Item Description
The Minor Birds - S/TOne of the very rarest and most sought after English folk records in existence - only 250 copies were privately pressed in 1972 on the highly coveted MIDAS record label, STEREO MFHR 045The Minor Birds were an early 70 s influential folk band from the north of England and more about this band can be gleaned from here dead wax matrix numbers are :Side 1 MFHR 045 A1 with stamper 3 very hard to decipher, I think it s a 3 at 3 o clock Side 2 MFHR 045 B2 with stamper A at 3 o clock The appearance of the vinyl is excellent.
Completely flat and exuding a lovely jet black lacquered sheen.
There are no scratches.
When viewed under a bright light, and tilted at the right angle, a few very wispy hairlines and small strictly surface only small scuffs come into view...in fact I would say that scuff is too strong a word.
There is nothing below the surface or even feelable here.
Truly excellent condition vinyl.The labels are excellent .
The only blemishes are just a couple of very light, faint spindle trails adjacent to the centre hole on each side and even these are not easily detectable - you will need a bright light and good eyesight The non-laminated flip back outer sleeve is very good .
All edges remain firm and uncreased with just some occasional and light shelf wear/scuffing.
This mild scuffing is a little more pronounced on the spine and does impinge upon the writing where most of the letters of The Minor Birds have been obscured.
The corners remain well defined right angles with just minimal rubbing but a little more noticeable on the bottom corners.
There is also some mild surface creasing towards the front side bottom corners, more noticeable at the bottom right corner I have tried to show this in my photos .
The front side photo and colouring remains rich and vibrant.
The reverse side is excellent with the flip backs in great shape and fully functional.
There is just a little 3cm light rubbing in the middle of the bottom side flip back and some very mild surface creasing at the bottom left hand corner.
There is a little crinkling on the rear opening edge but this is minimal, and there is certainly no fraying of either opening edge.
The words Best wishes from the Minor Birds has been hand written on the reverse side just above the group photo - I have no way of knowing whether this is authentic but believe it probably is because I purchased the record when passing through Warrington some time ago and Warrington is, of course, the home town of The Minor Birds.Finally, the quality of the audio is excellent.
There is nice tone and clarity throughout and with no distortion, even on the higher frequencies and at higher volume.
No skips and just three very light clicks which I detected in the middle of track 4 side 1 but close inspection revealed no obvious reason for this...I m assuming dust in the grooves due to 40 years of storage.
There is just the hint of a little occasional background static during a few of the quieter moments and interludes - nothing of any significance and completely non-intrusive.
A terrific listen throughout.The tracks are :Side 1 :1.
Warrington Ale2.
Lord Lovell3.
The Parting Glass4.
Peggy Gordon5.
ChanceSide 2 :1.
Brother did you Weep2.
Grey October3.
Rangeela4.
No Sir No 5.
Loving Hanna6.
Bound for BaltimoreComes with original plain white poly-lined inner sleeve with no splits or tears, in excellent condition and still fully functional.
Note that I always post the record in a new plain white inner in order to protect the original.In summary a solid overall EXCELLENT condition copy of this extremely rare and highly sought after 1972 UK private pressing folk gem worthy of gracing any serious record collection and continuing to only gain in value, due not only to the fact that there were only 250 pressed in the first place but also to the excellent condition of this copy - there can t be many in existence which are in better condition than this.
If you require any further information, including photos, then let me know and I ll do my best to oblige.
If this record interests you then take a look at my other 60 s 70 s classic vinyl listings.A bit about myself : I have been collecting vinyl for more than 48 years and have amassed a huge collection covering a varied genre, but mostly of 1960 s and 70 s origin.
Most of my records were originally bought by myself for my own collection, but during the past 30 years I have embellished my collection by buying records from a variety of sources : friends/acquaintances, car boots, auctions, and even through putting up a vinyl wanted notice in my wife s shop I never intended selling any of my records but now I am retired and a combination of space requirements caused partly by duplication and a need to help fund my retirement has prompted me to rationalise my record collection and sell many of my much loved gems.
My ebay feedback speaks for itself so rest assured that you are buying from a trusted seller and in the very unlikely event that you are unhappy with your purchase just e-mail me and I ll sort out the problem.
I offer a no quibble refund policy.
On the subject of postage, I take great care in the packaging of all items, using a proper vinyl cardboard mailer along with at least two cardboard stiffeners.
I take great care in separating the record from the outer sleeve in order to help prevent sleeve damage in transit and I always insert the vinyl, outer sleeve and inner into a clear plastic sleeve, thus adding further protection.
For this item postage packaging will be Royal Mail 1st class, tracked and signed for and with added insurance : UK 7.00, continental Europe 11, and Rest of the World 15.
I do discount post packaging costs for multiple purchases.
I do NOT profit from postage.Good luck with your bidding Richard NOTE : My vinyl descriptions comply with the official Record Collector vinyl grading guidelines : Mint The records 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, discolouration, 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 are torn, stained and/or defaced Poor The record will not play properly due to scratches, bad surface noise, etc.
The cover and contents are badly damaged or partly missing.
Bad The record is unplayable or might even be broken, and is only of use as a collection-filler
