QUEEN A Night at the Opera ORIG UK 1975 N/M LP. LOVELY

	£		102
	$		135

Hi, I am Mike, now 51. Old enough to remember the golden era of original, high quality music, bands, artists.

Also records from the 1960s and 70s bought from the shops from new, I have been a music collector and enthusiast for over 37 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, 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 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 and scanned labels will give a more accurate representation of the genuine colour than flash photography where light is variable. I cannot guarantee one hundred percent is exact colour matching for covers - 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. 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 with Ittok Mk IV arm and Ortophon 520 Mk II cartridge (tracks at 1.75 grams). Amps: Arcam 2 x 125W Pre-Power. Speakers: B&W 704 Floorstanding 3-way Monitors (bi-wired). All records I offer on Ebay are cleaned on a professional Moth vacuum machine before play-grading for the cleanest and best possible sound and will include a brand new lined inner and protective cover too.

First-time, zero-rated bidders, who do not ask permission to bid, will be cancelled immediately and blocked – NO exceptions. For winning bidders who I consider excessively slow to make contact or submit payment, I will use my right to block future bids. If any bidder who wins in the final seconds is present to do so, surely they can at least email me to inform of intention and payment method? If swift or promp payment is a problem, please do not bid.

POSTING & PACKING: What You Get: I post all my UK items on FRIDAY every week, most will arrive Saturday to make signed-for delivery easier. All records are posted in professional boxes (NOT mailers) with the record(s) 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 TWO massively thick stiffners for even extra protection and bubble wrap if deemed necessary. These stiffners are the thickest possible and custom supplied for ‘Oneadayrecords’ – these are NOT commercially available and you will not have seen thicker protection anywhere. The cover will be placed within a BRAND NEW heavy duty soft protective sleeve and the actual record will be professionally cleaned on my Moth Pro vacuum system to give ultimate clean grooves and playing surfaces and the best possible looks and ultimate sound quality. Printed address labels are used as well as ‘Fragile’ tape for that extra professional touch for the packet. 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. Customers requests or special needs for P&P will be respected if at all possible but NOT surface mail abroad. I never make profit on posting and offer probably the cheapest and safest shipping possible. I will invoice any winning bidder as soon as possible after the auction ends, with the total costs including ‘standard’ or ‘optional extra insurance’ P&P – ALL UK and Russian packets go out non-negotiable Recorded Delivery. My ‘loss’ or ‘damage rate’ is less than 0.1 per percent based on over 3,500+ items sold in over 5 years of Ebay trading (I am now one of most established sellers via Ebay) and I consider that pretty exceptional.

PLEASE NOTE: I will now only send packets to Russia with Recorded Delivery at a cost of £7 per single LP. If this is unacceptable to Russian collectors, please do not bid. I only want my records to arrive safely and this gives packets a better chance to do so. Also ALL UK packets will be sent with either Recorded or Special Delivery as standard (both have to be signed for). All shipping costs and rules can be found after my description. If they are not acceptable, please do not bid.

Album Title: A Night at the Opera.

Producer(s): Roy Thomas Baker and Queen.

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Death on Two Legs/Dedicated to…; Lazing on a Sunday Afternoon; I’m in Love with My Car; You’re My Best Friend; ’39; Sweet Lady; Seaside Rendezvous.

Side 2: The Prophet’s Song; Love of My Life; Good Company; Bohemian Rhapsody; God Save the Queen.

Label/Format: EMI – Beautifully customised format (Please see my label scan).

Label Conditions: Both immaculate: ultra clean and very attractive with only very light and faint spindle traces. Another hardly played record where the original owner put direct to tape, stored the record in a Decca lined inner and protected the cover in a heavy-duty outer sleeve. Records of this era and vintage will rarely be found better.

Cat Number: EMTC 103 (YAX 5063).

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: 128 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 135 to 145 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, many 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 50 records from these eras.

Country of Manufacture: England.

Rarity: The earliest pressings in such conditions are far, far harder to find. A very popular album, this is more often seen heavily played in very grubby, well handled covers.

Original Year of Release: 1975

Matrix Nos: YAX 5063-2 / YAX 5064-2

Stamper Codes: LP / 5 HT

Run-Out Etchings: ‘BLAIRS’ on both sides.

Musicians: Freddie Mercury – Vocals; Brian May – lead guitar; John Deacon - bass guitar; Roger Taylor – drums.

Brief Info: Queen’s fourth album and arguably most famous ‘landmark’ album. This includes the massively successful ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ which spent several weeks topping the singles charts – and at a time when it was more relevant to do so. An album that was also showing more diversity with various styles of songs and beautifully recorded with reference standard high-fidelity sound. The complexities of the production and engineering is of outstanding quality and the vocal arrangements of the famous single still astonish even today. The cover again mentions no synthesisers were used. Superbly packaged, this album sold very well but is never too easy to find in top conditions. The cover, more often than not, becomes very yellowed, toned and grubby and is far less seen still a nice shade of white. The very popular record, often a later thinner pressed example, often a swathe of spindle marks and clearly well played. Barely played, early pressed records inside still very attractive covers are much more of a premium. So a really strong example or the Queen connoisseur.

This Cover’s Potential for Wear: High. [Unlaminated covers are always the most vulnerable for rubbing, fading, sticker tears and ringwear, gatefolds are more prone still and the darker they are, the more this type of wear occurs and shows. Some sleeves have a textured finish or die-cut shaped edges or ‘windows’. These are even more delicate and the hardest to find in top condition. Fully laminated covers are more resistent to wear but often the laminate ages with dulling, creases and blistering. Many 60s covers have outer flipback construction, these are very vulnerable to damage]. (US covers are the most fragile of all, very rarely laminated and made with thick brittle card that rubs and ringwears badly. Seams and edges split more easily). Please see format below to access this cover’s potential for wear and damage.

Cover Grade and Format: EX++ and that is being somewhat critical. An unlaminated gatefold format with the front emblem being embossed. Printed and made in England by Garrod & Lofthouse and also includes the Trident logo.

Cover Front: Still very clean and white with the absolute minimal traces of any grubbiness or ‘set-off’. Any marks are miniscule and tiny and the beautiful embossed emblem is pristine with no scuffs, fading or compression. Devoid of any noteworthy creasing and still very attractive with no pressmarks or sticker blemishes. This famous front will prove difficult to find much better.

Cover Back: All very similar again with just the faintest of faint stain trace near the bottom left corner. It’s very small indeed and look very hard to see it. Being ultra critical, the left edge is very faintly darkened but I feel here I am almost being too critical. Overall again, still very white and pretty much same description can be applied as the front – there is no ringwear or even a record pressmark impression.

Cover Centrefold: The inner gatefold is little short of as made and looks fantastic.

Top & Bottom Edges: The minor surface rub trace and tiny hint of discolour, again being somewhat critical. Being white, these of course will show any minor friction blemish but these will be hard to find better and all four remain very straight too.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean, very sharp with no wear or feathering, again practically as new. Record enters on this right back edge.

Spine and Text: The spine is in lovely condition also: Solid, straight, uncompressed and square, both right edges meet up quite closely together and parallel. All text is perfect and unworn and any traces of darkening from age are miniscule.

Corners: All corners are in fantastic condition with no creasing, dinking or rubbing worthy of note. All have superb pointed shape and great definition.

Cover Summary: An exceptional example of this classic mid-70’s cover, one that will prove very difficult to find much better. With the majority really showing their ages (and poor storage history) freely, this is a wonderful example owned by a careful collector. This fantastic item should please most Queen collectors.

The Inner: The illustrated unlined card inner has a split on the bottom edge. If it hadn’t, I would have graded Mint as made because there is nothing else to fault. As stated, the original owner put all his records immediately into Decca polylined inners as this split was there from purchase. Such splits occur in transportation where the record moves – hence that’s why all records should be posted with the record removed from inners and main covers to avoid similar damage. Unfortunately manufacturers and distributors did not bother with such detail to safety and many inners, as per this were split from new. Both left and right edges are perfect as is the recessed top opening. Clean with no creasing with lovely artwork of the band.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: Mint(-) and like the fantastic debut and second albums I am also currently offering, this could and should possibly be graded as Mint. Hardly even played, this beautifully preserved record could easily pass as new. A superb visual copy that is super clean, shiny, intense black and very solidly pressed and more substantial than later copies. This classic fourth album will rarely be seen better from a vintage pressing. Visually a super record that should please all collectors.

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 snippetts 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 immaculate record plays up to its high visual grading nothing to fault. Strong, distortion-free sound, all frequencies are sharp and clear - sound quality is astonishing with a wide dynamic range and very detailed sound. From the beginning this band wanted high standards and this again is beautifully produced with immense power and detail. Devoid of surface sounds and no pops or clicks were noted and this is an exceptional clean pressing that on any quality system, will excel. If all records were like this, it would make describing very easy, alas we all know that can never be the case. Few examples will match or outperform this early pressing significantly I feel sure. Both channels are clean and sharp, I know this record has been played very lightly and has been clearly well stored and carefully handled within in a non-smoking environment. Nothing spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this wonderful record. This copy will prove near impossible to find significantly better and can be strongly recommended.

NOTE: First Time Bidders: I will cancel ALL first-time bidders with no feedbacks or excessive negatives who do not ask me if its OK to bid first – NO EXCEPTIONS.

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 – it’s always worth asking.

SHIPPING COSTS & OPTIONS:

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

1 LP (First Class Recorded Delivery with Standard Royal Mail Insurance) [Signed For] = £4 (OPTIONAL).

1 LP (Special Delivery with Standard £500 Maximum Insurance) [Signed For, Next Day] = £7 (OPTIONAL).

Posting & Packing: EUROPE & SCANDINAVIA (NOT RUSSIA, see below) (Airmail Only):

1 LP (Small Packet Standard with Standard Royal Mail Insurance) = £5.

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with included Insurance to Item’s ‘Sold’ Value, £500* Maximum) = £9 (OPTIONAL).

Posting & Packing: RUSSIA (Recorded Only, if this is unacceptable, please do not bid):

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ only £7) = £9 (OPTIONAL extra insurance as above).

Posting & Packing: OVERSEAS (non-European) e.g. US; Australia; Far East; (Airmail Only: I NEVER use Surface Mail):

1 LP (Small Packet Standard with Standard Royal Mail Insurance) = £8.

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with included Insurance to Item’s ‘Sold’ Value, £500* Maximum) = £13 (OPTIONAL).

* If Rules allow for that country.

PLEASE NOTE: I always get a Royal Mail ‘Proof-of-Posting’ receipt for ALL packets that are sent out and I am happy to prove this to any customer who wishes to see it via email.

Payment Conditions:

I prefer PayPal or cheque from UK winning bidders. I can accept PayPal from overseas bidders.

The customer can choose their method of shipping with the exception of second class or surface mail overseas – these I will NOT use. 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 (£35).

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. If any overseas collector does not understand anything in my listing, please email and ask me to help.

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’.