Sold Date: March 9, 2023
Start Date: February 26, 2023
Final Price: £95.00 (GBP)
Seller Feedback: 4456
Buyer Feedback: 0

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This is a genuine, very hard-to-find 1st UK press of Transformer.

At the time of listing, there were about 200 vinyl copies of Transformer for sale on ebay and, although quite a lot of them are being called 1st pressings there is only one other genuine first UK pressing currently for sale on the site.

The very first pressing of Transformer had a laminated cover which was quickly replaced by a matt version. So, all the so-called '1st pressings' without laminated covers are not first pressings.

However, simply having a laminated cover does not automatically indicate a 1st pressing - Transformer has been issued with a laminated sleeve at various times in its history.

However, the first press cover can be distinguished by the colour of the background at the top of the cover. This was changed from bronze/gold to tan in the mid seventies. The difference is easy to see as the early covers have a clearly-visible third band between the gold and black parts, mixing the two clours, whereas the tan covers do not have the middle band. Early press covers (and recent 180g and anniversary re-releases) have this distinctive 3-tone background, but only the first ones were laminated.

Some of the later covers with the tan colour at the top were also laminated, but they are easy to tell apart simply because the backgrounds look different. These later covers will typically be found with matt labels and with later (etched) 2E matrixes on at least one side. They are NOT 1st pressings. They are much later copies. (At the time of listing there was one of these for sale on ebay, wrongly described as a first pressing).

This listing is for a hard-to-find GENUINE first pressing with stamped 1E/1E matrixes and glossy labels and a laminated cover with gold 3-tone background colours.

This has the following stamped 1st press matrix numbers:

Side 1: BPRS 7038 1E

Side 2: BPRS 7039 1E

Detailed description
Vinyl: The vinyl has retained its original high sheen, with a few small or fine marks visible in normal light and a longer hairline visible on side two. Under bright, direct light, a handful of additional fine hairlines were visible, but overall I’d say there are relatively few marks and only the longer one on side two is worthy of specific mention. I’ve played the whole record and it generally sounds superb. For the sake of completeness I’d mention some quiet background noise in the run-ins/outs/fades/silent grooves and intros and a handful of places where I heard a random solitary click, but there’s nothing loud or overpowering. I heard a couple of tics in ‘Walk on the Wild Side’ and a brief crackle at the start of side two in ‘Make Up’, but there was very little else. The only time that I heard anything more was near the start of ‘Goodnight Ladies’ where the mark mentioned above briefly caused some soft crackly-clicks, but these don’t last long and are never overpowering even on such a quiet track. I would say that this record plays very close to Excellent (Ex), but on account of the few minor issues mentioned above I’m play-grading it as Excellent Minus (Ex-).

Labels: Original 1st press glossy labels. No writing, tears, stickers etc.

Sleeve: The rare 1st press laminated sleeve has no writing or stickers etc, just normal signs of age and use, including some shaping around the disc/ring wear to the lamination, a few thumbnail laminate creases, some wear at the corners, signs of use at the opening and, as is fairly typical for these covers, the laminate has lifted near the spine, with a few laminate-splits/cracks etc, mainly on the rear, but overall this is a decent example of a rare first press cover.

Detracting features not covered above:  None.

All photographs are of the actual item for sale. Please ask any questions before you bid or buy.

Where gradings are given these are based on the UK Record Collector grading system (see below) and are visual gradings only, unless the listing specifically states that it is a play-grading.

I use the UK RECORD COLLECTOR GRADING SYSTEM. This grading system differs from some other grading systems, in particular the Goldmine grading system. Please make sure that you are familiar with the UK record collector grading system before you bid.

Mint: 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. Records advertised as Sealed or Unplayed should be Mint.

Excellent: The record shows some signs of having been played, but there is very little lessening in sound quality. The cover and packag­ing might have slight wear and/or creasing.

Very Good: 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, is acceptable.

Good: The record has been played so much that the sound quality has noticeably deteriorated, perhaps with some distortion and mild scratches. The cover and contents suffer from folding, scuffing of edges, spine splits, discoloration, etc.

Fair: The record is still just playable but has not been cared for prop­erly and displays considerable surface noise; it may even jump. The cover and contents will be torn, stained and/or defaced.

Poor: 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: The record is unplayable or might even be broken, and is only of use as a collection-filler.

Plus (+) or Minus (-) are added where items fall between gradings. I only ever use one plus or minus.

P&P costs as follows:

UK:

First LP or 12" record = £4.95, each additional item no extra P&P charge.

First 7" record = £3.95, each additional item no extra P&P charge.

Europe:

First LP or 12" record = £14.95, each additional item = an extra £2.20 P&P charge.

First 7" record = £11.95, each additional item = an extra £1.00 P&P charge.

Rest of the world:

First LP or 12" record = £24.95, each additional item = an extra £2.20 P&P charge.

First 7" record = £14.95, each additional item = an extra £1.00 P&P charge.