Tag Archives: Limited Edition

Beatles Japan Visit – 60th Anniversary Releases Announced

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The Beatles’ Japan Store has just announced a special 60th anniversary project commemorating the band’s visit to Japan in 1966.

The Beatles performed at Nippon Budokan in Tokyo from June 30 to July 2 – and created something of a sensation throughout the country. Back then the previously unreleased albums Please Please Me and With The Beatles, were issued as special commemorative editions for the visit. Now, in June 2026, they’re being re-issued as special cardboard-sleeve SHM-CDs, recreating the artwork from that time, plus they’ll include a poster:

Additionally, Please Please Me gets a vinyl release in the same style:

Back in 1966 these releases were based on the UK Please Please Me and With The Beatles albums. They included tracks in stereo that had previously only been available in mono in Japan. They both came in a deluxe specification featuring uniquely designed jackets and obi strips, plus 8-page bound-in booklets with color photos and lyrics. The new 2026 re-issues will feature that same specification, recreating the artwork of the first Japanese LP editions as much as possible (though it doesn’t seem to extend to the record labels – these should be black Odeon labels, not the UK Parlophone which is disappointing).

They will however recreate the obi strips from those first Japanese editions, and include a six-panel fold-out 868mm x 580mm poster. At the Beatles Japan Store you can also opt (at extra cost) for a special postcard to be included with the two CD’s and the LP. The songs are in the same order as the original UK albums (they had a different running order on the original Japanese releases) and will use the 2009 remastered audio. It’s not clear why With The Beatles isn’t also getting a vinyl release.

Also back in 1966 a Japanese 7″ single was released following the concert tour and, only at the Beatles Store in Japan, there’s to be a recreation of this single – ‘Yellow Submarine’/’Eleanor Rigby’:

This new 2026 release reproduces the design of the original first-pressing jacket and its company inner sleeve. It comes on white vinyl and features the 2023 mix of the songs. However, again it looks like they’ve opted for non-authentic labels. This too should be black Odeon labels, not the UK Parlophone shown in the promo shots:

In addition, Universal Music Japan will launch a special Beatles pop-up store at the Universal Music Store in Harajuku (near Shibuya in Tokyo) from June 25 to July 5. Only at that store they’ll be selling a limited edition red vinyl of the 7″ single:

Wings Book – SUPER Super Deluxe Edition

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There’s exclusive, and then there’s extra exclusive.

Denny Laine’s widow Elizabeth Hines has posted to Instagram images of an even more limited edition of the new book, Wings: The Story of a Band On The Run, signed and sent to her by Paul McCartney.

The book and its contents are very similar to the limited and expensive edition reported here, but this is a super special version (number 17 of just 25 copies), allocated to McCartney as author to send out to significant people. 

It has its own unique signature page with hand-written details of just how limited it is.

The book comes in a deluxe cloth case featuring screen printing and includes a 24-page full-colour bound-in booklet of Wings-era album and singles cover artwork, an enamel Wings pin and blue and white embroidered patch, and a uniquely bound copy of the book itself:

There is also an exclusive transparent blue vinyl 1 LP of Wings: The Definitive Collection with custom labels:

How special is that?

It’s really nice to see that Denny’s family have received this from Paul and MPL, and that such things exist alongside the versions that you and I have access to.

Wings Book – Super Deluxe Edition Announced

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Liveright Books has just announced a special numbered, limited edition of Wings: The Story of a Band On The Run, signed by Paul McCartney. There will be 175 copies available for the US market, and 175 copies for the UK market.

These limited signed edition books are packaged in a deluxe cloth case featuring screen printing, including a 24-page full-colour bound-in booklet of Wings-era album and singles cover artwork (front and back). They also include an exclusive colour vinyl 1 LP (with unique labels) of the forthcoming Wings: The Definitive Collection release. There’s also a special enamel pin and a blue and white embroidered patch.

Each copy will be numbered and signed by Paul McCartney.

On sale from November 25, they’re available now for pre-order (if you can find one). The limited edition has a RRP of £2500 or US$4,000.

This is a lot of money, but they will sell out and become genuine collector’s items for sure.

As has become usual with these limited McCartney book releases various retailers undertake a variety of promotional activities to entice you to secure a copy – and they probably only get one copy each. This bookshop is asking you to enter a competition just to win the right to BUY the only copy they have for sale!

Check out this link for a full list of all US participating bookseller locations.

In Britain it’s the same. For example, the big Waterstones chain there is offering a chance to win the limited edition version in a prize draw. The competition is open to all customers who order the standard hardback online from them.

Meanwhile, here in Australia this record store has this super deluxe edition for sale at an incredible AUD$24,999.00. That’s around US$16,315.00, or £12,397.00 British Pounds, or €14,094.00 Euros. Blimey!

Liveright also published special deluxe editions of McCartney’s two previous books, 1964: Eyes of the Storm; and The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present.

Ringo Starr ‘February Sky’ – Amoeba 7″ Single Rarity

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In the lead up to Record Store Day 2024 Ringo Starr was on the publicity trail for his forthcoming 4-track EP called Crooked Boy. It was being released on Record Store Day as a Limited Edition black and white marble vinyl. Then, later this month, it will come out on normal black vinyl and on CD.

Ringo did a lot of social media in the lead-up, plus a number of interviews for print, radio and podcasts. But the big deal was a personal appearance at the Amoeba Music record store in Hollywood. This was on April 18 where he was joined on stage by Linda Perry, the driving force behind the latest EP. Perry wrote, produced and engineered the new record. She even chose the photo for the front cover of the EP.

On that day, and only in person at the store, Amoeba made available an extremely limited edition 7″ single of one of the songs from the EP called ‘February Sky’. It’s been reported (but not confirmed) that only 500 of these singles were pressed. They come in a picture sleeve and are pressed on a cool red vinyl:

Amoeba must have had a few left over and so the following week they made the remaining stock available online. These sold out in ten minutes. It was US customers only as the store doesn’t ship internationally.

As you can see, some copies on eBay have since sold for as high as US$360…..

Being based in Australia we thought we’d never get a copy for the collection, but thanks to one of our readers – our mate Guy – there will be one winging its way Downunder very soon!

New Dark Horse Title is an Unusual Choice but a Great Album

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From Olivia Harrison’s socials:

“Nina Simone is recognised as one of the most authentic and captivating artists of our time. She recorded some of George’s songs with powerful conviction. We are privileged to have this album on the Dark Horse label.” – Olivia Harrison

“Nina Simone’s music has always held a special place in the hearts of my family. Her unique talent and profound artistry not only resonated with us but also left an indelible mark on our musical journey. Nina’s legacy continues to be an enduring source of inspiration, a reminder of the power of music to touch the soul and inspire the spirit.” – Dhani Harrison

Dark Horse Records is proud to release a very limited pressing of Nina Simone’s debut studio album Little Girl Blue, celebrating the album’s 65th anniversary.

Originally released in February 1959, this limited pink vinyl reissue is available exclusively from Barnes & Noble on February 23rd.

Pre-order now at barnesandnoble.com

This is a great album.

The pre-order details say it will include a 12×12 insert with an introduction written by Dhani Harrison. Little Girl Blue includes some of Simone’s best-known tracks, including ‘My Baby Just Cares for Me’, ‘I Loves You, Porgy’ and ‘Love Me Or Leave Me’, and even at this early stage in her career, you can hear the profound impact she would go on to have on the musical landscape in the ensuing decades.

For those of us outside the US though this is going to be a tricky one to secure……however, Barnes & Noble now ship internationally (previously they did not), so it should be possible.

Oh, and it looks like it has the catalogue number DH0024.

McCartney III – 3×3 Edition

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Well, we knew that all the previous marketing for McCartney III (and McCartney III Imagined) has revolved around the number 3.

After all, the first (and very limited) release of McCartney III was made at Jack White’s Third Man Records. Symbolically, 333 copies were pressed. Then came the myriad of coloured vinyl editions, many limited to 3000 copies (again to tie into the 3 theme). There were also the dice sets you could buy from the official McCartney store, which had the number 3 on all sides, etc, etc.

So the marketing gurus thought (no doubt over a long lunch), “Why not celebrate 3 years since McCartney III came out with yet another limited edition? And while we’re at it, let’s not make it just one limited edition, but three limited editions!”

And so we have the answer to last week’s question…..

Yes. Three more variations will be joining the 32 iterations already out there of this title across vinyl, CD, and cassette. That’s right, we said 32 variations (see the table below).

Today the McCartney camp announced that the McCartney III 3×3 Edition will be joining them:

The idea is you place your order for a limited edition coloured vinyl disc. One of the three variations available will then be randomly selected and sent to you. Your LP will come in a newly designed Ed Ruscha cover. It will have a lyric printed inner sleeve plus an Ed Ruscha sketch poster for the cover design of McCartney III included:

Also randomly included will be a smaller replica Paul McCartney handwritten print. From the images released so far this will either be the handwritten lyric to ‘Pretty Boys’, ‘The Kiss of Venus’, or what looks like an early sketch of McCartney’s album logo/cover ideas.

So, to summarise: each customer gets 1 LP, a handwritten replica print and a poster in the newly designed cover, with the record in a lyric/credits inner sleeve. However, the colour of the LP and the print pairing is random. If you purchase more than one copy, the store won’t guarantee you will receive two or three different variants.

If you want to have all three unique colours and all three prints you will have to take your chances. Most stores are limiting pre-sales to 4 copies per customer. However, here in Australia the official store limit was initially set at two copies per customer (though this seems to have been removed entirely now).

At this stage we don’t know how “limited” these sets are.

McCartney III 3×3 Edition ships on December 15, 2023 (but for Australia make that January 12, 2024).

Do we really need another three McCartney III coloured vinyl in the world? No. Here’s our running total of all the variations to date (click on image to see a larger version):

The first YouTube unboxing of McCartney III 3×3? Got to admit, he was quick:

Reader Unboxing Video of McCartney ‘The Lyrics’ Limited Edition

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We’re guessing that many of you had Paul MCCartney’s The Lyrics book under the Christmas tree this year.

Not so many though would have been unwrapping the Limited Edition.

That’s the one actually signed by Sir Paul, and there have reportedly been just 175 copies made available worldwide. However, that most likely means 175 for the US market, and 175 for the UK.

Either way, it’s the one that comes in a unique and quite distinctive bright orange box with blue lettering. The design inside is different to the standard as well – as one lucky reader in New Zealand has just shared with us when he received his unique boxed set.

His name is Simon and somehow he managed to get a copy of the Limited Edition sent to him from a UK book store. It is number 105/175. Simon’s done this unboxing video for us of him opening his treasure:

See also Paul McCartney The Lyrics – How Many Translations?

McCartney’s 2009 Box Set Electric Arguments Revisited

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In something of a change of pace, the Super Deluxe Edition site has recently been looking back at a couple of classic box set releases from the past.

Their latest unboxing-style video features the very rare Paul McCartney (a.k.a. The Fireman) box which is based around the 2008 release, Electric Arguments.

This was McCartney’s third album with musician/producer Youth, and as Paul Sinclair from SDE says, “… [it] broke the mould inasmuch as unlike the previous two albums, it was openly promoted by the record label as being the work of the ex-Beatle. A limited box set edition was available only via McCartney’s website and arrived six months late, in July 2009.”

If you’d like some more detail on this one, check out our comprehensive article on all the releases associated with the Electric Arguments project, including the CD singles, promo CD’s, the single CD editions, vinyl, and spme more of the background to this very limited box set. For the real completists out there see also this post.

Paul Sinclair from Super Deluxe Edition has also revisited the wonderful 2009 Beatles in Mono box set too:

Yellow Submarine Picture Disc

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The Beatles official site has announced that a limited edition ‘Yellow Submarine’ 7″ vinyl picture disc single is to be released on July 6:  
 This will mark 50 years since the Yellow Submarine animated film hit movie screens around the world:

Of course this isn’t the first time we’ve seen an officially released ‘Yellow Submarine’ 7″ picture disc. As part of its 20th anniversary celebrations for each British Beatle single, EMI issued a series of picture discs. This one came out in 1986 – marking 20 years since the band’s 13th single ‘Yellow Submarine’/’Eleanor Rigby’ was issued in August, 1966:

The new 7″ vinyl picture disc will come in a coloured die-cut sleeve and will be released on Friday, 6 July. A high-resolution, 4K restoration of the Yellow Submarine film will open at selected movie theatres in the UK, Ireland and the US in the following days. Tickets are here.

McCartney Announces RSD Limited Edition….Cassette?

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In the lead-up to Record Store Day 2017 (which falls on 22 April), Paul McCartney has just announced he’ll issue a limited edition, three-song cassette that will be distributed to some participating stores. The cassette will contain three of the “download only” demos he made for the album with Elvis Costello that will form part of his forthcoming Flowers In The Dirt box set deluxe edition. Here’s the official press release:

PAUL McCARTNEY

FLOWERS IN THE DIRT — THE CASSETTE DEMOS WITH ELVIS COSTELLO

RECORD STORE DAY EXCLUSIVE 3-TRACK CASSETTE-ONLY RELEASE

With the Flowers In The Dirt Archive Collection edition’s March 24th release date via MPL/Capitol/UMe fast approaching, Paul McCartney has confirmed a very special Record Store Day exclusive.

To commemorate Record Store Day this April 22nd, a limited edition three-song cassette of Paul and Elvis Costello’s Flowers In The Dirt demos will be made available at participating RSD stores.

The limited edition cassette-only release will be the first time these recordings – ‘I Don’t Want To Confess’, ‘Shallow Grave’ and ‘Mistress And Maid’- will be made available in the same form as when Paul and Elvis first cut them directly to tape.

Speaking about these tracks Paul said: “The demos are red hot off the skillet and that’s why we wanted to include them on this boxed set. What’s great about these songs is that they’ve just been written. So there’s nothing more hot off the skillet as I say. So that was the kind of great instant thing about them. I hadn’t listened to them in ages but when I did I knew we had to put them out. We made a little tape of them and sent them to Elvis, who loved them too. We said we should put out an EP or something and now the moment’s finally arrived.”

The demos will be made available digitally only as part of the Deluxe Edition when Flowers In The Dirt is released as the 10th installment in the multiple-GRAMMY-winning Paul McCartney Archive Collection.

The Paul McCartney Archive Collection release of Flowers In The Dirt was, as always, personally curated and overseen by Paul himself. (ENDS)

As Paul Sinclair says on his influential Super Deluxe Edition website “…it is ironic that they are coming out on tape when they were denied a release on CD partly because Paul wants to stay ‘modern’ and embrace/drive people to streaming!”

You can read his report on the cassette here, and the saga of the “download only” decision here.