hey i just did some research and on the great website, "the Beatles uk cassettes," it states that the wraparound and standard "inlay" issue were released at the same time, in 1980. The website is pretty informative. i distinctly remember though, that the inlay versions came after the wraparounds... Or maybe the Boots in Chippenham, in 1980, stocked the wraparounds first... the date rings true, as i got the cassette for Christmas in 1980: an eight-year old transformed after seeing Help! on TV, shown as a tribute to John Lennon, assassinated the same year
Heh heh yeah those cardboard wraparound covers played havoc with storage, as i remember... It was seldom that i saw cassettes of this type at a later date in second hand shops or at record fairs, and the ones i did see were either emasculated or "taken in" as it were, or extremely worn around the edges! Funny choice of packaging from EMI. Maybe they thought we would display them on the mantlepiece or something. Regarding the date and issuing: the cardboard wraparound was deffo the earlier issue; i distinctly remember that after i bought the wraparound Volume Two, the "inside inlay" version was released later. My cassette outer shell is also white plastic with blue writing, which puts it date-wise before the transparent shell releases. It also seems logical that the packaging would downsize (i.e. from "lavish" to "more economical/practical") rather than the other way around. The cassettes, to add a final note, were packed in a plastic outer covering with an additional printed "Beatles" cardboard back-plate which served also as a hanging hook for the MFP carousel display hat-stand type thing. The printing on the cardboard back-plate reflected the cover art.
I seem to remember them in the early 80s, maybe 1983-ish - but the 1980 cover recently added might suggest that the wrap-around style was not the first edition. I do recall these and the Best of George Harrison being packaged that way because I bought them at Woolies when I was a kid and had to cut the card down to size so it would fit inside a normal case - otherwise they were to big to slot into my cassette rack!
Hey Guys - I got an outside cardboard wrap-around cassette-cover version of R&RM V2, which I bought in 1980 (in Boots the Chemist), which I guess pre-dates the "inside-the-box" cover you just uploaded. I'll try and get a scan of it uploaded ;-)
Don't think this is the 1976 issue. The barcode suggests later. I could be wrong but I think the originals had an oversized card cover wrapped around the outside of the case?