In this auction:

• “SGT. PEPPER’S LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND” LP by The Beatles

• This LP is a HARD-TO-FIND RARE PRESSING that was manufactured by the United States Government, specifically the AMERICAN FORCES RADIO AND TELEVISION SERVICE (AFRTS), which is printed around the top and bottom perimeters of both labels.

• AFRTS has sometimes been called the ARMED FORCES RADIO AND TELEVISION SERVICE but most often is called the AMERICAN FORCES RADIO AND TELEVISION SERVICE, as printed on the labels.

• The Catalog Number is P-17833 for Side 1 and P-17834 for Side 2 with RL37-8 also printed on both sides.

• It is is a STEREO PRESSING.

• Both labels have the Seal of the Department of Defense, United States of America on the left, the AFRTS logo/seal on the right and very small printing at the top that reads:

  “U.S. GOVERNMENT PROPERTY.

  FOR USE ON AUTHORIZED AFRT

  OUTLETS ONLY. OTHER USE OR

  REPRODUCTION STRICTLY PROHIBITED”

• The AFRTS pressed their own versions of popular LPs for distribution to their affiliate stations around the world, in order to standardize their record libraries.

• These are NOT “radio show” albums, though they were produced and distributed to American Forces Radio Stations in the 60s and early 70s for airplay. With pop and rock artists, in many cases an album was edited down to a single side of an LP by selecting a half-dozen tracks. The AFRTS often dedicated one side of vinyl to a certain artist/LP title and the other side to a different artist/LP title. Only in special cases did the AFRTS provide an entire album to be pressed on both sides of the LP with a single artist/title.

• With respect to the “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” LP, AFRTS CUT or EDITED OUT TWO of the LP’s TRACKS: “For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite” on Side 1 and “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band - Reprise” on Side 2 for unknown reasons. So, instead of 13 tracks, as on the original Capitol Sgt. Pepper pressing, this AFRTS pressing has only 11 tracks.

• And AFRTS ADDED THE INTRO TIMES FOR EACH TRACK TO THE LABELS. This may be the only pressing of Sgt. Pepper in vinyl history with the intro times of each track printed on the labels.

• Furthermore, there are DIFFERENT PLAY TIMES printed for the tracks on the AFRTS Sgt. Pepper LP labels compared to the play times printed on the Capitol Records Sgt. Pepper LP labels, and the play time differences are not solely due to the factoring out of the intro times that are printed separately. (I have included 2 images of the Capitol Records Sgt. Pepper labels for comparison.)

• You can be assured that this SPECIAL EDITION U.S. GOVERNMENT RELEASE OF THE BEATLES’ SGT. PEPPER’S LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND LP is a REALLY ULTRA-RARE PRESSING of probably the most acclaimed rock LP in history!

• It goes without saying that these AFRTS LPs are extremely rare, because there were only a small number of AFRTS record libraries around the world. So, it’s probably safe to assume that only a few hundred of each title were pressed. Furthermore, it’s safe to assume that VERY FEW OF THESE RECORDS HAVE SURVIVED, SINCE MOST WERE JUST EVENTUALLY THROWN AWAY.

• The AFRTS-produced LPs were NOT issued in covers. They were only issued in PLAIN PAPER SLEEVES, usually white, tan or brown with a DIE-CUT CENTER HOLE.

• A BROWN PAPER DIE-CUTSLEEVE is included that contains this LP. I do not believe that it is the original plain paper sleeve the LP was issued in.

• A cardboard backing board is also included that pictures the labels of other notable AFRTS-produced Beatles and Solo LPs.

• The VINYL is in VERY STRONG VG CONDITION with just light surface hairlines/scuffs (none at all “feel-able”), and the vinyl has LOTS OF GLOSS.

  THIS RECORD IS A REAL RARITY AND WILL BE AN OUTSTANDING ADDITION TO ANYONE'S BEATLES’ VINYL COLLECTION.

FYI: I use the COVER/SLEEVE GRADES and RECORD GRADES listed and described on page 8 of the Price Guide for the Beatles American Records, 6th Ed. for grading. These grades are Poor (P), Fair (F), Good Minus (G-), Good (G), Good+ (G+), Very Good Minus (VG-), Very Good (VG), Very Good Plus (VG+), Near Mint Minus (NM-), Near Mint (NM), Mint Minus (M-), and Mint (M or MT) to VISUALLY GRADE this LP, so please know the descriptions of these grades before bidding. Please ask any questions BEFORE bidding. And please check my other auctions for more Beatles and related vinyl that you may want to add to your collection. Be high bidder on several and combine shipping on auction items that finish the same day. (NOTE: If more than 1 item is won by the same bidder, please do NOT make payment until I send an invoice with combined shipping cost.) Winning bidder must make payment within 5 days of auction close. Add $4.50 for shipping to a U.S. address via USPS Media Mail with tracking.