Sold Date: October 14, 2016
Start Date: October 7, 2016
Final Price: £210.00 (GBP)
Bid Count: 13
Seller Feedback: 4283
Buyer Feedback: 57

Once there was a way,
To get back homeward,
Once there was a way,
To get back home.
Sleep pretty darling, do not cry,
And I will sing a lullaby.

Golden slumbers fill your eyes,
Smiles awake you when you rise,
Sleep pretty darling, do not cry,
And I will sing a lullaby.

Once there was a way,
To get back homeward,
Once there was a way,
To get back home,
Sleep pretty darling, do not cry,
And I will sing a lullaby......
THE BEATLES: "Abbey Road" LP.  UK LATE 1970 PRESSING, STILL WITH THE 1969 MAITRIX, BUT A  LIGHTER
  GREEN APPLE LABEL ON SIDE 1.


  APPLE LABEL: PCS 7088.

  MAITRIX: YEX 749 - 2 / YEX 750 - 1
For the 1969 first pressing maitrix, '- 1 /- 1' was not used and the end digits were  '- 2  / - 1', as detailed whenever listing
  equally superb first pressings, the 1969 configuration was NOT exclusive to the first pressings.  The '2 / 1' maitrix  continued
  from the October, 1969 very first pressings into the following 1970, typical of a Beatles huge selling album, "Abbey Road"
   was in the UK charts for 92 weeks!  The initial ending digits continued way past the May, 1970 release of the "Let It It Be"
  album for well over another year, into late 1971, only the late 1969 - Spring, 1970 records had dark green labels, for the
  remainder of 1970 they will have this record's lighter green Apple label on Side 1.  Trying to define 'lighter green' would be
  impossible because that simply had to vary during the actual printing, 'lighter green' is easily established by comparing the
  colour tone, the rest is in the machine stamped indexing in the run-out grooves of the record.  Pressed from the same Abbey Road
  Studios Master   Tapes only months into the charting period, they are absolutely stunning sounding records when unworn and
  undamaged, this was made later in 1970.  An exact month would be pure guesswork so I prefer to state 'late 1970' which fits the
  cover and the  EMI / Apple inner sleeve type from the second half of 1970.   Even the Side 1 digit stamping at 9 o'clock directly
  connect to 1969 dark green Apple first pressings, an extraordinary triple stamped set of digits I will detail below, errors are
  always useful for such matters.  The only problem with the maitrix on "Abbey Road" not being altered for so long, they are being
  sold on ebay as 'first pressings' on the basis of having the same maitrix numbers, only the genuine dark green Side 1 labels are
  first pressings.  This record pre-dated the copies that did have the digits increased and also events in 1971, the usual 'U' letter
  ending of the early 1970's decade. was now added to "Abbey Road" for the first time, at first, only the second side had the 'U'.
  With that maitrix, the original inner sleeve and the quality of the lamination on both sides of the cover, I can accurately date
  this record's pressing between the summer and winter of 1970, once into 1971, 1972  & 1973, the maitrix ending digits were now
  undergoing a steady rise per pressing batch.  For the silver & black Parlophone Beatles pressings during the early 1970's, up to
  March, 1973, they still had 'Gramophone Co. Ltd.' on the label rim, unfortunately Apple labels did not have an identifiable label
  text.  Which created the false claims for "Abbey Road" records pressed a whole year after the release, being 'first pressings'
  due to the maitrix remaining unchanged for so long. Of all the Beatles albums, "Abbey Road" was always in demand throughout the
  coming decades, but only 1969 and 1970's decade UK pressings had lamination on both sides of the covers.
 

  EMI STAMPING CODES:  HDL  912 * / HAP 1
*Obviously EMI did not make 912 mothers and that the stamping machine was set completely wrong, the digits were never in double
  numbers and rarely rose above 7, let alone nearly a thousand!   Interestingly there was a whole batch made for the 1969 dark green label
  first pressings, I have bought and sold several over our genuine long term serving as professional record sellers.  My comments for the
  copies I listed on eba,y was to check the other side to arrive at which of  the trio of  individual digits was a reasonable near
  match, in other words, the closest  to 9 or 1 & 2.   In this case it simply had to be '1' & '2' because Side 2 has a very clearly
  stamped '1' digit at 9 o'clock.  All I can do is accurately detail records and apply a mixture of genuine experience and common
  sense, the direct continuation of the  '- 2  / - 1' maitrix enters the equation as well and EMI would have created new mothers in
  mid - late 1970 and a reference to '912' happened in the process.  For a rare unplayed record, there is no need to worry about a
  common error with coded stamping's, it happened in every decade until EMI shut down their pressing plant in December, 1999.
 

  OBVIOUSLY BY 1970 SIDE 2'S LABEL HAD A SONG LISTING/CREDIT FOR "Her Majesty," ALONGSIDE "The End"
WITH ONE 'Lennon / McCartney' SONGWRITING CREDIT FOR BOTH TRACKS.
  There is such confusion caused by a simple song title addition, like anything on the internet, mistakes spread faster than solid
facts, because now human nature takes over.   The desire to place an unrealistic rarity on a later item being sold, still does
not alter how every "Abbey Road" cover came without "Her Majesty" listed, not just in late 1969 to the early 1970's, but every
cover made in every decade remained unchanged, including bar code covers and the 1979, Limited Edition picture disc LP.


  AS A MINT RECORD THE 1970 INNER SLEEVE IS POSITIVELY THE ORIGINAL, FOUND ON ALL EMI RELATED LABELS
IN 1970.  WITH CURVED CORNERS, PRINTED ON ONE SIDE IS A PATENT NUMBER & "MADE IN GREAT BRITAIN."
DESIGN AND AS MENTIONED, IT HAS THE TEXT UNIQUE TO NEW DESIGNS OR LP TITLES; 'Patent Applied For.'
The unused inner sleeve was never removed from the sleeve and with such perfect storage, there are no creases, splits or tears,
most amazing of all is the total lack of any ageing, please see my picture for the unused condition. The record impression is too
 minor to take seriously or affect the grading;
LIKE THE RECORD, UNUSED, UNWORN, AND UNAGED, IN MINT CONDITION.

ORIGINAL 1970  FULLY LAMINATED COVER, BEING THIS EARLY IN THE 70's DECADE, THE LAMINATION IS DELUXE
  THICK AND DEEPLY GLOSSY.  
Unused and perfectly stored in a plastic outer sleeve, the lamination still has the same ultra glossy finish as 46 years ago.
So all to detail for such stunning condition is a more than a reasonably light impression from the record and a few tiny related
laminate edge lines, beyond that this cover is still almost like brand new. The corners, edges and opening sides are unworn
and the deeply toned unfaded colours of the front and back artwork, are just superb, all to add is very minor standing pressure
on the bottom left corner.  I do produce top condition unplayed records, but I cannot avoid the Earth's gravity!  The ultra slim
  spine is  a feature of  1969 and 1970, so thin, the printed titles hardly fit on,  still a pure unaged white with perfect black
  lettering, just a few ripples only with a couple of mentioned laminate edge lines.
  Any storage/ faint initial handling are easily incorporated into the 'Near' suffix of the ultimate grading. I must give as timely
  reminder, this record and cover were most likely to have been made only 32 weeks after the first issues, most of them stretched
well into the first months of 1970 and I am only being cautious by stating 'late 1970.'  Please see my pictures for the condition
and the bowed shape of the back, which matches the later 1970 "Let It Be" covers with lighter green labels, so this is consistent
to the time period.  I included extra views of the back cover to clarify that, by using the sunlight to catch that shape at the top,
shame it was so gloomy without the sun making an appearance, but I did my best with the available light.
A REALLY BEAUTIFUL EARLY 1970's "Abbey Road" COVER, IN NEAR MINT CONDITION.
 

BEING 1970, THE IMMACULATE LABELS ARE TEXTURED AND POSITIVELY WITHOUT ANY SPINDLE TRACES AROUND
THE CENTRES.  I HAVE RESISTED THE TEMPTATION TO HEAR THE PRISTINE VINYL, THIS WILL REMAIN AS IT HAS
BEEN FOR 46 YEARS, INSTEAD I WILL INCLUDE A SHORT BACKGROUND TO THE FINAL BEATLES ALBUM.
THE RECORD IS IN UNPLAYED MINT CONDITION.
SIDE 1
"Come Together"
"Something"
"Maxwell's Silver Hammer"
"Oh! Darling"
"Octopus's Garden"
  "I Want You (She's So Heavy)"

SIDE 2
"Here Comes The Sun"
"Because"
"You Never Give Me Your Money"
"Sun King"
"Mean Mr. Mustard"
"She Came In Through The Bathroom Window"
"Golden Slumbers"
"Carry That Weight"
"The End"
"Her Majesty"


JOHN LENNON
Lead & harmony vocals, lead & rhythm electric guitars, 6 & 12 string acoustic guitars, electric and acoustic pianos,
  Hammond organ & Moog synthesiser, white noise generator and sound effects, tambourine & maracas.

PAUL McCARTNEY
Lead & harmony vocals, bass & fuzz bass guitars, lead & rhythm electric & acoustic  guitars, electric & acoustic pianos,
  Hammond organ & Moog synthesiser, handclaps, percussion & sound effects.

GEORGE HARRISON
Lead & harmony vocals, lead,rhythm & bass guitars, Hammond organ, harmonium & Moog synthesiser, handclaps & percussion.
 
  RINGO STARR
  Lead & background vocals, drums, percussion, piano, timpani, anvil & hand claps.
 
George Martin - piano, electric harpsichord, harmonium  & percussion
Billy Preston - Hammond organ on "Something" & "I Want You (She's So Heavy)"
Orchestrated & conducted by George Martin with George Harrison on "Something" & "Here Comes The Sun"
Orchestrated & conducted by George Martin with Paul McCartney on "Golden Slumbers", "Carry That Weight" & "The End"
 

Recording / Sound Engineers - Geoff Emerick & Phil McDonald at.......Location self evident!
  Assistant Engineer - Alan Parsons
  Mixing - Geoff Emerick, Phil McDonald and George Martin, with the Beatles in attendance.
  Produced by George Martin
The initial release of the final Beatles LP, 4th October1969, was not even the last Beatles album issued in a chronological order
and the out of synch issue contributed to the demand for early 1970's pressings.  The earlier 1969 "Get Back" recordings were not
issued until over a year later in May 1970, after "Abbey Road" , by then the album's intended title was changed to "Let It Be".

In January, 1969, the Beatles spent the whole month rehearsing all the songs for the album they originally intended to be titled
   "Get Back," hence the title found on the Box Set's book.  The idea was to record an album live in Twickenham film studios, as a
  film crew captured their complete month long sessions, dialogue and rehearsals.  After the massive productions of their previous
albums, they planned no overdubbing, just to plug in and play while the live performances were taped, it was a great idea but the
  strain between the four individuals and the cracks that appeared in 1968 while making the "White Album" become widely magnified.
  Artistic tensions were part of any of their unrushed, lengthy recording sessions, the difference this time was they had that ever
  present film crew breathing down their necks, plus for the first time since 1962, they were recording without the George Martin
  steadying influence.  It wasn't all doom and gloom, "Let It Be" became a fantastic album and film, with the sheer strength of the
  musical chemistry that touched on genius, it found them enjoying the many long hours of playing cover versions of older songs.
  The tapes were mixed  by Glyn Johns who salvaged the best of the new material and some of those 'oldies' they loved to play as
jams. They just lost  interest at that point, releasing only "Get Back "/"Don't Let Me Down" from the sessions as a single and Glyn
Johns' tapes were shelved until they were eventually handed over to Phil Spector.  Their prolific songwriting combined with that
long established musical chemistry during those January, 1969 sessions, produced an abundance of material, enough new songs
for the foundations of recording another album.  I do not think it's fully appreciated just how gifted the Beatles actually were,
they not only came up with the new songs for "Let It Be" but they also wrote the backbone of "Abbey Road."  John, Paul & George
wrote so many songs during that January,1969 period, some were surplus to requirements and they were also recorded much later
on during the 1970's or later still on solo albums.  New songs freshly written were taken onto "Abbey Road," for example Paul had
composed the near complete long medley that ended Side 2, John, the the track that ended Side 1, "I Want You (She's So Heavy)."
   Ringo and George with George Martin can be seen in the film  composing "Octopus's Garden."  Sensing their incredible decade of
music could well end in a shambles, another Beatles album in 1969 now became vital, so they returned to the familiar surrounding
of Studio 2, Abbey Road.   With George Martin brought back in to produce the LP, the magic that had begun in 1962, worked once
again.  Creativity and the music flowed, becoming the last Beatles album, the great "Abbey Road" is one of their finest records.
  The album was issued in October, 1969 to public and music press acclaim, a fantastic record complete with such outstanding
audio properties it was hailed as the finest sounding Beatles record ever made. At the end of 1969 in the UK, "Abbey Road" won
an award for "The Best Engineered LP Of 1969,"  there were some incredible albums in 1969 but although it was issued as late
as October in the year, it blew away everything that preceded it.   As great as the Rolling Stones "Let It Bleed" was even later in
  1969, nothing could compete with the production, sound and contents, even to this day, there has been nothing to get close.
{Roy}
  R & M RECORDS.

My lifetime's love of music and records began at a very young age, the arrival of the Beatles and the 1960's decade
  in general had a very profound effect. It was only natural to bring all my first hand experience of collecting vinyl
  into becoming a professional record seller.  Nearly thirty years ago we entered into the wonderful atmosphere
of record fairs with the highest possible standards set. When the Internet became the world's new market place for
  vinyl, in 2001 it was time to join ebay. Those standards were rigidly adhered to as they will always continue to be,
the basics of honesty and integrity were very much part of the era the music I love originated in, so here is our friendly
and very efficient service we are proud to provide;

EVERY RECORD IS FULLY PLAYED AND COMES WITH A 'NO ARGUMENT' MONEY BACK GUARANTEE.
  I USE GOOD OLD COMMON SENSE AS WELL AS A GLOBALLY ACCEPTED GRADING TERMINOLOGY
  FROM THE U.K. "RECORD COLLECTOR PRICE GUIDE" BOOK.
THERE IT CLEARLY STATES "Sound Quality" AFFECTS EVERY GRADING LEVEL AND THAT IS THE ONE
AND ONLY POSSIBLE WAY TO ACCURATELY GRADE RECORDS. i.e. COMBINING A STRICT VISUAL
INSPECTION WITH VERY CLOSELY LISTENING TO EVERY SECOND, UNLESS PERHAPS IN THE CASE
OF GENUINELY UNPLAYED VINYL.  EVEN THEN WE STILL TAKE FULL RESPONSIBILITY FOR A RECORD
WHEN A CUSTOMER RECEIVES EITHER A SEALED OR AN UNPLAYED RECORD.
 

  We take 100% responsibility after an item has been posted and offer our fullest support in the event of any problems.
"There Are No Problems, Only Solutions" (John Lennon)
MY DESCRIPTIONS WILL ALWAYS BE 100% HONEST AND TOTALLY ACCURATE ON ALL GRADINGS
FROM 'V.G.' ( VERY GOOD), TO THE ULTIMATE 'MINT' CONDITION.


ANY QUESTIONS ON OUR ITEMS ARE WELCOMED AND WILL BE PROMPTLY REPLIED TO.
 

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RECORDS AND COVERS ETC.  WE WELCOME BIDDERS FROM ANY COUNTRY IN THE WORLD.

ALL RECORDS ARE REMOVED FROM THEIR SLEEVES AND PLACED INTO NEW PROTECTIVE CARD
SLEEVES AND THEN PLACED INTO NEW, HEAVYWEIGHT PLASTIC OUTER SLEEVES.
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QUALITY PACKAGING MATERIALS, THE COST OF THE ITEM IS IMMATERIAL, EVERY RECORD IS
TREATED EXACTLY THE SAME.

WE DO NOT TREAT POSTAGE AS A MONEY MAKING PROJECT, POSTAGE IS LESS THAN COST, USING
ONLY PROFESSIONALLY PACKED BOXES WITH SUBSTANTIAL PROTECTIVE PACKAGING THAT DOES
WEIGH A LITTLE EXTRA.

UNDER PAYPAL & EBAY'S GUIDELINES, ALL RECORDS WILL BE SENT VIA A FULLY INSURED TRACKABLE
SERVICE.


We have kept all our charges at the same level for years now, but due to the Post Office's new price increases, regretfully we
will have to increase the cost of LP's, however, singles will remain unchanged.  Ebay were aware of that happening and have
  increased their minimum postal cost for LP's to £7.00, that figure has been enforced by the UK Post Office and it will become
our UK First Class, Recorded Delivery cost for albums up to the value of £46.  A temporary reduction this week means we can
now post LP's for £5, but who knows how long before the Post Office return to £7?

For LP's valued above £46, the cost will be £9, we are unhappy about either increase but our high standard of packaging has meant
in 13 years of ebay trading, there has not been one record damaged, we are determined to maintain that in the present and future.

IN THE UK RECORDS UP TO THE VALUE OF £46 WILL BE SENT RECORDED DELIVERY, OVER £46 WILL BE
SENT SPECIAL DELIVERY.
  FOR THE REST OF THE WORLD ALL RECORDS WILL BE SENT VIA 'INTERNATIONAL SIGNED FOR.'

POSTAGE  COST FOR LP's
UK: UP TO VALUE OF £46, FIRST CLASS RECORDED DELIVERY  £5.00
UK: OVER VALUE OF £46, FULLY INSURED SPECIAL DELIVERY £9.00


EUROPE: FULLY INSURED VIA INTERNATIONAL SIGNED FOR  £15.00


USA,JAPAN & REST OF THE WORLD FULLY INSURED VIA INTERNATIONAL SIGNED FOR £20.00


POSTAGE COST FOR EP's & 7"
UK: UP TO THE VALUE OF £46 FIRST CLASS RECORDED DELIVERY £3.00
UK: OVER THE VALUE OF £46 FULLY INSURED SPECIAL DELIVERY £6.00
EUROPE: AIR MAIL VIA INTERNATIONAL SIGNED FOR £10.00
USA, JAPAN ETC. AIRMAIL VIA INTERNATIONAL SIGNED FOR £12.00


PAYMENT DETAILS.

WE WILL SEND ALL WINNING BIDDERS AN INVOICE WITH THE FULL PAYMENT AND POSTAL DETAILS,
AS NEAR TO THE AUCTION ENDING AS POSSIBLE.

OUR AIM IS TO MAKE YOUR PURCHASE SMOOTH AND TROUBLE FREE.


FOR UK BUYERS;

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AS MUCH AS WE SYMPATHISE WITH THE WAY SOME COUNTRIES CHARGE SUCH HEAVY IMPORT
DUTIES, WE WILL NOT LIE.


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