The other day we made an online bid (for a whole $6.00 Australian) at an auction of vintage movie posters – and won!
So, coming into the collection is a nice little companion piece for the two copies we already have of Paul McCartney’sThe Family Way soundtrack, a movie score he composed in 1966 – 60 years ago this year:
This is an Australian “daybill poster”. It would have been displayed in the cinema foyer, or in a glass case on the street outside the cinema at the time of release. Daybill posters measure 13 by 30 inches (or 33cm by 76cm). They have two folds in them and were sold to cinemas for 5 to 10 cents each.
Until the 1970s most daybills were printed, like this one, as lithographs on relatively thin paper and they’re sought after now by collectors for their rarity and unique artwork. This one is excellent condition and, as you can see, makes pointed mention that Paul (BEATLE) McCartney is involved:
See the film’s Wikipedia entry for a full background and storyline for this now quaint little British film:
The Family Way premiered in London on 18 December, 1966 but wasn’t shown until the following year in the US and in Australia – so that dates this daybill poster to 1967. In October 1967, film producer John Boulting claimed it was the most successful British film made over the past year. It was argued “the nude scene certainly didn’t hurt at the box-office, nor did the fact that Paul McCartney wrote the soundtrack.”
The soundtrack album was released in Britain, Australia, New Zealand, the US and Canada in 1967. What we have is a later Australian LP re-issue which comes on purple Decca labels:
The small print on the rear cover says “music by Paul McCartney, supervised and orchestrations arranged by George Martin.”
We also have the 2015 Record Store Day release on the Varèse Sarabande label, described as a “limited collector’s edition”. It comes on 180g vinyl and is a US pressing:
The only Beatle-related action comes from Dark Horse Records. They’re continuing the quest to slowly release the whole of the George Harrison back-catalogue as Zoetrope picture discs. The next two installments will be Thirty Three and 1/3 from 1976:
Both are limited editions and come in numbered die-cut jackets. They should also include inserts with cover art and credits and a small Zoetrope viewing instruction sheet. Both are limited to 2900 copies in the US, and probably the same again for the ROW.
Dark Horse is soon to re-issue the Traveling Wilbury back-catalogue, first as SHM-CD’s in Japan on 21 October, and then on black vinyl on 23 October worldwide. For RSD Black Friday they’ll issue the group’s second album, Traveling Wilburys Vol.3, as a picture disc.
Dark Horse says “…this is the perfect companion piece to the 2018 picture disc release of ‘Vol. 1’.” The picture disc will be available exclusively for RSD Black Friday only at participating stores. 2,500 copies in the US.
[BTW, that Japan re-issue campaign will be associated with a whole lot of activations and collaborations in Tokyo. Check out the Dark Horse news page for more.]
As has been the case for the last few Record Store Days, Dark Horse has been working its way through the Yusuf/Cat Stevens back-catalogue too. This time it’ll be Majikat Earth Tour 1976.
This is a double LP on black vinyl and comes in a lenticular cover. Just 1,050 copies for the US (UK figures unknown) so this will be harder to get.
And that’s about it this time around.
Those of you who collect Dhani Harrison will be interested to pick up an LP by his band, thenewno2.
For RSD Black Friday he’s put together the band’s first two EPs, ep001 & ep002, collected on a smokey clear colour LP. Newly remastered and available on vinyl for the first time ever, this limited edition release sees their debut EP on side 1, and sophomore EP on side 2.
Record Store Day Black Friday is on Friday, 27 November.
Well, it had to happen. There’s going to be a Special Edition of The Boys of Dungeon Lane released. The surprising thing is that the announcement comes on the very day that The Beatles’Rubber Soul SDE hits the shops (here in Australia at least)!
So far this looks to be a store exclusive, available only through McCartney’s official sites (UK and USA), plus Universal online store outlets like The Circle in Germany, Universal Australia, etc.
The Boys of Dungeon Lane (Special Edition) contains four new tracks, including a new version of ‘Home To Us’, his duet with Ringo Starr. It is described as a “flip mix” which sees their original parts in the song swapped with each other. Alongside this are three previously unreleased tracks recorded during the Dungeon Lane sessions: ‘City Fox’, ‘One Night Stand’ and ‘Chelsea Boots’.
As you can see the Special Edition is a double LP with orange and blue marble discs. It comes in a unique gatefold jacket with cover artwork adapted from the brilliant silkscreened collage by Kate Gibb using over 100 images from Paul’s personal archive; a 23″ x 23″ double-sided fold-out poster with a re-coloured silkscreen portrait print of Paul on one side and lyrics and credits on the other, plus prints of Paul’s handwriting on the inner sleeves and gatefold spread.
The double LP has three playing sides.
Interestingly Side 4 is a Zoetrope etching disc.
There’s also a CD and digital download editions:
The CD comes in a softpak gatefold jacket with the same collage cover artwork as the LP, plus a 20 page lyric and credits booklet.
The digital release is available October 7. The CD and 2LP versions are out on December 9th.
I guess this calls for an update to our chart showing all the variations of this title:
No doubt you’ve heard by now there’s to be a brand spanking new Paul McCartney solo album called The Boys of Dungeon Lane – due in stores from May 29. Very exciting to get a whole album’s worth of new material from the master – especially after a five year wait.
A new Paul McCartney release means inevitably there’ll be lots of variations to collect. Already there are 8 different vinyl colours you can pre-order, plus four different CD packages. Based on his last solo release (McCartney III), there’ll no doubt be more….
If you are collecting, here’s a bit of a guide to what’s available so far. And please bear in mind we haven’t seen the packaging in full as yet, so who know what artwork will be on the rear covers, spines, etc.
However, with the guide below you need to note some subtle differences between some of the versions – especially if you are a real packaging nerd. A few come with slightly different features (inserts, etc.), so we’ll try to point these out for you as we go along.
OK. Lets start off with the most obvious, and it’s the black vinyl. It is available from the official McCartney store, at Universal Music stores in various parts of the word (Australia for example), and seems to be widely available at most other places too from May 29:
The black vinyl includes embossed cover artwork (with red and black lettering), a printed inner sleeve and a 12-page lyric booklet.
As you can see above, this comes with a unique cover with green and black lettering on the front (not red and black). It includes the store-exclusive green vinyl LP, a lyric card, and the 12-page lyric booklet. So, different to the black vinyl.
The Rough Trade listing says “Includes 12-page lyric booklet and embossed cover artwork”. The Barnes and Noble listing is a little more vague as to what this version contains packaging-wise, but the hype sticker clearly states “Includes Photo Print”:
Now, until the launch of The Boys of Dungeon Lane last week we’d never heard of TalkShopLive. A quick Google reveals it is “the live streaming, social selling online network for anyone, anywhere, to buy & sell almost anything!” Hmmm. Still not exactly sure what that even means….BUT, the site has a purple vinyl exclusive. Could this have the potential to become the rarest version?
There’s precious little detail of what the packaging is for this TalkShopLive edition.
At the other end of the spectrum is the big online retailer, Amazon. They get a white vinyl Amazon exclusive:
Pressed on Amazon exclusive white vinyl, this LP includes the 12-page lyric booklet and embossed cover artwork.
The red vinyl edition comes with the lyric card and the 12-page lyric booklet and embossed cover artwork.
Actually, jpc in Germany has quite clear images of the labels (which are common across the variants). Obviously they’re printed but look to be originally hand-written by Paul?
This Indie-only pink vinyl features an embossed sleeve and comes with a 12-page lyric booklet.
So as you can see there are a number of little packaging wrinkles amongst the coloured vinyls.
But the biggest variation (so far) is probably the Amoeba Music exclusive just announced. It has completely out there alternate cover artwork (riffing on the Amoeba store’s official logo), and is on exclusive limited edition yellow vinyl:
No word on what else is included in this love-or-hate packaging! This looks to have unique labels as well.
As far as CD’s go it looks like there’s the widely-available standard CD: white disc, embossed cover with red lettering. Includes lyric booklet.
There’s an exclusive “green cover” CD: white disc, green lettering on front cover. Includes a “Paul McCartney photo print”, and lyric booklet. This again is a McCartney store exclusive (plus through various Universal Music outlets – Umusic Shop Canada for example):
Meanwhile in Japan there are two different SHM-CD variants available for pre-order. The first is the standard SHM-CD:
Not a lot of detail about what you get here, but it is almost certain to come with a lyric booklet and an insert with a Japanese translation of the lyrics.
There is also a limited Deluxe Edition SHM-CD described as a “Cardboard Sleeve (mini LP) in a 7-inch cardboard sleeve. Bonus item(s) are planned. Includes commentary, lyrics, and a Japanese translation”. Both SMH-CD’s do not have any bonus tracks.
The people at Record Store Day have just dropped the 2026 list of titles for April 18 and it contains eight titles of interest to Beatle-related collectors.
First up is John Lennon – or maybe that should be Sean Ono Lennon channeling his Dad? What’s coming is like a Part Two to the Mind Games Meditation Mixes, which came out back in October, 2024 in the wake of the big LennonMind Games re-issues of that year. This time it’s the turn of the 1970 song ‘Love’ to get the Meditation Mix treatment:
Love Meditation Mixes will be a Limited Edition 3 LP set produced by Sean Ono Lennon and it will be on “Iridescent Pearl Arctic”, 180g transparent vinyl in a reflective triple gatefold lilac mirrorboard sleeve. The album contains nine re-imagined Meditation Mixes of the John Lennon ballad ‘Love’ from the album John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band.
Ono Lennon says, ‘After the surprising success of the Mind Games Meditation Mixes, and our collaboration with Lumenate the MeditationApp, we are very pleased to bring you Volume Two – a collection of ambient re-imaginings of John Lennon’s classic song, to create a meditation on ‘Love’.”
Like the Mind Games Meditation Mixes it is a rather beautiful package:
Also coming for Record Store Day (and this is only listed on the UK RSD site at the moment) is the Badfinger LP No Dice, the band’s second studio album issued by Apple Records. No Dice will be reissued on limited edition 180g orange vinyl, using the 2010 remaster of the album available on vinyl for the first time. It will come in a gatefold sleeve that faithfully reproduces the original artwork. It contains the hit single ‘No Matter What’, and ‘Without You’ – which went on to be one of their best-known songs – covered by the likes of Harry Nilsson. We’re expecting this to come with Apple labels:
Those of you who collect Dark Horse Records will not be disappointed. There are no fewer than six titles announced for RSD.
The label is steadily working it’s way through the George Harrison back catalogue as Zoetrope pressings. This time it is the turn of George’s 1974 title Dark Horse:
And also his 1975 release, Extra Texture:
These Zoetropes are all limited, and come in numbered covers with replica album artwork inside.
Dark Horse have been big on re-issuing the Joe Strummer back catalogue and for RSD 2026 it’s a 25th anniversary edition of the second album by Joe Strummer and The Mescaleros a spectacular limited splatter vinyl pressing:
Dark Horse also have the rights to selected Leon Russell re-issues. They’ve already done his Signature Songs, an album of Christmas songs, and an album of songs by Russell’s country alter-ego, Hank Wilson. This time there’s another Hank Wilson offering – a Best Of 2LP on black vinyl which will be a first-time pressing of the title:
Hearkening back to the Badfinger release above, there’s another former Apple being re-issued, but this time under the Dark Horse banner. It is The Radha Krisna Temple, the 1971 album produced by George Harrison. It contains the two hit singles, ‘Hare Krishna Mantra’ and ‘Govinda’ along with other Sanskrit-worded mantras and prayers recorded with Harrison from 1969 onward. Out of print since 1993 and released on the Dark Horse imprint for the first time. It will be on orange vinyl:
In keeping with the label’s interest in and support of world music there’s another first for Record Store Day, an album by Native American flautist R. Carlos Nakai. Dark Horse is issuing a 2LP set called Canyon Trilogy, which is appearing on vinyl for the first time. Nakai’s music features original compositions for the flute inspired by traditional Native American melodies. He’s received 11 Grammy Award nominations for his albums. This double LP features updated liner notes and an exclusive forward by Dhani Harrison:
So, that’s it for Beatle and Beatle-related releases for RSD this year. Which will you be seeking out?
If you’re an avid collector of Dark Horse it’s going to be an expensive couple of months. Along with the promised RSD albums there are also two more George Harrison titles on the way – all part of the continuing push to have his entire catalogue under the BMG/Dark Horse stable.
On February 20 they’ll re-issue black vinyl editions of Harrison’sWonderwall Music:
Also due February 20, again on black vinyl, is Electronic Sound:
And then on March 20 comes his Live In Japan on Dark Horse, a long out of print 2LP on black vinyl – remastered from the original analog stereo master tapes:
Dark Horse is further mining the Apple Records vault too – this time for re-issues of Billy Preston’s two Apple LP’s. Encouraging Words (produced by Billy and George Harrison) will be out on gold vinyl on March 13:
And That’s The Way God Planned It (produced by George) is out the same day – on purple vinyl:
First up is the next installment in the ongoing George Harrison/Zoetrope disc back-catalogue series, Living In The Material World:
Featuring the 2024 50th anniversary mix of the album, this will come in a numbered sleeve with an insert of the original cover art. Hopefully it will be easier to secure than the Zoetrope edition of All Things Must Pass from Record Store Day earlier this year! It quickly became as rare as hen’s teeth.
Also on Dark Horse is a Billy Idol 12″ single picture disc. It features the track ’77’ which was on his LP Dream Into Itfrom earlier this year. The song is a collaboration with Avril Lavigne, but the version with her has so far only been available as a digital download. She didn’t make the cut for the version on the physical release. Well, now we get both versions on this 2-sided picture. Side 1 features the duet with Lavigne, while Side 2 is the album version.
A third Dark Horse Records title for RSD Black Friday is only appearing (so far) on the UK list. It looks to be a follow-up to last year’s RSD collaboration between Dhani Harrison and Carmen Rizzo. That was called Dreamers In The Field and featured world music artists Huun-Huur-Tu. This time Ivan Shopov is also involved and special guests are the New Bulgarian Voices and composer/choir leader Georgi Petkov. The album is called Ascending Into Silence. Very interesting stuff:
And lastly, there’s also the now almost obligatory RSD Ringo Starr re-issue on coloured vinyl from Friday Music. It’s his Choose Love from 2005 and it is the first time this record has been available on vinyl, so that makes it interesting. It’ll be on ruby red vinyl:
UPDATE: Despite being published on early RSD Black Friday 2025 lists, this Ringo Starr release seems to have quietly slipped off those same lists in recent days. We’ll keep an eye on it to see if it re-appears and will let you know.
Yes it’s back, but unless you were very quick you might have missed out because The Beatles In Mono 14 LP box set (out of print since 2014) is already showing as SOLD OUT on both the UK and US official stores. However, there is some confusion as to whether this is just the exclusive pre-order allocation made to subscribers to the The Beatles mailing list. There may be more copies available from Friday, 30 May.
Regarded as something a grail item for collectors now, the original box set is super expensive on the second-hand market. This new release will replicate that original exactly with 180-gram LPs in a boxed edition, along with a very nice hardbound book.
To quote the website: “In an audiophile-minded undertaking, The Beatles’ acclaimed mono albums were mastered in 2014 for vinyl from quarter-inch master tapes at Abbey Road Studios by engineer Sean Magee and mastering supervisor Steve Berkowitz.
While The Beatles In Mono CD boxed set released in 2009 was created from digital remasters, for this vinyl project, Magee and Berkowitz cut the records without using any digital technology. Instead, they employed the same procedures used in the 1960s, guided by the original albums and by detailed transfer notes made by the original cutting engineers.
Working in the same room at Abbey Road where most of The Beatles’ albums were initially cut, the pair [used] a rigorously tested Studer A80 machine to play back the precious tapes, the new vinyl was cut on a 1980s-era VMS80 lathe. Manufactured for the world at Optimal Media in Germany, The Beatles’ albums are presented in their original glory, both sonically and in their packaging. The boxed collection’s exclusive 12-inch by 12-inch hardbound book features new essays and a detailed history of the mastering process by award-winning radio producer and author Kevin Howlett. The book is illustrated with many rare studio photos of The Beatles, fascinating archive documents, and articles and advertisements sourced from 1960s publications.”
Check out this (very long) YouTube for more details about the release, and info on if there’ll be more copies for sale soon:
I’m sure most of us have at least a couple of copies of The BeatlesSgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band in our collections – either on CD, LP, cassette, or all three!
But an email today from the folks at eil.com (the UK purveyor of premium quality rare used and new vinyl) got us wondering about which pressing of this LP is the most valuable?
eil.com is currently offering for sale an unusual Nimbus Records “Supercut” edition of the Pepper LP. They say it was “….pressed exclusively for readers of Practical Hi-Fi and Hi-Fi Today magazine by Nimbus, with ‘Nimbus England’ machine stamped in the run-outs. Limited to 1000 copies only, the Nimbus Supercut of Sgt. Pepper has since gained legendary status within audiophile circles and is arguably the most sought after Nimbus title on the market today”.
The asking price? £3,995.00 (AUD$8,309).
And that sounds about right, because there’s another for sale on the Discogs site for the same money.
But what about the very famous (and equally rare) Australian “Audiophile” pressing?
This came into existence when EMI Australia decided to try their hand at half-speed mastering for a reissue series. The LP never went on sale in regular record stores, but was made exclusively available to the public at the Sydney Hi-Fi and Audio Show in July 1983. Just 497 numbered copies were released with unique label artwork, mirroring the black and silver one EMI box Parlophone labels of 1969, and housed inside a single pocket picture cover with AUDIOPHILE designated on the back. Each LP had an individually numbered sticker fixed to the top right corner of the back cover.
There are currently none for sale on Discogs, but the highest price paid in the past was £2,640 (AUD$5,500). For more on this release see the very good Australian Beatle record collector page I Am The Platypus, and if you want to see a nice story about the tapes used for this pressing, check out this YouTube video:
Of course authentically autographed copies of this LP will always sell for big $$$. Take this one with all four Beatle signatures on it’s gatefold inner. We reported way back in 2013 it had sold for an incredible US$290,500.
But probably the doozy with the biggest difference on the cover of the LP is the very rare “Capital Records executives” copy. In a nutshell, a bunch of top guys at Capitol officially had their faces inserted onto the iconic front image for a very limited edition of Sgt. Pepper’s. It’s estimated that only 40-50 copies of this record exist. The covers were printed up and distributed at a Capitol Sales Executive meeting held in Florida in late 1967:
If you don’t believe there are collectors out there intent on having every single variation, then think again:
This is a photograph from the collection of one of our readers and contributors – Guy from the USA. Guy has managed to secure no less than 16 different McCartney III colour variants, and 10 different McCartney III Imagined double LPs.
You can check them off against our two guides to all the known variants below (they include CDs and cassettes – which Guy also has BTW!). Click on the images to enlarge:
Apologies, but we’re a little slow of the mark with the Record Store Day 2024 news from last week. However, it has given us a bit more time to research and hopefully provide a few more details – so here goes.
First up, from Apple Records is another unique format first for The Beatles. It is a tiny The Beatles Limited Edition RSD3 Turntable, featuring a Beatle-branded dustcover and turntable facing. Each turntable is Bluetooth-enabled and housed in a Beatles’ box that includes four super small 3″ records featuring the four songs they performed 60 years ago on The Ed Sullivan Show: ‘I Want To Hold Your Hand’, ‘Til There Was You’, ‘She Loves You’, and ‘I Saw Her Standing There’. Each record is housed in an outer box and comes in a picture sleeve. There is also a poster for each. The package also includes a bright yellow Beatle-branded carrying case, which can hold up to ten 3” records. These little discs apparently play at 331/3 rpm.
If you don’t want the record player, the four 3″ singles will be sold separately, also housed in an outer box, with a picture sleeve and poster. The records only have music on one side:
The concept of these 3″ singles and their accompanying tiny record player have been around for a while (think the Foo Fighters, The White Stripes, or The Doors as recently as last year for RSD). However, they represent a limited format The Beatles have not yet embraced, making them a bit like those cards from last year containing special editions of the Red and Blue albums for kids to play on their Yoto players. So they could potentially reach a whole new younger audience. If you want to get an idea of just how small the turntable and discs are check out this Youtube unboxing.
Next up, from the John Lennon camp, comes a 4 track, 12″ EP teaser for the forthcoming Mind Games Ultimate Mixes box sets – due in June. Two versions of this will be available – one on “glow-in-the-dark” 140g luminous vinyl, and one described as “black ‘audiophile’ 180g vinyl”:
Gotta say the cover for the EP is great. The track list is:
Side A: 1. Mind Games (Ultimate Mix) 2. I’m The Greatest (Ultimate Mix) – feat. George Harrison & Ringo Starr
Side B: 3. Aisumasen (I’m Sorry) (Ultimate Mix) 4. You Are Here (Outtake, Take 5)
Ringo Starr will have an RSD 12″ 45 EP called Crooked Boy available on exclusive black & white marble vinyl – and also in a really cool cover:
Written and produced by Songwriter’s Hall Of Famer Linda Perry, Crooked Boy features four brand-new tracks from Ringo. The EP also includes guitar performances on every song from Nick Valensi of The Strokes.
On a recent video Ringo showed the inside cover:
And a quick shot of what looks like a green vinyl edition. Maybe that is coming later?
Zoetrope picture discs seem to be all the rage this RSD. There are no fewer than nine LPs being released, including artists like Blur, Marc Bolan and T.Rex, Fatboy Slim, Lily Allen, and even one from Doctor Who.
What is a Zoetrope Picture disc? They look fantastic spinning on a turntable. Have a look at this YouTube from last year of Blur’s ‘The Ballad of Darren (Zoetrope Vinyl)’:
Dark Horse Records and Record Store Day have announced a multi-year partnership to release limited Zoetrope picture disc pressings of George Harrison’s entire studio album catalogue. The first two titles in the RSD exclusive series – Wonderwall Music and Electronic Sound – will be available on Record Store Day in April 2024. Limited to 8,000 units globally and exclusive to Record Store Day, each is individually numbered in silver foil and will include an insert reproducing the original artwork. The front cover will look like this – with a cut-out window showing off the LP plus a hype sticker and limited edition numbering also on show:
As mentioned there’ll be an insert in each LP with the original cover artwork included:
Dark Horse is once again extremely busy this RSD. They’ll also have out a 25th anniversary edition of Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros’Rock Art & The Ex-Ray Style, the debut album by the band in a limited pink vinyl Record Store Day exclusive 2LP pressing. The remastered 1999 album, which was Strummer’s first album release in a decade, is spread over 2 LP’s for optimal sound quality, and the original gatefold artwork by Damien Hirst will be meticulously reproduced:
One obscure Dark Horse release can be found only on the US RSD list as a Limited Run/ Regional Focus release with only 800 copies made. Its an album called Dreamers In The Field by Huun-Huur-Tu, Carmen Rizzo and Dhani Harrison:
From Wikipedia: Huun-Huur-Tu are from Tuva, a Russian federative republic situated on the Mongolia–Russia border. Their music includes throat singing, in which the singers sing both a note and its overtones, thus producing two or three notes simultaneously. The overtone may sound like a flute, whistle or bird, but is solely a product of the human voice. They also play traditional Tuvan instruments. However, in recent years, the group have begun to selectively incorporate Western instruments and electronic music.
Carmen Rizzo is an American record producer, mixer, programmer, DJ, remixer and recording artist. A two-time Grammy nominee, he’s worked with Seal, Coldplay, Dido, Ryuichi Sakamoto, and Pete Townshend. In addition to collaborating with Huun Huur Tu, Rizzo co-founded the world/electronic act Niyaz with Azam Ali and Loga Ramin Torkian (with three #1 iTunes albums). He’s released his own solo electronic albums too, so this RSD release looks to be an eclectic sound mix!
And lastly, on the UK and Australian RSD sites, there are two Dark Horse Yusuf/Cat Stevens LP re-issues listed (….can’t seem to find these on the US list).
They are (from 1975) Numbers on black vinyl LP – which will be limited to 2,000 units globally, and reissued for RSD with a lenticular gatefold cover. Included will be a reproduction of the original 16-page book with lyrics and illustrations:
And also (from 1977) Izitso – again, limited to 2,000 units globally and presented in a lenticular gatefold cover:
So, a lot of product from Dark Horse for RSD 2024…..
