Tag Archives: Parlophone

Sgt. Pepper Label Anomaly

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The subtitle of this blog is “Adventures in Collecting Beatles Music” and so we often get people inquiring about rare (or not-so-rare) pressings that they’ve come across out in the wild.

Like this one earlier this week from a reader named D-Wizz who is based in Brisbane, Australia:

I refer to the attached photos which are both sides of the same record. I note that the font used for each label is different. Side 2 looks like a 1960s style while Side 1 has an early 70s font. I cannot find an example of this on any Beatles related site, so I wonder is it a rarity, a mis-pressing, or something else? Does it make this copy any more valuable?

Thanks for your attention and assistance.

Regards, etc.

We love a challenge like this and delved into doing a little research. This is right at the heart of the adventures in collecting Beatles music! Here’s what we wrote back with:

Thanks for your email, and for sending through actual photos of the labels. This makes identification so much easier!

We’ve consulted the book An Overview of Australian Beatles Records by Jaesen Jones, which is a fantastic resource, plus his comprehensive website I Am The Platypus – The Beatles Australian Records Labelography – also very helpful in identifying Aussie Beatle pressings and variations. For what you need to know you should look at this page for the Sgt. Pepper’s label variations, and this page for further info on Australian label variations generally (click on the “Orange 1-Box” tab at the top).

What you have here is obviously a pressing of Sgt. Pepper’s that came out around October 1978 when EMI Australia was right in the middle of transitioning from one label design to another.

You’ve correctly identified that your Side 2 label is older – and in fact it is. It was the orange Parlophone label in use on Australian pressings of Sgt. Pepper’s from 1969-1978. It is known as the Orange 1-Box Style A, and has the word STEREO written large at the top. 

Then, in October 1978, EMI changed that label to what is called the Orange 1-Box Style B. This still has the word STEREO, but now in a much smaller font and set to the right of the spindle hole above the catalogue number. This is your Side 1 label.

We’d guess that when they were pressing your copy it must have been right on the change-over date between the two variations in October 1978. They obviously had some of the older style Side 2 labels left over (Orange 1-Box Style A) and where just using them up. However, for Side 1 they’d obviously started using the new-look Orange 1-Box Style B labels. 

(FYI there was a further orange label variation that was introduced from early 1979 called Orange 1-Box Style C that was used up to 1981. This had no mention of the word “Stereo” on it at all).

So, is your copy rare and more valuable? Well, it is interesting! 

Jaeson Jones includes in his book a ‘Guide to Rarity’ and, on a scale of 1-10 (where 1 is very common, and 10 is very rare), he lists the Sgt. Pepper’s Orange 1-Box Style A as a 5, and the Orange 1-Box Style B as a 3. Both therefore are reasonably common I’m afraid – but at least yours is different and it has a bit of a story behind it! I dunno, maybe we’d rate it as a 6?

Hope this helps,

beatlesblogger.com

At Last – A Blue Box for The Beatles Singles Collection

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For quite a few years now we’ve had in the collection a complete set of all the Beatles UK singles that go inside the 1982 box set, The Beatles Singles Collection.

Only thing is, we didn’t have the lovey blue box with gold embossed writing to hold them.

Until now.

We’ve been searching on eBay and other places for quite some time to find an empty box in excellent condition. Have even bid on a couple over the years, but have never been successful.

Then, a few weeks back, a very nice example came up for sale, and here it is:

This box has the catalogue number BSCP1:

That BSCP1 marking means that the box should contain all 22 singles The Beatles released between 1962-1970, plus 4 singles that were issued following the break-up (‘Yesterday’ from March, 1976; ‘Back In The USSR’ from June, 1976; ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band/With a Little Help From My Friends’ from September, 1978; and ‘The Beatles Movie Medley’ from May, 1982). Each should also be housed in unique paper picture sleeves, plus (and this is what delineates this release from the earlier BSC1 Singles box), a picture disc of ‘Love Me Do’ should also be included.

So, that’s 27 discs in all.

It should also have a blue paper insert detailing the complete list of singles with recording dates, release dates and chart positions.

Each single has labels reproduced just as they would have been in the UK at the time of original release too. That means the first two singles, ‘Love Me Do’ and ‘Please Please Me’, are on the red Parlophone label:

From the singles ‘From Me To You’ through to ‘Lady Madonna’, the labels are the black and silver Parlophone/EMI:

Then, from ‘Hey Jude’ through to ‘Let It Be’, we get the green Apple label:

Here are the covers and labels for the four additional singles, ‘Yesterday’, ‘Back In The USSR’, ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band/With a Little Help From My Friends’, and ‘The Beatles Movie Medley’:

The final single in this set is a ‘Love Me Do’ picture disc, housed in its original clear plastic sleeve:

Here’s the picture disc image on the flipside:

So, at last a blue box for The Beatles Singles Collection (BSCP1). See also our posts on the 1978 edition of 25 singles called The Beatles Collection; the Australian edition blue box containing all the LPs – also called The Beatles Collection. And the CD Singles Collection (two versions), and The Compact Disc EP Collection.

As usual, click on the images above to see larger versions.

Latest Addition to the Collection – The Beatles “Help!” US LP

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After many a year I’ve finally got myself a copy of the US vinyl version of the Beatles “Help!”.

Last week I visited a newly-opened record store called Pacific Records. It’s located in the Sydney suburb of Mona Vale and sells new and used LPs, singles, CDs, music books, posters and t-shirts. The guy running it also has an Ebay store.

I’ve already got a few different versions of “Help!”, but have never had an LP copy of the US Capitol Records pressing – which varies in a number of ways to the LP released in Australia and elsewhere. The one I got last week is on the orange Capitol label:

The LP is of interest because the US edition has seven songs from the film interspersed with instrumentals, a different running order, and a very different cover to that issued in places like the UK, Europe and Australia:

Also, it has a really cool gatefold with lots of additional photos inside (whereas in other countries “Help!” comes in just a single LP sleeve):

In Australia (and in the UK) we’re used to this “Help!” LP cover image:

As I said there are some songs in common, but the running order is different and Bruce Spizer explains why in his liner notes for the booklet that comes with “The Beatles Capitol Albums, Vol. 2”:

“In England, Parlophone repeated its practice of issuing an album with songs from the film on one side and additional new recordings by the group on side two. (Three of those songs had previously appeared [in the US] on “Beatles VI”.) Capitol issued an album with the seven Beatles songs from the film augmented with “Exclusive Instrumental Music From the Picture’s Soundtrack.” Ken Thorne’s score for the film consisted of a mix of Thorne originals, classical music and orchestrated Beatles tunes, often with an Indian flavour. Capitol’s “Help!” LP was issued with a deluxe gatefold cover on August 13, 1965″.

The copy I got also has a nice original paper inner sleeve, with advertisements for other Capitol LPs, including a couple by the Beatles:

Next time a post on some “Help!” label variations from around the world.

Beatles – Paperback Writer/Rain Re-issue

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I’ve been sweating on the postman arriving this week as I bought a copy of the “Paperback Writer/Rain” Parlophone Record Store Day re-issue, and it arrived today. Mine came from the US. It was finally released there on June 8 after an on-again/off again series of dates came and went. This followed the initial UK release on Record Store Day proper earlier this year on April 17.

In the UK the re-issue was limited to just 1000 copies – and hence the prices being asked went through the roof. I believe (see below) that the US releases are imports of the exact same UK pressings – and so are a chance to catch up on that really rare initial UK release.

You can see five close-up images here – three of the most recent “Paperback Writer/Rain” US release, and two of a previous US Capitol issue.

Steve Marinucci, who has a Beatles news column online at the Examiner newspaper, published this story about the UK release, and this story about the then US re-issue plans. Reviewer, writer and Beatles fan Matt Hurwitz sent the Examiner the following description of the new vinyl single:

I’ve just received a copy of the new “Paperback Writer”/”Rain” 7″ vinyl single from Capitol, which will be issued to participating indie record stores as part of continued celebration of Record Store Day. The disc & sleeve are actually the same as was released in England. This is an import of that release (i.e. not pressed here in the States by Capitol). The record features a black-and-white Parlophone die-cut sleeve with dark blue label backdrops. The A-side label lists both songs; the B-side label features art that matches that on the back of the sleeve – letters spelling out “Parlophone.” For those who keep track, the disc is Parlophone R-6813/EMI 50999-6-41639-7-0. The disc itself features stereo mixes of the two songs. It’s important to note – this is the first vinyl release taken from the new masters, and they sound fantastic. The stereo spread sounds as if the mastering engineer pulled in the left and right a hair (i.e. so that the hard-left and hard-right panning of some channels isn’t quite as far left or right). And, of course, being mastered at Abbey Road, my needle didn’t jump out of the groove on “Paperback Writer”.

After reading all this I got a bit inquisitive and wanted to find out if the Beatles Parlophone re-issue was a one-off, or part of a bigger re-issue by the company around Record Store Day. Turns out “Paperback Writer” was just one of many re-issues by the label – all done with similar dark blue sleeves and labels. Here is the official Parlophone press release

Parlophone Plan Vinyl Series For Record Store Day – Twelve artists will be taking part (Posted 8th April, 2010)

Parlophone have announced plans to release a series of limited vinyl (1000 copies each) for Record Store Day (17th April).

Twelve artists will be taking part, including Hot Chip, Bat For Lashes, Pet Shop Boys, Lily Allen and The Beatles. Each release will come in a vintage-style paper Parlophone house bag which has been designed ‘specially, and uses elements of historic sleeves from the 1960s to the present day. From this year’s hottest new urban artist Tinie Tempah to the band that made the label what it is today, The Beatles. Each release will come in a vintage-style paper Parlophone house bag which has been designed especially for the releases and uses elements of historic sleeves from the 1960’s to the present day.

The releases are:

Babyshambles Side of the Road/UnBiloTitled

Bat For Lashes Howl! (Live at De La Warr Pavillion)/Wild Is The Wind (Live at Grove Music Studios)

The Beatles Paperback Writer/Rain

Chiddy Bang Opposite of Adults/Sooner or Later

Danger Mouse & Sparklehorse Just War (featuring Gruff Rhys)/Just War (instrumental)

Eliza Doolittle Pack Up/Rollerblades

Hot Chip I Feel Bonnie (featuring Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billie)/Bear Witness

Jónsi Go Do/Boy Lilikoi

Lily Allen Back To The Start/Kabul Shit

The Pet Shop Boys Love Life/A Powerful Friend

Tinie Tempah Pass Out/Pass Out (SBTRKT Remix)

(plus one other release)

Miles Leonard, President of Parlophone said: “Parlophone and our artists recognise the importance of our Indie stores and their contribution to not only our new and developing artists but to our catalogue as a whole. Being able to support this campaign with some great 7″ releases from The Beatles to Bat For Lashes is our way of thanking them for their continued support. After all ‘Music Matters’.”

Of course Capitol in the US also released The John Lennon Singles Bag as part of the celebrations for Record Store Day as well, and you can read more about that here.