Tag Archives: Japanese Beatles

I Want to Hold Your Hand – Beatles Rare Japanese Promo CD

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When we posted on last year the Beatles 5 CD Japan Box we were intrigued by a thin paper postcard included with he set. We can’t read Japanese, but it looked like you could fill out your details, attach a postage stamp and send off to receive an additional, limited edition CD single of ‘I Want to Hold Your Hand’ in a replica sleeve of the first Beatles Japanese vinyl 45 from 1964. The postcard looked like this:japan-box-insert

Turns out we were correct. Only a few lucky Japanese Beatle fans were eligible to get what undoubtably will become a rare collectors item to add to their Japan Box box sets as the special offer/application postcard was valid only to purchasers of the box set who lived in Japan. The offer expired on July 9, 2014 – and even then it was like a ballot. Only some of those who applied got a copy.

We’ve been checking around the web to see if any had since come up for sale.

The big music collectables online site eil.com now has this listing for the rare CD single – but no copies are currently available:  “The Beatles ‘I Want To Hold Your Hand’. Super rare 2014 Japanese only 1-track promotional only mono CD, only available to competition winners by sending a postcard from the Japanese Album box set, and was a lottery as to who receives a copy. The disc is printed with the similar design that featured on the 1964 legendary 7″ with the Odeon Records label, housed in a custom card wallet picture sleeve replicating the artwork from the single with ‘Sampler / Not For Sale / Promotional Use Only’ text on the front, whilst the back promotes the actual Japan Box release, comes with a two page Japanese press release. Another stunning promo from Japan that is sure to become very sought after and highly collectable SIC-9045).”

One copy was recently on Ebay – with an asking price of US$538.00. It was accompanied by these photographs which gave some more detail about the CD single:$_12d$_12c$_12a$_12b$_12$_12e

So – this is indeed destined to become one very rare collectable. If anyone has one and wants to tell us how they got hold of it please get in touch!

Beatles “Love” – A Further Collectable Variation

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Following my post on some of the release variations I have in my collection of the Beatles “Love” CDs and LP, I had a note from Ned in the United States who has a very interesting and unique CD single from the “Love” releases.
He has in his collection this rare Japanese promo CD single:

LOVE rare promo single - front cover

As you can see above, it has the familiar bright yellow “Love” cover art work – but it contains just one track from “Love” called “Within You Without You/Tomorrow Never Knows”, a mash-up mix by George and Giles Martin of the basic track and vocal from “Within You Without You” (originally released on “Sgt Pepper”), and the drum track from “Tomorrow Never Knows” (taken from “Revolver”).  Giles Martin said “This was the first thing we did (for the “Love” project). We played it for them (Paul and Ringo) and they said ‘we want more like that!’  We had to remind them, ‘Fellas, you know that on most songs you did actually change chords!”  George Martin said at the time: “‘Within You’ is not the most memorable song, but it’s much more interesting with that rhythm.”
According to Ned this CD single was created for Japanese radio stations and issued by EMI Japan without the full knowledge of EMI’s London office. When they found out it was withdrawn shortly after release, thus making it a very collectable item. “It is absolutely NOT an unauthorized release but remains the only CD single issued from the “Love” project”, says Ned.

LOVE single - inside

It has a nice insert that lists the other tracks on the full CD release:

LOVE single - booklet

Ned writes: “I mail ordered this from Japan right at the time of the opening of the show in Vegas.  I believe it ran me around US$20 – including shipping.  I have no idea what the value is now as I only collect what I like and not what might be worth something someday.  Apparently, Yoko Ono had (has) the same collecting philosophy and it has served her well.
Ned has two other favorite Beatles-related items. One is a still-sealed, 4 CD Lennon box from 1990 with a blank space on the back cover art where the song “Imagine” should be listed (the song is on the disc, however). “I bought this one from a woman going through a bad divorce.  She only wanted US$15 for it.  Even though I was very much interested I IMPLORED her to ask for more because I knew she could get it.  However, she insisted because, to her, it represented her former husband.  (Years earlier, I had regretfully sold my copy…and I was desperate to get a copy back in my possession).”
The other item is a withdrawn, mid-80’s CD release of Lennon’s Shaved Fish – manufactured in Japan for the U.S. market – that has slightly different artwork on it. “It was withdrawn because EMI either failed to use “No-Noise” on the master tapes or the tapes they did use were from inferior sources.  Either way, the hiss is more apparent than the common one.  But the fact that it was quickly pulled off the market makes it of interest”, says Ned.

But back to the “Love” promo CD. “Promo Sample” is printed in Japanese around the hub. The catalogue number on the disc is PCD-3275.

LOVE single - the Japanese promo writing around hub

Sincere thanks to collector Ned for all the info and photos. Here’s a clearer picture of the black  promo writing around the center of the CD single’s hub:

LOVE single - promo hub close-up

Japanese Beatles EP Box Set

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It must have been 27 years ago. It was a chance visit to a local record shop in Forestville, a northern suburb of Sydney, Australia.

Back then “record” stores were just that. They sold vinyl records. However, at the time many were in a state of transition. Compact Discs had just come out and the writing was very much on the wall for the humble vinyl record. At the time this record shop was in the process of getting rid of it’s vinyl, settling into the retailing of CD’s, and transitioning to become a video movie hire shop – on the way out of music all together.

I walked in for a look around and saw this small box set on one of the shelves:

Box set – The Beatles E.P.’s Collection

It was sitting alone. Catalogue number: Odeon Mono EAS-30013-26.

You had the definite feeling that it had been on that shelf quite some time….had not sold…and the owners were definitely keen to shift it. I took it down and noticed it didn’t have a price sticker on it. I also noticed that amongst the individual vinyl singles they still had displayed that they’d opened at least one other similar box set to break up the contents and sell the EP records it contained individually.

I walked up to the counter and asked “How much is this one?”, holding up the box set. “You can have it for A$25.00”, said the guy behind the counter. Now, back then it wasn’t dirt cheap, but it was cheap for the quality of this mint, red vinyl Japanese copy of the entire Beatles Extended Play vinyl discs. I bought it.

What you see here is that same box set from all those years ago.

Beatles E.P.’s Collection – box spine

This Japanese release is the same as the U.K. set, except that all fifteen records inside are pressed on red vinyl and the two-record Magical Mystery Tour is in mono instead of stereo. All discs in fact are mono – except The Inner Light, which is in stereo.

The Beatles E.P.’s Collection – lid opening

Each of the fifteen EP records inside come with plastic covers:

All the discs have plastic covers

Another interesting thing is that these discs play at 33 and 1/3 r.p.m, not the usual 45 r.p.m. There’s a paper sheet inside (in Japanese) with some information about the release:

Beatles E.P.’s – paper insert sheet

The famed 2-record EP Magical Mystery Tour comes complete with the gatefold and booklet just like the original, and as already mentioned, is in mono:

Mono Japanese Magical Mystery Tour

And all the discs come pressed in a delicious-looking transparent red vinyl, and all with the original cover artwork:

The lovely red vinyl “Nowhere Man” EP

 Note the “33and 1/3 r.p.m.” on the left-hand side of the label.

The red vinyl again – and each disc has plastic inner sleeves

Apparently this Japanese red vinyl edition also came out in a black vinyl edition.