Category Archives: EMI Records

Label Variations Part Ten – Abbey Road (More….)

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Since I posted Label Variations Part Six – Abbey Road  I’ve had a few people sending in some further great examples from their own collections.

So, its time to share these now.

First comes from Jerry Woods who wrote:  “Saw your blog featuring various record labels (I LOVE this stuff!!) and noticed that you didn’t have a MONO version of Abbey Road on display, so I thought I would share. Although, not a true mono mix (they never “officially” did one – and this LP sounds identical from start to finish to the Stereo version when the Stereo version is folded down to Mono) this is kind of an interesting oddity – but only a fold down to Mono from Stereo.”

Here are the labels – the record comes from Brazil:

Another nice one sent in was from a reader in New Zealand and it’s really quite unusual. It is Abbey Road on an orange Apple label – very similar (but not quite) to the orange labels used for George Harrison’s All Things Must Pass. VERY collectable:

Of course there were lots of green Apples from other countries. Nice examples here from France, Italy and a green vinyl pressing of the album from the UK:

There were these two from Canada that were missed first time around. They include a couple of purple Capitol labels with two variations (one with a fairly obvious spelling mistake):

There were also a couple of other US pressings. The orange Capitol, and also the collectable Mobile Fidelity Audiophile pressing:

Finally, a couple of pressings of Abbey Road on a black and silver Parlophone label. This first one is from the UK:

While this other one, sent in by Andrey in Russia, is much more unusual. It is a rare UAR (Egypt?) label for Abbey Road:

(except for a couple, click on labels to see larger versions)

Ah, collecting….the variations sometimes seem endless. Thanks to everyone who emailed more labels.

You can see Label Variations Parts One, Two, Three, Four, and Five and Six, plus the Beatles Love LP variations here and here.

There’s a post on the variations of the McCartney/Fireman Electric Arguments release; McCartney’s Twin Freaks LP and singles; as well as his recent Kisses On The Bottom CD’s and LP. There is also a post on some George Harrison All Things Must Pass label variations.

Beatles Vinyl Remasters – New Promo Video

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Thanks to Beatles Blog  reader scub75 for sending in the link to a brand new promo video for the soon-to-be released Beatles vinyl remasters. He says:

“Finally they’ve released the video of the vinyl remasters. This was posted on the official YouTube page of Norway EMI. I cannot wait for the release date to have my box set!”

If you look closely it confirms a lot of new details – including that the record labels will be accurate to the original time at which they would have been released, and that the book will be quite lavish with special printing techniques used.

For more see the official Beatles site.  It all comes out on November 12.

Where “Made in the EU” Vinyl Might Be Pressed

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These days a lot of Paul McCartney’s and the Beatles vinyl LP’s and CD’s have the term “Manufactured in the EU” or “Printed in the EU” on the back cover – even some that are for sale in the US. Here are just a couple of recent vinyl examples from my collection:

(Rear of LP cover – click to enlarge)

And titles in the McCartney Archive series including:

(Rear of LP cover – click to enlarge)

There are CD examples as well (though some of these do say “Manufactured in the USA”).This means these albums are being pressed (and probably in quite large quantities) somewhere in a European Union country. Many might think that means Britain, Germany, Holland, or maybe even France where they have a rich tradition of pressing good quality vinyl and are geared up to do so.

But then again, maybe not….

I’ve had an email from Russian Beatles collector Andrey. Remember back to Record Store Day earlier this year when Paul McCartney, as part of the publicity in the lead-up to the “Ram” Archives Series reissues, released a limited-edition 45 vinyl single of the song “Another Day“?

This was a collectors item reproduction single (including a nice picture sleeve) especially made for Record Store Day. “Another Day” was a song which was recorded during the “Ram” sessions. However it didn’t come out on the original “Ram” album . It was only ever issued as a single and was a huge worldwide hit.  The RSD release from earlier this year looks like this:

Well, Andrey bought that 2012 RSD “Another Day” single from a Russian internet shop.  The interesting thing is that while the small print on the rear of the paper sleeve states (as it does around the world) that the paper sleeve was “Printed in the USA”, one of the two stickers on the back of Andrey’s copy says that the vinyl record itself was actually manufactured in the Czech Republic by a company called GZ Digital Media.

The rear cover of Andrey’s copy looks like this:

And here’s a close up of that sticker:

(click on images to see larger versions)

If you go to the GZ Digital Media website you’ll discover that they’re a well-established and very professional outfit clearly geared up to do high-quality vinyl and CD pressing runs in large numbers if need be. The company’s vinyl “Products” page lists everything from mastering through to the production of 7″, 10″ and 12″ vinyl; shaped and coloured vinyl; and they even do the printing of covers and production of box sets if required.

That got me thinking about some other releases I have with “Printed in the EU” on the back.  The Beatles vinyl editions of “1” and “Love” for instance:

(Rear of LP cover – click to enlarge)

Is GZ Digital Media in the Czech Republic the plant where these were manufactured too?  Could be.

One of the articles I read about the forthcoming box set of re-mastered Beatles vinyl stated that one of the big logistical challenges Apple faced in planning the project was to find processing plant (or plants) that could physically cope with the sheer volume of discs needing to be pressed. They all have to be high quality and stockpiled in very big numbers for distribution. Perhaps the GZ  Digital Media plant is playing a part?

If you have any more info please join in the conversation.

Love Me Do Reissue – A Big Mistake

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I’ve been away and out of circulation and so have missed the saga of the mis-pressed 50th anniversary single “Love Me Do”. But as reader Terry points out in the comments section for the post “Lots of Beatle Vinyl News – Part 2“,  EMI has ludicrously pressed up and issued the single with the album version by mistake.

Just before the day it was to be released they sent out messages to retailers telling them to return them to EMI. Apple ordered that all recalled stock be destroyed, which would make the single an instant collector’s item.

It’s apparently all due to an error in the manufacturing process where the anniversary single was pressed with the album version of the song featuring Andy White on drums and Ringo Starr relegated to tambourine. The original single version however featured Starr on drums.

I had my order for “Love Me Do” in with the HMV online store and have returned home to find no less than four confusing emails from them. The first says my order has shipped. The second says the product was faulty and was recalled. If I still want the product I should not do anything as once replacement copies are received by HMV they will be shipped to me.

Then a third email saying the order has been cancelled and the original charge has been refunded to my credit card.

Finally, a fourth email saying (quote):

“We have now received restocks, and we are currently in a position to replace your order”

This is all very confusing. The listing for the single has now disappeared from the HMV site.

Of course, some have got out and are on sale on Ebay. I’ve already seen one “Buy It Now” selling for a crazy £250 pounds (that’s over A$395!).  So, it is unclear at the moment if a corrected version will ever be issued.

Lots of Beatles Vinyl News – Part 1

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Well the news is well and truly out, and as usual Wogblog had it pretty much ahead of of anybody else (see his posts here, here, here, here, and here). The guy is amazing.

Apple and EMI are about to formally announce that the entire digitally remastered Beatles stereo back-catalogue (released on CD back in 2009) is finally to be released on vinyl. The albums will be available individually, or collected in a limited edition (50,000 copies) box set:

Accompanying the box will be a new 252 page hardbound book written by Beatles historian Kevin Howlett, with dedicated chapters for every album a wealth of photos – many not used in the 2009 CD booklets:

The box set will contain all twelve studio albums, plus “Magical Mystery Tour” and “Past Masters – Volumes 1 & 2”, all sourced from the original master tapes:

Pressed using 180-gram, audiophile quality vinyl, the individual albums will also faithfully recreate the original artwork and come with the same extras as the original albums – for example the poster and four individual photographs with the “White Album”, and the cutout sheet and psychedelic inner sleave in “Sgt. Pepper”. As you can see below the labels (Parlophone and Apple) will be faithful to the originals too:

All-in-all this looks like it will have been worth the very long wait as a lot of time and effort has gone into preparing the vinyl for re-issue. Music Direct has some further technical information on the painstaking process of getting the vinyl properly and authentically pressed to an exacting standard.

The individual LPs and the box set and book will be released on November 12 in the UK and Europe, and on November 13 in the USA.

UPDATE:  The official Beatles page has just added an official announcement and a special Beatles vinyl page.

SEE ALSO:  Lots of Beatles Vinyl News – Part 2

An Overview of Australian Beatles Records – Revised and Expanded

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Anyone who collects Australian Beatles records seriously must have a copy of this newly-revised book – which came out just this week.

Jaesen Jones is an Australian collector who has produced what must be the most comprehensive reference on all the Australian Beatles releases. Now in a revised and expanded edition featuring over 60 new pages, this book answers just about about any question you’d have regarding all the variations available.

He decided to do a revised and expanded edition due to the popularity of the first edition of “An Overview Of Australian Beatles Records”

Since that book’s release in April last year, Jaesen has managed to uncover much more detailed information about the label typesetting process from industry insiders. This enabled him to confirm with greater accuracy the availability of some label styles, as well as include scans of many more label variations for easier identification (in fact, there’s an additional 12 pages just detailing label typesetting, including scans of 35 LP labels that collectively contain every font used on every Beatles LP issued by EMI Australia).

The new revised edition has been updated and expanded, with 60 new pages comprising sections on mechanical royalties and royalty stamps, custom pressings, contract pressings as well as many new images of sleeves, labels and ephemera. Most existing scans have been replaced with higher quality scans.

Like last time, only limited copies will be available (less than 300). And Jaesen says he’ll be releasing no more editions after this one.

If you are interested in a copy you will need to be quick. You can read more about the book and/or purchase it directly on-line at http://www.beatlesaustralia.com/ or http://jaenahre.com/oabr/

(Click on any images above to see larger versions)

Another Two Beatles Picture Discs

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Last year I was able to get two Beatles vinyl picture disc 45 rpm records. One was “A Hard Day’s Night“, the other “Please Please Me“.

Another two discs have just come into the collection – thanks to reasonable prices on Ebay. They are “Love Me Do”:

And “From Me To You”:

These are both from the 22 picture disc series released by EMI/Parlophone in the UK on the anniversary of each singles’ release. Each disc was released on the 20th anniversary of that single reaching the number one spot on the charts. You can see the rest of the UK picture disc set here (1982-1985), here (1985-1987), and here (1988-1990) – with thanks to Dave Dermon for the links.

So, now I have four. There’s only eighteen to go….

Three French Beatles LP’s

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This post continues on from the one previous detailing some Beatles items found on a recent visit to Paris. As well as bookstores, I was also on the lookout for new or second-hand Beatles records and CDs. With only limited time (and limited knowledge of the geography of the city) I could only scout around nearby where I was staying and so I really only got to visit four record shops in all.

The best of them was definitely Crocodisc, which is at 40 rue des Ecoles, Paris which is smack bang in the middle of the Sorbonne university district and just down from the Pantheon. (Here‘s a link to their English translation site).

Crocodisc was a pretty good find:

As you can see it is crammed full, floor-to-ceiling, with LP’s, 45’s, CD’s and DVDs. Not only that, as well as the main store there is another whole shop-full of records right next door specialising in jazz and metal, etc. Pretty incredible.

They had a fairly large Beatles section – some new, mostly second-hand. I was looking out for actual French pressings to add to the collection and to serve as a happy reminder of my time in Paris – which is definitely one of the world’s great cities. I also couldn’t buy a massive amount – partly because I’d have to say that Beatles items in the store were commanding top prices, but also anything I purchased had to be carried safely back to far-away Australia as part of my luggage.

After much deliberation (and checking out the quality of the covers and discs inside) I settled on three choices. None of these is especially rare or unusual, but each is distinctly different and come from different phases of the Beatles career.

The first was a French pressing of the soundtrack album “Help!”, or as the cover says, “Les Beatles chanson du film Help!”:

I have multiple copies of “Help!” (see here, and here for more) but not a French pressing with this unique cover and released on the Odeon label.

Next is a French Apple pressing of the 1970 Beatle compilation release, “The Beatles Again” (or in some markets known as “Hey Jude”). The rear cover and labels for this one are unique to France with their prominent references to the disc manufacturer Pathe Marconi:

 

Finally, a French vinyl copy of “The Beatles at the Hollywood Bowl”, a budget Beatles record from 1977 and so far never (so far) officially released on CD:

This is on the Parlophone/Pathe Marconi/EMI label and has a great inner sleeve featuring some of the other Beatles titles available in France at the time:

So, that was my Paris Beatles records experience. Nothing earth-shatteringly special about the purchases, but some great reminders of a trip to Paris. The Crocodisc shop was definitely a fun visit, too. You could easily spend a couple of hours in there…

Click here for a comprehensive list of record stores – not only in Paris but right across France (it’s big).

Label Variations Part Seven – Help!

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Our last post was about the 1965 US Capitol Records edition of the Bealtes “Help!”

Here are some label variations of that album (both LPs and CDs), including the versions released in Australia and the UK.  Some are from my collection, augmented by images of variations from around the world. You can click on the labels to see larger versions and hover your mouse over to get the country of origin:

And one final vinyl – thanks to Paul in France for this image of an exclusive French edition from 1978 on orange vinyl:

There are also a few CD’s:

(Click on labels to see larger versions. Hover mouse over to get country of origin)

And of course the DVD (which came out in 2007 in both Deluxe and standard edition sets). Here’s the standard edition box and DVD:

To publicise the DVD, Capitol issued a promotional disc – a seven song “Sampler” from the film:

For more Label Variations you can see Parts One, Two, Three, Four, Five and Six plus the Beatles “Love” variations here and here. There’s also a comprehensive post on all the extensive variations of the McCartney/Fireman “Electric Arguments” release, the Twin Freaks LP and singles, and McCartney‘s recent “Kisses On The Bottom” CD’s and LP. There is also a post on some George Harrison “All Things Must Pass” label variations.

Beatles Australian 10th Anniversary 1963-1973 Souvenir LP

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My third item from the recent Glebe Record Fair (you can read about the other two here and here) is a unique and interesting Australian-only Beatles release:

To give you a bit of background to this one here’s a quote from the incredibly informative book “An Overview of Australian Beatles Records” by Jaeson Jones: “In February 1973, to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the first Beatles record released in Australia (Please Please Me/Ask Me Why), EMI (Australia) repackaged the two previously issued Greatest Hits compilations into a double LP set with a new gatefold sleeve and distinctive purple labels. The LP was promoted nationally by member stations of the major radio network of Australia, with the front cover featuring a gold sticker on the top left displaying the call sign of the promoting station. The participating radio stations were 2KO, 2UE, 3DB, 4BK, 5AD, 6PR, 7EX and 7HT.

While there was no new content, or new mixes of old content, the labels eschewed the orange hue that characterised contemporary Beatles releases in favour of a more subdued lilac/purple colour; not a particularly earth-shattering variation perhaps, but one that undeniably adds to the unique character of the Australian Beatles labelography.

The set was to be short-lived, however, for a few months later EMI UK announced the impending release of The Beatles 1962-66 (Red) and The Beatles 1967-70 (Blue) double LPs, effectively scuttling sales of this commemorative set, which was quietly deleted before mid-1973.”

Finding this LP in good condition is difficult because the white paper/cardboard used for the cover is very flimsy and very easily torn or scuffed. Most copies you see have significant ring wear. As you can see, mine is marked and not pristine, but overall not too bad for its age. Here’s the rear cover:

It has the gold corner sticker on the front left-hand side indicating it was originally purchased in Sydney, New South Wales, and consequently had publicity support of the participating radio station 2UE at the time:

As you can see on the first front cover image above, it also has the name of the person who owned it…. Linda Chinner – are you still out there?

At the time of this album’s release pre-Apple Beatles LPs were being issued in by EMI Australia on a bright orange Parlophone label that looks like this:

However, the two LPs in this set got an unusual and unique lilac/purple and silver Parlophone label:

This album set gathers together two “best of” previously released Australian LP’s “The Beatles Greatest Hits, Vol.1” and “The Beatles Greatest Hits, Vol.2” and packages them in a gatefold. These next two images are the inside of the gatefold, left side and right side:

  These are the original covers for the two albums in this 2 LP set. “The Beatles Greatest Hits Vol. 1” was released in Australia and New Zealand in mono in 1966 and in stereo in 1968; “The Beatles Greatest Hits Vol. 2” was released in both stereo and mono in 1967: