Sold Date: April 19, 2021
Start Date: April 14, 2021
Final Price: £101.99 (GBP)
Bid Count: 2
Seller Feedback: 3824
Buyer Feedback: 18

You are bidding on the following:

Artist: The Verve

Release: Urban Hymns

Format: 2 x 12” black vinyl pressing plays at 33 1/3 rpm

Label: Virgin Hut

Barcode: 724384491314

Release number: HUTLP 45

Release date: 29th September 1997

Rarity: extremely rare first pressing from 1997. This was purchased on day of release back in 1997, and one of two copies purchased by me on the day. For me this album remains a simply amazing album that I never tire of, and it will always be in my personal ‘Top Ten’ albums of all time. This copy has remained un-played, whilst my other second copy was probably played on a daily basis for several years! This is not a repressing, and the barcode, release number and outer brown ‘mailer’ are the giveaways around its provenance. The mailer version disappeared from the shelves within two weeks of release and was quickly replaced by non-mailer copies shrink-wrapped. The mailer version was applied to the first 5,000 copies only, to this a UK-pressing.

Condition: please note the following:

Brown mailer: incredibly soft and delicate card, this copy is harshly graded as excellent condition, with minor corner ‘dinks’, no tears or splits and only minor creasing. Porous card is clean and bright and other than tiny pricing label mark on the top right part of the front panel, very clean and unmarked. Barcode and catalogue number sticker are in place and in perfect condition. Minor wear around the card ‘flap’ and I gave up trying to secure the flap, as it was clear all this was going to lead to was a ripped mailer!

Outer sleeve: I have provided mainly pictures of this part of the listing, as this delicate card single ‘box style’ sleeve is a near-impossible sleeve to find in a really decent condition. This is a superb condition sleeve that I am harshly grading at excellent condition, and many would grade far higher! I ended up ‘dismantling this set, separating it all out and put into a large heavy-duty soft plastic cover to keep it all safe and secure. Tiny, tiny amount of storage impact, minimal if any creasing, tiny wear spots on the delicate seams and corners etc. Checkout the pictures this may be your final upgrade copy of a super delicate sleeve!

Inner sleeves: un-used from day one, and in excellent plus (+) condition and stunning!

Poly-lined bags: Perfectly flat with tiny amount of creasing, and it’s clear that this record has remained unhandled for twenty-four years. Nothing to note and excellent plus (+) condition again.

Vinyl’s:  are in stunning condition with a deep shine, and a tiny amount of pressing ‘swarf’ around the spindle holes, evidencing a lack of plays. Surfaces are superb and unmarked. I have looked set these vinyls in detail under both natural and fluorescent lighting, and a minimum of excellent plus (+) condition. (I personally struggle to grade twenty-four-year-old vinyl’s that is unwrapped as ‘mint’ or ‘like new’ condition, so believe me excellent plus condition is the highest grading I would give in these circumstances!).

Handled with care and quickly transposed it into a soft, thick plastic protective cover.

UK seller in stock for immediate despatch.

International and EU bidders should note that VAT charges may apply at the point of receipt of the destination country.