Beatles A Hard Day's Night UK Parlophone LP 1st Press Stereo Factory Sample M-

$

1,000

I am a 40 year collector of LPs and 45s from the 50s and 60s. I have been collecting The Beatles UK LPs for 25 years. The Beatles LPs I have listed on eBay are from my personal collection.

I have also been an audiophile for 40 years (analog only). The unsealed LPs listed have been play-graded on high quality equipment (turntable, tone-arm, cartridge, pre-amp, amp, speakers, and subwoofers). My system picks up the slightest surface noise on vinyl; i.e., ticks, pops, hiss, and sibilants due to groove wear. The standard I have used in adding a record to my collection has been how well it played (no surface noise present) in addition to how it looked. Over my years of collecting I have continuously upgraded my personal collection of Beatles LPs to where almost all of them play as new. To me, this means quiet surfaces; i.e., no ticks, pops, crackle, or hiss in the music or the dead wax.

The outer sleeves/covers of these LPs have been stored in polyethylene sleeve protectors since I acquired them. I also removed the LPs from the original Emitex inner sleeves and stored the LP in a custom rice paper sleeve while keeping the original Emitex inner sleeve in the LP jacket.

I have used strict grading standards of the UK publication Record Collector. I will use a mint grade only if I know a record has never been played. Unless a record is sealed, M- is my highest grade. I have described the flaws, if any, on the labels, vinyl, and sleeves. All the LPs I have listed will play as good as, or better than, they look. If you wish to see larger pictures than those shown on Ebay, I can send you much larger photos attached to an e-mail. I hope you find something you can add to your collection and enjoy it as much as I have enjoyed listening to vinyl records for the last 57 years.

This is a stereo first pressing of A Hard Day’s Night. It has The Parlophone Co Ltd in the rim print and the “Sold in U.K…. “ statement across the labels. It was released on July 10, 1964. It is catalog # PSC 3058.

This is a gorgeous, near-perfect Factory Sample of this LP. Factory Samples were EMI’s version of a promotional record. They were sometimes the first copies off the presses, but not always. This Factory Sample is a bit odd in that Side 2 was taken from the first mother and one of the first stampers while Side 1 was taken from the third mother and a later set of stampers. Only the hectic, 24/7 pressing schedule of filling the massive numbers of advance orders for this LP can account for this much difference between mothers and stampers. Factory Samples were given to EMI executives and management, to DJs, to reviewers, and, of course, to the band members.

Factory Samples are very rare. There were usually only a couple hundred copies, at most, designated as Factory Samples. With the huge number of advance orders for this LP, 1/2 million, the EMI presses were running 24/7 to fill orders. It was always panic time when a new Beatles release was in the pipeline. Any idea of the pressmen always using stampers in their exact letter order just went out the window when trying to meet demand for new Beatles records. Thus, it was not unusual for a later mother and stamper set to be used when designating LPs as Factory Samples. Factory Samples that are also first day pressings are extremely rare.

SIDEBAR Regarding the Beatles’ UK LP mixes:

In the early and mid-60s, UK LPs were, in general, 90% mono pressings. The vast majority of record players of that era did not have detachable speakers so what the owner heard was a mono sound, even if the LP was stereo; thus, the record buying public bought the slightly cheaper mono LPs over stereo LPs by a at least a 9-1 margin. The record companies responded to this demand by pressing at least 9 times as many mono LPs as stereo LPs, making stereo LPs quite a bit rarer than mono LPs. In the case of Beatles’ LPs of this era, that ratio is probably low. Over my years of collecting Beatles’ LPs, I have been told by several long-time UK dealers in Beatles’ LPs that the ratio was more like 20:1 of the early and mid-60s LPs. Whatever the ratio, suffice to say that stereo LPs of the Beatles’ early LPs are significantly rarer than their mono counterparts.

END SIDEBAR

Matrix #s:

Side 1: YEX 126-1 

Side 2: YEX 127-1

Mothers:

Side 1: 3

Side 2: 1

Stamper letters:

Side 1: RD 

Side 2: L

Labels: M-

There is one light spindle track on Side 1 and a couple light tracks on Side 2. There are no other marks on the labels. The yellow text and black background show no sign of handling wear. This LP was likely not played more than a couple times.

Vinyl: M-

The vinyl shows the sheen and high gloss of a new LP. It is completely free of dust or dirt that would dull its natural sheen and affect its sonic qualities. There are two parallel feint marks on Side 2. Feint marks are extremely light marks on the vinyl surface that result from pulling the LP from the sleeve the first time against the static created between the record and the Emitex sleeve. Other than these, the vinyl is flawless. It plays as new. There are no ticks, pops, or surface noise. You will hear nothing but the music in the songs and silence in the dead wax on the run-ins, run-outs, and between songs.

Sleeve: M-

There is very slight wear to the lower left corner. Other than that, the sleeve is flawless. No hint of ring wear and no marks or seam splits. The other three corners look new and sharp.

The Emitex inner sleeve is intact with no splits.

Payment, Shipping, and Returns:

Please do not remit payment until you receive an invoice. The buyer is responsible for all shipping costs. All boxes and other shipping materials are new. Each LP is carefully packaged in custom made LP mailing boxes with the disc removed from the sleeve cover. Where double-boxing is deemed appropriate, the LP mailing box is placed inside a larger box filled with Styrofoam material. Shipping costs include only the actual costs of shipping and the required shipping materials. Shipping services within the US are USPS Priority Mail. For a single LP in a regular custom mailer, this cost is $13.00. Double-boxing is often appropriate and necessary to ensure the LP is not damaged in transit. This cost within the US is $18.00. Shipping costs include a signed for receipt.

Shipping costs vary widely outside the US. International shipping services are either USPS International or Federal Express International. For all locations outside the US please contact me for an exact shipping cost. The buyer is responsible for any customs or import duties. Shipping costs include a signed-for receipt.

Satisfaction guaranteed. Notification of intent to return an LP must be made within 48 hours of receiving the LP and must be returned to me within 7 days of receipt. Shipping costs are not refundable and the buyer pays return shipping. A returned LP must be packaged in the same manner in which it was received and I must receive it in the same condition as it was received by the buyer.

Other Listings:

I have many other Beatles mono and stereo UK LPs listed on Ebay, including first-day pressings, Factory Samples, and export LPs.