All my items have a full money-back guarantee - if it's not as described you can return it for a full refund.

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The early pressing history of “Heroes” is a little confusing because the majority of copies bought in the UK were actually pressed in Italy. [Elvis Presley had just died and RCA presses in the UK were churning out his back catalogue and Greatest Hits to meet the surge in demand].

So, apart from a tiny number of initial copies, the original pressings of "Heroes" available in UK were made in Italy. The Italian copies are relatively common and are easy to tell apart from UK pressings because the labels and covers both mention that the vinyl is made in Italy and the labels are beige/tan in colour and not orange.

RCA also released some UK-pressed, orange label contract pressings with the same A2/B2 matrixes found on the Italian copies. They are easy to identify because the label mouldings are different and, like the Italian copies, there are no quote marks around the word "Heroes" on the labels. This is one of those hard-to-find contract pressings.

It has the following matrix information:

Side 1:   PL 12522 A-2    (AFL12522-A crossed out)

Side 2:   PL 12522 B-2    (AFL12522-B crossed out)

Both sides are also stamped with STERLING and, unlike later pressings, it has no "Dave's R.C.A" etching.

Most orange label UK pressings have the quote marks restored and include the cryptic message in the run out grooves on side 2 which say "Dave's R.C.A."  - a reference to the fact that, with Elvis dead, Bowie was now RCA's biggest star.

Description

Vinyl: The vinyl shows various signs of play and use, but nothing bad anywhere. I have played the entire album and it plays really well with little to report. There is background noise in the run-ins/outs, fades, silent grooves and intros and the occasional random click, but nothing significant anywhere. For side one, I also heard two clicks in the fade to 'Joe the Lion', but that was all, and so I would play-grade side one around Excellent (Ex). Side two has the three quiet instrumentals and so is always harder to find with great audio. This one starts off with a bit of background crackle in the intro to 'V-2 Schneider', but it quickly diminishes and is completely gone by the time the sax comes in, although I did hear about eight tiny background tics later in the track. From there we are into the quiet instrumentals and there is inevitably some background noise in the quietest parts of these, but apart from six crackly clicks in the segue into 'Neukoln' there were no repeating noises anywhere. At the end of the side comes 'The Secret Life of Arabia' which sounded great with no issues whatsoever and I would play-garde that track around Near Mint (NM). So, a difficult one to grade, mainly because of the huge variance in the music on side two, but I would play-grade side two overall around Very Good Plus (VG+) to Excellent Minus (Ex-).

Labels: No writing, stickers etc, just spindle marking. Judging by the spindle marks I would say that side one has been relatively well played but side two has been played much less.

Cover: No splits, tears or major issues, but shows wear and various signs of age and use, including some creasing around the edges and opening, indications of use at the opening, ring-wear, corner wear, small indentations etc.

Insert: A slight crease in one corner, small signs of handling and use around the edges etc, but nothing bad.

Inner sleeve: Plain

Detracting features not covered above:  None.

Please check out my other items and take advantage of reduced postage costs for multiple buys.

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Information about descriptions and gradings.
My items are always described accurately and fairly. I always do my best to point out any blemishes which might detract from the item and all photographs are of the actual item you will get. I am aware that different grading systems have different definitions and so I try as much as possible to describe items in plain English, rather than simply using gradings. Where gradings are given these are based on 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.

Visually-graded vinyl vs play-graded vinyl: Many people collect vinyl and never play it, whereas other people collect records because they want to play them. A visual grading will identify physical flaws (such as scratches) and can help determine whether a record has been cared-for properly, but it will not identify noise or crackle caused by non-visible sources. Most vintage records are likely to have some background noise even if they look perfect. I believe that records are for playing and so I try to play-grade records whenever possible. I always state in the listing if I have played a record prior to listing it. If I have play-graded the record I will usually only give a brief description of how the record looks (i.e. not a visual grading). The grading in the listing will be a play-grading and may be slightly different from the grading that the record would receive from a purely visual inspection. Most vintage records are not 100% perfectly flat and so I will only mention this aspect if it is very significant or has an impact on the way the record sounds. If I haven't play-graded the record, it will be given a visual grading.

Play-grading MONO records: Mono records and stereo records have different grooves. A stereo record produces a stereo sound via both lateral and vertical groove modulation whereas a mono record is not intended to produce any sound from vertical modulation. Playing a mono record with a stereo cartridge will create distortion because it is trying to pick-up the vertical (stereo) part of the signal, whereas this is not intended to be heard on a mono record and so is just noise.  Using a pre-amp with a mono switch will eliminate the noise caused by vertical modulation leaving just the lateral groove signal which is how the record was intended to be heard. Based on the assumption that most people choosing to listen to a mono record will have the right equipment to listen to it, I play all mono records via a pre-amp with a mono switch.  My play-grading is based on how the record sounds when played through a mono switch. If you do not have a mono switch on your amp or pre-amp you will be reproducing the noise from the vertical part of the signal and so the record will not sound as good. This is not any fault of the record, it is inherent to playing any mono record through a system that it was not designed for.

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I have some very simple terms and conditions. Please read them and ensure that you understand them before bidding. Thank you.

TERMS & CONDITIONS

My items are fully guaranteed - if it is not as described you can return it for a full refund, including postage. Refunds for visually graded records which are returned based upon the buyer's assessment of the record's playgrade, will not include postage costs in either direction. Your bid is binding, so please make sure you have READ and UNDERSTOOD the WHOLE LISTING before you bid. I will not accept returns where the buyer has not read or not understood something which is stated/shown in the listing.
I accept Paypal and postal orders (in UK Sterling GBP) for all purchases.  I also accept cheques (in UK Sterling GBP) on orders OVER £50. Please pay for your item within three days of the auction closing. If you are intending to bid on other items and wish to pay when they have closed, please contact me to let me know. I reserve the right to cancel any transactions and offer the item to the second highest bidder if no contact or payment is made within three days.

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POSTAGE & PACKING

I care about the records I sell and believe that they need to be carefully and securely packaged to ensure that they survive their journey through the post. Vinyl is removed from the sleeve for posting and the contents will be protected with rigid cardboard stiffeners. Packages are labelled "Do not bend" and securely sealed with "FRAGILE" parcel tape.

I support the use of recycled materials and so I may sometimes use recycled packaging. If you wish your item to be sent in entirely new packaging please let me know before paying for it. Thanks.

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P&P charges

My P&P charges are 'totally transparent'. Please read below and if you have any questions about P&P costs please contact me BEFORE you bid. Thank you.

Sending items costs more than just the stamps on the package, but I try not to charge more for packing and posting your item than it actually costs me to do so. I need to cover the cost of packing materials, plastic sleeves, new inner sleeves (where applicable), transportation, fees and charges associated with sending the item (including fees incurred to receive the cost of postage and, where applicable, currency exchange) etc. To cover some of these expenses I add a nominal figure to the basic cost charged at the post office athough the actual cost to me is always higher than this. I do not view P&P costs as a means of making money.

To quote an exact cost for every LP is difficult because of the wide variance in weight (e.g. Abbey Road weighs around 230 grams whereas Led Zeppelin III weighs around 390 grams). But the majority of single LPs, when packed, will weigh around 550 grams and I have based my P&P rates on this.

Double LPs will be charged as two LPs, triple LPs will be charged as three LPs. Box sets etc will be charged according to weight.

If, when you receive your item, there is a significant discrepancy in your favour, please contact me and I will refund the difference.

UK P&P costs

I offer three UK services. I DO NOT offer 'click and collect', 'collection in person' or FREE postage, so please do not select these options if they appear in the invoice.

UK Standard service - Items valued up to £20 are sent using either Hermes courier or Royal Mail Second class. Usually delivered within 3-5 days of despatch.

For items or combined purchases valued above £20 I use the following service, so please wait for my invoice:

UK First class recorded post. The cost for one to three LPs is £5.20. Usually delivered within one day of despatch.

For more than three LPs please enquire before bidding.

UK Special Delivery - Any order valued over £80 will be sent fully insured using Royal Mail Special Delivery (next day delivery guarantee) and the total cost of this will be £9.35 for one to four LPs and £12.00 for five or more LPs . Please wait for my invoice before paying.

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Airmail (tracked and/or signed) to any country OUTSIDE the UK

 

Overseas orders will ONLY be sent tracked and/or signed.

Europe

First LP or 12" = £13.60, each additional LP or 12" add £2.20.

Rest of the world (anywhere outside Europe)

First LP or 12" = £17.50, each additional LP or 12" add £3.80.

 

Overseas orders valued over £80 will be insured for an additional £2.90.

Overseas orders weighing more than 2kg or high-value orders may be split into two or more packages as appropriate so they can be sent using Royal Mail's Small Packet Rate, so please wait for my invoice on larger multiple purchases.

Please note that overseas orders outside the EU need a customs declaration with the value of the package.

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 If you have any queries please email BEFORE you bid.

 

INTERNATIONAL BIDDERS PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING.
Please note that under ebay's new 'managed payments' system, UK sellers now get charged an extra final value fee for international sales.

In addition, for countries where ebay automatically deducts sales tax (such as USA or Australia) ebay is also charging the seller a final value fee on the tax!!!! (unbelievable but true).

These new rules penalise sellers who continue to offer their items worldwide and make it unviable to sell high-value items to some countries. So rather than close my sales to those countries I intend to offset some of the excessive fees through the postage charge for those countries.

So, I apologise if the postage to your country seems high but it is the only way I can continue to offer my items worldwide.