely up to you.
I do not wish to withdraw the option of standard postage for the cheaper records, but it must be at your risk.