On offer here is a VERY rare LP (especially in this condition!!!!) by Nick Drake called "Five Leaves Left" and is an ORIGINAL 1969 UK 1st Pressing on the 1st Press Pink Island 'Block Logo' label!!!!  THIS LP IS SERIOUSLY RARE AND VIRTUALLY IMPOSSIBLE TO FIND!!!!  THIS WAS NICK DRAKE FIRST & RAREST LP EVER - AND VIRTUALLY NEVER TURNS UP FOR SALE!!!!  JUST TRY AND FIND ANOTHER ONE!!!!  BACK IN 1969 WHEN THIS LP WAS FIRST RELEASED, IT ONLY EVER SOLD IN ABSOLUTELY TINY AMOUNTS - AND WAS ALMOST IMMEDIATELY DELETED!!!!  AS A RESULT IT IS SERIOUSLY RARE AND INCREDIBLY HARD TO LOCATE TODAY!!!!  THIS LP IS MADE EVEN RARER STILL - AS IT IS THE 'EARLIEST' 1ST PRESSING EVER MADE!!!!  AND THIS IS ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO FIND ON THIS LP!!!!  WHEN THIS LP WAS FIRST RELEASED - IT CAME WITH THE 'DAY OF RELEASE' 1ST PRESS ONLY 'SMOOTH' PINK ISLAND 'BLOCK' LABELS AND A//2 B//2 MATRIXES (THERE WERE NONE EARLIER THAT THIS!).  HOWEVER, THIS WAS QUICKLY CHANGED TO 'TEXTURED' LABELS AND A3/B3 MATRIXES - WHICH DATES FROM MUCH LATER ON IN OCTOBER OR NOVEMBER 1969.  SOME PEOPLE THINK THE 'TEXTURED' LABELS CAME FIRST (EVEN THOUGH MATRIXES TELL YOU DIFFERENTLY!) - BUT THERE IS 1 UNDENIABLE FACT WHICH VERIFIES THAT ALL ISLAND LABELS FROM THIS PERIOD CAME WITH THE 'SMOOTH' LABELS FIRST!!!!  THIS LP WAS RELEASED ON JULY 3rd 1969 - ALONG WITH 'DR STRANGELY STRANGE - KIP OF THE SERENES' (ALSO ON A SMOOTH LABEL), AND MOST IMPORTANTLY 'FAIRPORT CONVENTION'S - UNHALFBRICKING'!!!!  AND EXACTLY LIKE THIS LP 1ST PRESS 'UNHALFBRICKING' COPIES ALL HAVE THE 'SMOOTH' PINK 'BLOCK' ISLAND LABELS - WHEREAS ALL LATER COPIES ON THE PINK 'i' LABEL HAVE TEXTURED ONES INSTEAD!!!!  ACTUALLY IN TRUTH - AS THIS LP DIDNT SELL VERY WELL, AND NEVER MADE IT TO A 'PINK i' ISLAND LABEL - ISLAND WOULD HAVE HAD EXCESS STOCK OF THE 'BLOCK' LABELS FOR THIS LP.  SO IT IS MORE LIKELY THAT THE 'TEXTURED' LABEL VERSIONS OF THIS LP DATE WELL INTO 1970 - AND ARE PROBABLY AT LEAST 6 MONTHS AFTER THE RELEASE DATE!!!!  HOWEVER THIS LP HAS NONE OF THOSE ISSUES - AND IS UNDOUBTEDLY THE 'EARLIEST' 1ST PRESSING EVER MADE, WITH ULTRA RARE A//2 B//2 MATRIXES (THE 'EARLIEST' POSSIBLE - LATER ONES WERE HIGHER!) AND 100% CORRECT 'EARLIEST' 1ST PRESS 'SMOOTH' PINK ISLAND 'BLOCK' LOGO LABELS (LATER ONES WERE 'TEXTURED' INSTEAD!)!!!!  

NOT ONLY THAT BUT THIS LP IS IN BRILLIANT CONDITION - AND HAS BARELY BEEN PLAYED AT ALL!!!!  EVERYONE KNOWS JUST HOW HARD IT IS TO FIND A NICE 1ST PRESSING OF THIS LP - AND THIS IS PROBABLY THE BEST I HAVE EVER FOUND!!!!  JUST TAKE A LOOK AT THE PICTURES!!!!  THIS IS THE ORIGINAL 1969 UK 'EARLIEST' 1ST PRESSING ON THE 'EARLIEST' 1ST PRESS 'SMOOTH' PINK ISLAND 'BLOCK LOGO' LABEL, 'EARLIEST' 1ST PRESS A//2 B//2 MATRIX ENDINGS, 'EARLIEST' 1ST PRESS INNER SLEEVE, AND 'EARLIEST' 1ST PRESS 'E.J.DAY' GATEFOLD COVER!!!!  THIS LP IS SERIOUSLY RARE AND VIRTUALLY IMPOSSIBLE TO FIND LIKE THIS - SO DONT MISS OUT ON THIS AMAZING OPPORTUNITY!!!!  This is the ORIGINAL Island UK 1st Pressing from 1969 and is in BRILLIANT condition!!!!  The record is pressed on THICK quality vinyl.  The Cat. No is ILPS 9105 on the ORIGINAL 1st Press Island label (see picture) and is a UK Stereo 1st Pressing (there were NO Monos)!!!!

The record labels are in SUPERB condition (see pictures) with NO wear, NO writing and barely ANY spindle marks AT ALL!!!!  IT IS VERY CLEAR THAT THIS RECORD HAS BARELY BEEN PLAYED AT ALL!!!!  The vinyl is in absolutely BRILLIANT condition!!!!  Most of these 60s LPs had been to a lot of wild parties and are usually found totally worn out, and almost unplayable. This one is NOT and has NO scratches, NO hairlines, only 3 or 4 absolutely TINY surface marks, NO scufflines, and only a VERY few of the lightest paper scuffs only visible under light!!!!  ITS AS SIMPLE AS THAT!!!!  THE RECORD STILL RETAINS ITS ORIGINAL 'JUST PRESSED' LOOK AND LOOKS SUPERB!!!!  It is also great to find that the record plays as STUNNINGLY as the visual!!!!  It plays with NO skips, only a very VERY few VERY light clicks (though mostly NONE!), NO jumps, NO sticks, barely ANY crackle AT ALL, and only some EXTREMELY low level background sound on the run on grooves and gaps - NOT in the music AT ALL!!!!  And because this record has BARELY BEEN PLAYED AT ALL, the sound quality is simply SUPERB - with absolutely NO groovewear, and NO distortion either!!!!  The record must grade Very Good++++ if not better!!!!  BRILLIANT RECORD!!!!  Believe me this record is NOT overgraded in ANY way!!!!  I use STRICT RC grading standards - it is not in my interest not to!!!! Brillant!!!!  The record also comes in its ORIGINAL 1st Press inner sleeve which is in SUPERB condition - and still FULLY 'poly-lined'!!!!  The ORIGINAL 1st Press 'E.J.Day' Gatefold Cover is in GREAT condition - and very VERY nice indeed, and way WAY better than most!!!!  It has NO rips, NO tears, NO sticker marks, NO ringwear to the cover front (most do!), only some minor evidence of 'touching in' to the VERY edges & spine, NO splits, NO sticker tears, a VERY bright & clean cover back with barely ANY yellowing AT ALL, NO rubbing to the cover back AT ALL, only slight corner wear (NOT through the colour!), NO ringwear to the cover back, only a few VERY light creases (cover is VERY flat looking!), only VERY slight rubbing to the cover front (MILES better than most!), NO annotations, and NO writing!!!!  The opening edges are beautifully straight with barely ANY feathering AT ALL!!!!  Even the inside of the cover is in SUPERB condition with NO grubbyness, NO yellowing, NO rubbing, NO ringwear, and NO writing!!!!  The cover must grade Very Good+ if not better - and definitely FAR better than most!!!!  THIS LP IS SERIOUSLY RARE AND VIRTUALLY IMPOSSIBLE TO FIND LIKE THIS (ESPECIALLY AS THE 'EARLIEST' 1ST PRESSING EVER MADE!) - SO  DONT MISS OUT ON THIS INCREDIBLE OPPORTUNITY!!!!

HAVE A LOOK AT MY PICTURES - I DO MY BEST TO SHOW THE RECORD FROM ALL ANGLES AND MAKE THE PICTURES AS CLEAR AS POSSIBLE - THERE IS NOTHING TO HIDE!!!! It really is a GREAT looking LP and it is truly rare to find any copies of this MEGA RARE LP in this sort of condition!!!! THIS WILL BE YOUR ONLY CHANCE TO BUY AN ORIGINAL 1969 UK 'EARLIEST' 1ST PRESSING OF "FIVE LEAVES LEFT" BY NICK DRAKE, IN BRILLIANT CONDITION!!!!  Dont forget to take a look at all my other items including many other TOP LPs and contact me with any queries you may have.  Postal discounts for multiple buys are always available - and I guarantee to ALWAYS undercharge on postage!  Paypal, Bank Transfers, Cheques, International Money Orders, and Postal Orders accepted. Thanks for looking! Cheers!!!!!

--ooOOoo--

 

Though there are rarely ever any problems with my items (I always try my very best to describe everything exactly!) - PLEASE REMEMBER to contact with me FIRST, if you have any problems at all, before you leave feedback and star ratings, so I get a chance to turn any negative experience into a positive one!  I can always happily sort anything out for you, if you let me know you have a problem!  This way no one has to leave Negative/Neutral feedback - and we both walk away happy!  Please do NOT bid if you cannot give me at least 1 chance to sort everything out to your FULL satisfaction in the unlikely event of a problem.  Thanks again - Graham @ XXXRecords.

PLEASE NOTE - Private feedback bidders must consult me first prior to bidding - due to previous problems regarding non-payment, and non-receipt.   MY POSTAGE UNDERCHARGE GUARANTEE TO ALL BUYERS (I always undercharge on postage!):-  Due to UK Royal Mail's obscene price increases this year - I have had no choice but to increase postage charges a little.  Until this year - I had kept them exactly the same since I joined ebay back in 2002.  However this years price increases have been so obscene, that I have had no choice but to increase my postage charges for the first time ever.  However PLEASE NOTE - my absolute 100% guarantee to you as a buyer - is that I will ALWAYS undercharge postage on everything I send out.  Even after the increases, I am still charging you the buyer LESS than I am being charged myself.  On each package I send out - the price is clearly stated on the front of the package (please check it when you recieve it!).  I also do NOT charge for packaging costs - ONLY for postal costs!  And should you find that I have overcharged you postage in ANY way - I will refund DOUBLE the difference.  THAT IS MY 100% POSTAL GUARANTEE FOR EACH AND EVERY BUYER!  No buyer EVER deserves to be overcharged on postage - and on my listings, I'll make sure they are ALWAYS undercharged.  Any questions - please ask!    

On 04-Mar-16 at 18:53:12 GMT, seller added the following information:

CONCLUSIVE PROOF THAT 'SMOOTH' LABELS CAME FIRST - AND 'TEXTURED' LABELS WERE LATER:-

1) 3 Island LPs (ILPS 9102 Fairport Convention 'Unhalfbricking', ILPS 9105 Nick Drake 'Five Leaves Left' and ILPS 9106 Dr Strangely Strange 'Kip Of The Serenes') were all released on the same day - 3rd July 1969. The other two ONLY had smooth labels as 1st Pressings - so clearly this LP made and released on the same say wouldn't be any different!

2) Nick Drakes 'Five Leaves Left' LP was a RUSH RELEASE - it was only finished 1 month before release date in June 1969.  Whereas Fairport Convention's 'Unhalfbricking' was finished 3 months before the release date in April 1969.  So clearly Fairport's LP would have begun pressing prior to release WELL before Nick Drakes LP!  It was also expected to be a huge seller.  So if any of the 3 LPs released on July 1969 had a so-called 'earlier' textured label release - it would have been the Fairport LP.  Yet it doesnt.  Every single one is smooth.

3) Later 'Unhalfbricking' 2nd pressings from October 1969 on the Pink 'i' label were textured - showing textured labels came later on Island 2nd Pressings, than on the original July releases.

4) Just because an LP has thicker vinyl and textured labels - doesnt mean it is earlier.  For example King Crimsons 'pre-release' DJ only A1/B1 pressings + extra groove space - were all smooth labeled and made in late September 1969.  Whereas the later released A2/B2 second pressings from early October 1969 were all textured.

5) The matrixes on Nick Drakes '2nd Press' TEXTURED 'Block' logo are higher, being a3/b3 in larger text.  This again clearly shows the 'textured' labels were made quite some time after the release date.

6) It is a myth that textured labels are earlier.  People like to think this - because earlier Island LPs were indeed textured, and it would be nice to have everything fit in a 'nice little order'.  However it is VERY clear that in July 1969 Island were using SMOOTH LABELS ONLY.   And those who support textured labels also fail (badly!) to consider that many 'FULLY textured' labels exist on plenty of later Island LPs from 1970 aswell!  For example:- Jethro Tull 'Benefit' 1st Pressings were textured - and then changed to smooth. And almost EVERY SINGLE copy of Quintessence's 2nd LP from July 1970 - have IDENTICAL shaped labels to the Nick Drake's 2nd 'textured' block pressing - and the same large matrix style.  Also 'John Barleycorn' ILPS 9116 and ESPECIALLY Free's 'Fire & Water' ILPS 9120 are REGULARLY found with FULLY textured labels.  So they were commonly used well after this LP was released.  And you can EVEN find copies of King Crimson 'Court Of The Crimson King' on FULLY Textured' labels on the PALM TREE label - with the SAME 'large text' 3/3 matrixes which appear on the 2nd Press 'textured' Block logos on this LP!   And as Nick Drakes LP never had 'Pink i' Island labels made (as sales were so poor) and would have had a large 'excess' of Block logo labels to be used up well after they had finished on other Island LPs, it is VERY likely indeed that the later 'Textured' Block logos of 'Five Leaves Left' could actually date from well into 1970!  

7) But the main fact above ALL else - is that 2 other Island LPs released on the SAME DAY as this one were indeed smooth labelled (as detailed above). And of course Fairport's LP was expected to be a BIG seller and pressed much earlier. So if any LP would have had 2 pressings (textured / smooth) it would be Fairport - but they didnt!  Nick Drakes LP was rush released - with only 3 weeks between the end of the recording and the release date!  And the cover was littered with errors too - due to this rush release.  So the very thought that 2 different pressings were made in those 3 weeks is clearly ludicrous! 

In short there is overwhelming evidence to support Smooth labels as being the VERY 'Earliest' 1st Pressing from the day of release in 'July 3rd 1969'.  But ZERO evidence to support 'textured' labels - which are clearly much later, and in truth probably date from late 1969/early 1970....