Description ALL TRACKS IN THE AUCTIONPLAYER ARE TAKEN FROM THE ACTUAL ITEM FOR SALE What's on offer?: Almost without the need for introduction, here we have a LEGENDARY NUGGET from the FREAKBEAT and BRITISH R&B scenes, particularly as this copy is an ABSOLUTE 100% ORIGINAL FIRST UK EP PRESSING WITH ORIGINAL AND HENS TEETH-RARE HAND-PASTED SLEEVE - only 99 of the discs were ever issued and, as I understand it, a much smaller number of them came with the hand-pasted sleeve!!! A TRUE 'HOLY GRAIL' DISC FOR WORLDWIDE FREAKBEAT/BRITISH R&B COLLECTORS and 60s COLLECTORS IN GENERAL! Artist: THE BO STREET RUNNERS (Timebox, Mike Patto, Fleetwood Mac) EP Title: "The Bo Street Runners"Label: Oak RGJ 131 (UK ORIGINAL w/ORIGINAL Hand-Pasted PS) Recorded by R.G. JONES of MORDEN A TRULY INCREDIBLE AND LEGENDARY RARITY - EVERY COLLECTOR'S DREAM!! Here we have, without any doubt, one of the RAREST and most HIGHLY DESIRED of all FREAKBEAT/British R&B EPs issued in the UK, particularly as it's with the hens-teeth obscure original hand-pasted sleeve!!! The last copy of this gem that I had sold privately, in February 2013, for a cool £4100!!! Here's the history behind this incredible example and how I came to own it: Early in 1964, as a response to fans at their weekly residency at The Railway Hotel in Harrow (NW London) who wanted a momento of the gig, the BSRs decided to make their very first recordings. The studio chosen to record this now legendary EP was that of R.G. Jones of Morden (SW London) and it had its own label - 'Oak Records'. The R.G Jones studio was attracting an array of local RnB groups, including The Rolling Stones, The Yardbirds and David Bowie and The Buzz. The band picked four numbers from their set list that were popular with their audiences at The Railway Hotel. On Side 1 has Willie Dixon's '(I Just Want To Make) Love To You' and Ray Charles' 'Lonely Avenue'. Side 2 has John Dominic's self-penned 'Bo Street Runner' and Jimmy Reed's 'Shame, Shame, Shame'. All four tracks are available for you to hear via the Auctionplayer!!! The four tracks were put down in one short session, with the band playing live and the vocal tracks put on at the end. This first version of 'Bo Street Runner' was not the one subsequently released as their first single on Decca. The personnel line-up on this EP is believed to be: JOHN DOMINIC (vocals/harmonica), GARY THOMAS (guitar), BOB O'BRIEN (keyboards), DAVE CAMERON (bass) and NIGEL 'HUTCH' HUTCHINSON (drums). It was the usual practise of Oak Records to issue discs in plain white paper bags so, to make the EP more visually appealing, the BSRs painstakingly hand pasted onto a small batch (not all) of the covers a photographic image of themselves crouching down on a starting line!!! To avoid having to pay Purchase Tax (an early, forerunner of VAT) it was also the custom to limit the number of records pressed to just 99; the main reason why - almost 50 years after issue - copies of this incredible EP (particularly with the sleeve) are now next to impossible to find!!! Fortunately for me, a few years ago I corresponded with a lady related to BSR drummer NIGEL 'HUTCH' HUTCHINSON by marriage. Back in the mid-60s this EP was apparently gifted by "Hutch" to the lady's mother and, more than 45 years later and after inheriting the item, the lady had neither a record player nor an interest in the music of the BSRs, hence she was perfectly happy to part with it. Well now, I made her an offer for the disc and rapidly became the owner of one of the most coveted UK Freakbeat pressings ever issued!!!! So, bid now to win this gem or, after the auction has ended, you can sit back in your chair and wonder how you managed to let such a MONSTER FREAKBEAT/BRITISH R&B RARITY pass you by!!!! As you'll see from the photo, this is unconditionally guaranteed to be the ORIGINAL 1964 UK 1st EP pressing WITH hand-pasted picture sleeve and made with a solid centre, so you can forget about having to settle for one of those dodgy so-called "limited re-pressings" (many of which are actually bootlegs) that are flooding the market. A TRULY fantastic double-sider, any fan of The Bo Street Runners, the Freakbeat/British R&B scene or 60s music in general will simply have to have this item in their collection!!!! Grade (labels): The classic black labels with silver print are in AWESOME condition; there is NO wear and just a couple of very feint spindle trails on the B-side label only!!!! Around the perimeter of the labels on both sides you have the 'autochanger' ridge; further evidence (if you need it) that this is a 100% authentic original 1964 pressing!!! Grade (vinyl): Perhaps played only 2-3 times in its lifetime, this awesome gem is incredibly superb and strictly graded at MINT minus. Under bright light, there are a just couple of very fine surface lines, besides which there is certainly absolutely nothing worth reporting here!!! You have to have very good eyesight to see it but, within the run-off area, the code 'H/P' is machine stamped. Good luck in finding another one of these nuggets in this form......... they just do NOT turn up for sale more than once or twice in several Blue Moon's!!!! Of course, this hunk of vinyl is almost 50 years-old, so collectors will appreciate that (dependant upon the sensitivity of the stylus and amplifier used) some static may be evidenced upon playback. Grade (picture sleeve): I've had a few of these beauties over the years (in fact, I've owned no less than 5 of the 99 copies ever pressed!) and, in this case, the completely original hand-pasted sleeve is certainly the very best example that I've ever seen - EXCELLENT ++++ shape!!! Of course, collectors should note that this is not a factory-produced sleeve (such as by Garrod & Lofthouse or Ernst J. Day), so you have to understand the rather 'primitive' nature of a thin sleeve that the band members made up themselves! The hand-pasted photo on the front has just a few fine wrinkles - and the odd dab of 50 year-old glue - here and there. The back has light signs of ageing that you would naturally expect after all these years. If you look inside the sleeve opening you can see just where the band has pasted the photo and card sheet to either side of a die-cut plain white bag - surely the one it would have been given to them in when they took delivery from Oak Records!!! Why buy?: This is an absolute LEGENDARY MONSTER of a FREAKBEAT/BRITISH R&B EP and always so incredibly sought-after by collectors the World over!! Truly a KILLINGLY RARE 45 and ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO FIND in ANY condition, don't miss this incredible example as it might be your only chance to buy an ORIGINAL 1964 UK 1st EP pressing with hand-pasted sleeve of "The Bo Street Runners" by The Bo Street Runners in magnificent condition!!! Don't forget: Look to see if I have other rare items on auction at the present time. Check out my feedback and be sure of a great product and service. Happy bidding!!! BEFORE you bid, please read the following Payment and Shipping terms very carefully and, quite simply, don't make a bid if you're not happy with them: Payment: UK cheques or direct UK bank transfers greatly preferred. Of course, PayPal is accepted but bidders must accept the associated, non-negotiable shipping terms as stated below in "Shipping". Shipping: Kindly note that the STAMP cost that appears on the label outside of a package absolutely does NOT represent the actual cost of shipping an item!!! For example, each item I sell is carefully packaged inside a PVC sleeve, with factory-cut cardboard stiffeners either side and (to ensure the item arrives in the condition it leaves) shipped individually in a brand new record mailer; unlike some other sellers I do NOT use poor packaging with scrap cardboard - or worse still NO cardboard - inside! I cannot accept any responsibility for payments/items lost or damaged and not covered by adequate insurance. If you do insist on using PayPal through the eBay checkout, the consequence of PayPal's rigid conditions is that all items must be sent by an adequately insured shipping method with proof of delivery; no exceptions. So, for UK buyers that will mean Recorded Delivery up to a value of £51 and Special Delivery (cost £9.95) for anything of a higher value. For overseas buyers, on items up to a value of £500, it will mean Royal Mail 'International Signed-For' Airmail at a cost of £14.95 to European Union countries and £19.95 to all other countries. Due to PayPal seller policies and Royal Mail compensation limits, items above a value of £500 will have to be shipped by international courier at a cost to determined, based upon final value and destination. I do NOT allow personal collection. Note: I'm just a private individual selling off his private record collection gathered over 30+ years. I am NOT a business!!! I unreservedly retain the right to cancel bids from known defaulters or timewasters. The items I offer for auction are rare and of the highest quality, so please bid with respect