Latest Updates - Uriah Heep

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Comment by PhilMH SUBS:

Yes, quite possible/probable, but we'll probably never know for sure unless someone can turn up a release sheet, or get access to Universal Music NZ's files. All that can be said at the moment is that the Phonogram Ltd. name makes it no earlier than 9 November 1972.

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Comment by Fokeman:

So it's quite possible (probable even?) that it came out in November or December 1972?

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Comment by PhilMH SUBS:

I believe that the info in Discogs is reliable, as it appears to have come directly from the NZ company registry, which I have just looked at myself, and the following appears under the now-defunct company Universal Music Limited:

UNIVERSAL MUSIC LIMITED (14087) Removed
To maintain this company log on here
Hide previous names
POLYGRAM RECORDS LIMITED (from 01 Nov 1978 to 24 Nov 1999)
PHONOGRAM LIMITED (from 09 Nov 1972 to 01 Nov 1978)
POLYGRAM RECORDS LIMITED (from 25 Jun 1970 to 09 Nov 1972)
PHILLIPS RECORDS (N.Z.) LIMITED (from 14 May 1963 to 25 Jun 1970)
INTERNATIONAL PHONOGRAPHIC SOCIETY N.Z LIMITED (from 11 Dec 1961 to 14 May 1963)
Last updated on 03 Nov 2013

It's possible, indeed probable, that some of those "1972" NZ issues in Discogs showing Phonogram Limited fall into one of these possible categories:
(1) Represses/reprints of albums that were originally issued by the 1970-1972 iteration of PolyGram Records Limited;
(2) the usual discographical headache of assuming that the phonographic copyright (P) year is the release year - not necessarily the case, as that (P) year is set in the country where the recording is first issued, and other countries might issue it later, and also that (P) year should not change on represses and reissues.

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Comment by Fokeman:

If you can deduce a date by using reference to Discogs, then you are doing better than me. There are several tens (hundreds?) of records issued in New Zealand on Discogs with Phonogram Ltd. showing somewhere and issued in 1972. I'd be surprised if they managed to issue all those records in the last month of the year. And we're also assuming that the information on Discogs is reliable...

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Comment by PhilMH SUBS:

Probably a bit later than September 1972 - Discogs tells me that the Phonogram Ltd. company name was active in New Zealand from 9 November 1972 to 31 October 1978, before that the NZ company name was PolyGram Records Limited, which most likely explains the PolyGram reference on the labels, in that older label stock was still being used. Discogs doesn't have a date for this version of the LP.

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Comment by Fokeman:

Can you please check the spelling of the group? (It was listed as Uriah Heap). Best guess for the date is that it was released at the same time as the very similar Australian issue with the same catalogue number in September 1972.

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Comment by Hawkmarty SUBS:

Saw a copy of this yesterday with a poster inside. Went back for it today and it had gone.

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Comment by Fokeman:

For those wondering, the large letter U is the price code. At the time, the industry was regulated with universal codes for selling records. The code indicated the price and if the price went up the code continued to represent the price. A bit like buying greetings cards in Woolies or wherever you bought greetings cards. Hallmark for example.