UK Chart Entry: 6 Apr1963
Highest Position: 1
Total Weeks on Chart: 70
Released in Mono and Stereo Versions
The Beatles 1st album. This has been pressed a number of times, early issues can be identified, later 1980s, 1990s issues only have font style changes on the label. There are also a number of changes of the cover, the most noticable being the size of the word 'Stereo', and the printer, E J Day, or Garrod & Lofthouse.
1st Issue. Gold on Black labels, with Credits for Dick James Music, or Northern Songs, for McCartney and Lennon songs, except Please Please Me, Ask My Why, P.S. I love You and Love Me Do
2nd Issue Yellow On Black, Parlophone Co. Ltd perimeter text, found with, or without publishing date. Spring 1963
3rd Issue Yellow On Black - as with 2nd issue, but with 'Sold In The UK' banner text, all copies have publishing dates. From 1965
4th Issue, Yellow On Black - as with 3rd issue, but with Gramophone Co. Ltd perimeter text. From 1965
5th Issue, Yellow On Black - Gramophone Co. Ltd perimeter text, No 'Sold In The Uk' perimeter text, from 1969.
6th Silver on Black, One EMI box at bottom, from late 1969.
7th Silver on Black, Two EMI boxes at Top, and Bottom, from 1973
8th Silver on Black, Two EMI boxes, but with EMI Records Ltd perimeter text.
9th Silver On Black, Two EMI boxes, but with 'All Rights' perimeter text. Note, there are 3 different fonts with this issue
10th Gold On Black new Catalogue Number 0094638241614, This will be dealt as a seperate entry.
Er, nope, sorry. Think you’ll have to wait for the £16 one to come along. That’s testing your patience though and maybe your best bet is a seller at a car boot sale who doesn’t know the real value. Best of luck!
Added label pics with different line braking then any other here what I can see. No marking like NCB or GEMA indicates any other country than UK although I bought it in Sweden.
This was one of the last LP,s to convert to Yellow & Black, but one of the more notable. There were 500 pressed, with about 150 being in Stereo, simply because Mono was more popular.
Thanks for the information. As an aside am I correct in this Parlophone LP was the last of the coveted black and gold label before EMI introduced the matt black paper and yellow ink label design?
Please Please Me, and Ask Me Why were published before the setting up of Northern Songs, all the rest after. The first labels that carry the credits as Dick James Music, is a printers error.
Images 92600 & 1 Parlophone rim text, Sold in the UK 1965 pressing
Images 92602 & 4 Gramophone rim text Sold in The UK 1965 pressing, with Large 33 1/3.(see Images 5223/4 for comparison)
Images 92606 & 7 No Sold in The Uk text (P)1963, 1969 pressing.
Images 92382 & 92383 2nd pressing no date small 33 1/3rd
Images 92384 & 92385 3rd pressing 'Recording first published 1963' text
Image 92390 Sleeve with Medium sized stereo from 1965
Image 92391 Sleeve with Small sized stereo from 1969
I've added images 92339 and 92340 from a later issue with bar code, variations at the bottom of the rear cover and label variations.The text is arranged differently and the perimeter text reads "All rights of the producer and of the owner of the recorded work reserved. Unauthorised copying, hiring, renting, public performance and broadcasting of this record prohibited. Manufactured in the UK by EMI records limited"
Images uploaded
1673 & 74 1963 Sleeve printed by E J Day, Large Stereo on Front
1675 & 76 Gold on Black ( or Dark Brown), Dick James Music publishing credits.
1677 & 78 Gold on Black Northern Songs publishing credits.