STATUS QUO Spare Parts Very Rare UK Orig Late 69 Mono

	£		133
	$		176

Hi, I am Mike, I am 46 and have been a music collector and enthusiast for over 33 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 ellusive 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, hence the name - time rarely allows for more as I Play-Grade virtually every record I offer in their entirity, not just bits to guess a grade (on a Rega 3 deck with Ortofon cartridge) - 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. The only thing I cannot guarantee one hundred percent is exact colour matching - 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. Variation can sometimes occur too in colour of the label scans and labels taken next to the sleeve with a digital camera, the scanned full label pictures should be the most accurate. If any picture I take looks more flattering than the actual item for any reason, I will clearly state the fact in the advert. 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 or sticks or writing on covers or labels unless clearly stated to the contrary. Thanks for your interest and Good luck – MIKE.

Please read all the information carefully - these adverts take an age to compile properly - so it’s well worth a few minutes of your time to read the details thoroughly. I really cannot take any responsibility if any bidder fails to read any facts that are clearly stated in the advert - Thankyou.

Artist or Band: STATUS QUO

Album Title: Spare Parts

Track Listing: Face Without a Soul; Your’re Just What I Was Looking For Today; Are You Growing Tired of My Love; Antique Angelica; So Ends Another Life; Poor Old Man; Mr Mind Detector; The Clown; Velvet Curtains; Little Miss Nothing; When I Awake; Nothing at All.

Cat Number: NPL 18301 Mono (This was issued in stereo too and is found more often).

Label and Condition: Pye blue and black label. Attractive clean examples of this classic 60s label, along with the Island Pinks one of the definitive labels of that time. This pair show only light and very light spindle traces. A copy played few times on this evidence and even more importantly barely a trace of any wear at all around the hole. (Please see label scans for all information needed).

Country of Manufacture: England, UK

Rarity: Quite rare, stereo originals are very scarce, this lovely late mono is far rarer. By 1969 the mono format was fast becoming extinct, many shops did not even stock mono records and they had to be specially ordered. Some classic albums were not even pressed in mono in 1969 - this album failed to sell well either making this a very tough find. Clean, lightly played copies of this one are never an easy find.

Original Year of Release: 1969

Matrix Nos: NPL 18301 A2 *T and NPL 18301 B2 *T . The tiny pressing codes are C1 and B1.

Brief Artist & Album Info: Forget the commercial boogie rock of the 70s that made this everlasting band famous (and for the most part, very popular), this, their second album, is very different. This is classic UK 60s psych, not a million miles away from classic acts like Kaleidoscope et al. Vocally, of course, this is more recognisable as Quo, and although the band enjoyed an early chart success with the famous ‘Pictures of Matchstick Men’ both the Pye albums failed to sell in anything like large numbers, making them very sort after and desirable today. I have to admit this is my first time hearing this album in mono, and what an eye-opener, its truly terrific. With the huge current interest in UK psych LPs (check out the current prices for the aforementioned Kaleidoscope albums), this early lost gem will be better than cash in the bank and should increase in the future fast. This copy on offer is a real mono rarity and its lightly played, it looks and plays supremely well. This very late pressed mono is rarer than the stereo - but neither are easy to find for sure. I feel this super copy should please most collectors of rare 60s treasures. – Mike.

Cover Condition and Details: EX+++ and as close to Mint(-) as you will ever find, single format, laminated front and back. This actually has mono printed on the back proving this is a original cover - no substitutions here. A gorgeous, fresh looking cover that is probably as good as you will ever realistically see, a remarkable find this one. A cover with hardly any wear, just a couple of tiny, minor blemishes - this could almost (very nearly) be off the shelf new, taking into account of how easily chipped these fine, quite thin covers were.

Cover Lamination: Superb lamination with deep rich shine and no dulling. Creasing is minimal to say the least, just one light one near the top front and the odd small light one near the edges. No peeling and only just one tiny dry spot near the top, back left (and I mean tiny) No deep indentations and even surface marks are few, the front has barely any at all and looks amazing. Unusually too there is barely any sign of any record pressmarks and certainly no ring damage. This is quite outstanding laminate.

Cover Front: Very attractive indeed, deep rich colour with little signs of any wear. The wood grain looks almost real under that glossy ‘varnish-like’ laminate. This front really is lovely.

Cover Back: Pretty much the same again - superb.

Cover Edges/Corners: Top: unworn. Bottom: unworn. Record entry edge (right): unworn, clean and sharp, a microscopic nick crease if being hyper-critical. Spine: Solid and square and unworn, all text is close pristine under the solid, unpeeled or cracked laminate. Corners: All four show little wear are still nicely shaped, just tip wear to the bottom pair and tiny corner crease again if being critical.

Summary: A lovely strong all round example of this scarce original 60’s mono cover, one that could prove hard to find much better. This super cover should please most, if not all collectors.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EX+, clean with fine shine and pressed on very heavy (typical) 60s Pye quality vinyl. So heavy infact this slowed down my belt drive Rega for a couple of seconds - this is a massive thick, deep grooved pressing. This shows nothing more than a few light surface marks/very light surface paper scuffs, just removal from the inner would cause this, but emphasise purely superficial and light as possible - no sound whatsoever. In fact my play-grade revealed a super clean, dynamic and detailed mono record that does vary immensely from the stereo version - an exceptional clean vintage pressing.

Sound Quality and Audio Grading: Yes this plays supremely well, and even better than the high EX+ visual grade. Superb mono sound with great detail and clarity, my very first experience of this album via this rarer mix. The sound is clean and devoid of distortion, a fact I am always glad to report from any mono record, this should never be taken for granted, even surface sounds were minimal to non-existent. This copy has been clearly lightly played, no doubt about that, and almost certainly on top equipment. Near perfectly stored, again almost certainly in a non-smoking environment, this fabulous record should please most collectors.

Mono vs Stereo: Always a matter of opinion. For any serious collector where there is a choice e.g. Beatles, Stones, Hendrix etc. both are essential. True Stereo albums give great imagery and presence whereas mono albums usually are more dynamic, louder and present the detail more clearly. Mono albums are far harder to find in genuinely top playing condition. Most were heavily played, particularly the truly great bands and artists, often covered in mark and scratches, many severe and labels that were a mass of spindle marks. The majority were played on vintage and unsubtle decks with heavy tonearms and thick styli (often sapphire, not diamond, that chipped more easily) that rendered heavy wear in a very short time to many a fine classic record. Wear to the delicate groove walls, particularly the innermost tracks to the labels were most vulnerable where the tracking angle became more severe and the backdrag actually stripped the delicate groove walls. This resulted in surface noise and mild/moderate distortion or worse. These old decks tracked by sheer weight and little of any refined engineering. Next time you see such a deck at a local record fayre, feel the weight of the arm, it almost makes you wonder how any records survived at all. The point of this paragraph is emphasise that when a truly clean, lightly played and great sounding 60s mono album (or stereo come to that) is offered, treasure it, because for sure they are truly getting vary rare and precious - beware - demand only play-graded records.

Album Played For Grading: Yes.

Final Summary: I could believe finding this at all in such lovely clean condition, when I noticed too it was a mono copy it gave a geniune thrill. Late 60s non-stereo records are very ellusive - even Beatles albums from this year did not make a mono cut. Any Quo fan or connoisseur should enjoy this experience, this will not be seen often and so lightly played. Yes the odd cover blemish, yes the odd surface mark - but a copy that looks fantastic and plays light years better than the average mono record. The sounds embedded here in these deep original grooves are almost totally devoid of wear and are unique to this pressing. So if your 60s collection lacks this fine album, from a familiar band to most, sounding very different on this vintage issue, dont let this copy go, it might be some time before such a clean all round copy is seen again - good luck – Mike.

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. 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. Item wants are always welcome - email me with anything needed, you never know - I may just have a copy in stock. I by quality single items and collections also (Email me please if you have quality items for sale).

Debutant Bidders: Many sellers refuse first time buyers: I do not follow this practice (everybody has to start somewhere), but I would appreciate any first timer letting me know their intentions of their intended payment method and very prompt communication, preferably before any bid or soon after the auctions ends. This gives confidence that their intentions are honourable, and I in return guarantee extra special good feedbacks to get zero rated Ebayers off to a flying start to help them with future transactions. NOTE: I WILL NOT ACCEPT BIDS FROM UNREGISTERED USERS, I will cancel them immediately, and sorry, I cannot give valuations on people’s personal items just for their own curiosity, no item can be accurately valued blindly.

Having the Powerseller Logo: This is recognition from Ebay for the highest possible customer services, satisfaction and quality, it should reassure any potential bidder that all items are described, graded and shipped to the highest standards possible. Customer care of the highest order is a standard feature here and I am proud to have achieved this recognised standard of excellence from Ebay with help from collectors and buyers from all over the World - I thank you all.

Payment Details please read carefully - I know its boring but essential:

UK First Class: = £3.00; Recorded Delivery (Recommended) = £5.50 Special Delivery (Next day, insured up to £250), the best service available = £7.00

Europe Air Mail: = £4 Insured: £8.00

Overseas, non-Europe e.g. USA, Japan, Australia etc. Airmail:= £7; Insured with recorded delivery (where available) = £11.00

Singles: (Packed to the high standards of the LPs)

UK First class: = £2.00 Insured: £4

Europe Air Mail = £3.00 Insured: £5.50

Overseas, non-Europe (as above) Airmail £3.50 Insured: £6.00

Doubles add extra £1, triples add extra £2. Box sets add extra £3 (£4 overseas and Europe)

Any item that sells for over £85 will be sent Special Delivery in the UK at no extra cost. Items over £125 get the same service Overseas. This is gives peace of mind for the winning bidder and myself for valuable items. Reduced postage of course for multiple items.

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 (£28). PLEASE NOTE: I will NOT use surface mail, its too slow, with a higher risk of loss and damage.

Mailing Details: Please note I do NOT profit on postage (my packing standards are high and the package weighs a little more and I often actually lose money on this part of service - I simply refuse to compromise with poor packing. All records are sent in plastic covers with the record taken OUT of the sleeve and sent in professional mailers with FOUR professional stiffners for extra protection (if space allows), I do NOT use old cardboard boxes or cereal packets for protection. More expensive items are also inserted into a de-luxe heavy duty padded bag AS WELL to give that extra protection. I truly want ALL my items to arrive to their destination in the same condition they leave me. I will also include in most cases a brand new lined inner, but will include the original inner if available and in a condition to be worthwhile.

I can accept cash for payments worldwide in UK Pounds Sterling, Euros or US Dollars - but this at the senders OWN risk. Please send registered and insured if this method is chosen. I cannot accept responsibility if any cash payments do not turn up. This system is very reliable and rarely goes astray. The same goes for any shipped uninsured item, I can only try to claim for any undelivered or damaged article at basic insurance levels if no enhanced insurance is requested and paid for (unless the value threshold is high enough for me insure as standard, see above)

Overseas bidders please note conversion rates for Pounds to Dollars and Pounds to Euros will be charged at 1.7 to cover PayPal or cash conversion costs.

PLEASE NOTE: Any PayPal user can now pay me with UK Sterling if they wish with no need to convert to US dollars (although they still can if they wish to). Any instant PayPal transaction from anywhere in the world will mean the item will be sent immediately - it makes deals fast and very efficient.

Potential Bidders: Please do not bid if you have negative feedback unless checking first, I will cancel any bids I feel are timewasters. I now only accept PayPal, International money orders or cash from overseas bidders (UK Sterling, US dollars or Euros). Cash, cheques, postal orders and PayPal are fine from the UK. I allow maximum 3 days for communication and 7 days for payment to arrive - if this does not happen I will relist the item and may send negative feedback unless an explanation is given. Fast deals get great feedback from me. Any questions - please ask. Please keep watch on my Ebays, I have other interesting items coming very soon. Thanks for looking.

My Guarantee: As listening to every single record I offer all the way through is difficult timewise, can I make it clear 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. I still endeavour to play all the items in their entirity for grading if at all possible and is usually the case.