The Beatles- Please Please Me LP -Stereo PCS 3042- YEX 94-1 / 95 -1
£
28
$
37
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Description
📖 The Story of This Pressing (Why This Copy Is What It Is)
This copy of Please Please Me represents one of the earliest true stereo incarnations of the album to leave EMI’s Hayes factory.
When Please Please Me was recorded in early 1963, stereo LPs were still considered a specialist format in the UK. EMI’s priority was mono, and stereo copies were pressed in far smaller numbers using carefully controlled metal parts derived from the original master tapes.
The key to identifying these early stereo pressings lies not in the sleeve alone, but in the deadwax.
🔬 The Matrix Evidence (The Smoking Gun)
Both sides of this record carry machine-stamped matrices:
Side 1: YEX 94-1
Side 2: YEX 95-1
These are not hand-etched recuts. They are factory-stamped EMI matrices, applied mechanically at Hayes using the first stereo lacquer cuts prepared for this album.
Why this matters:
“-1 / -1” indicates the very first stereo lacquers for both sides
Machine stamping confirms official EMI metalwork, not a later recut
Later stereo pressings typically show -2 / -3 / -4 suffixes as stampers wore out and new lacquers were cut
In short: this record was pressed using the earliest stereo metal parts available, before revisions, recuts, or later production shortcuts.
🏭 Where and When It Was Pressed
Everything about this copy aligns with a 1960s UK EMI Hayes pressing:
Black & silver Parlophone labels
EMI box logos top and bottom
“Made in GT. Britain” text
Classic Gramophone Co. Ltd. rim wording
These elements disappeared or changed in the early 1970s. Combined with the stamped -1/-1 matrices, they firmly place this record in the mid-1960s original stereo production window, not a later reissue.
🎧 Why Collectors Care About Early Stereo Please Please Me
Early stereo pressings of this album are fascinating because they present the band exactly as EMI intended for stereo listeners at the time:
Wide, early-1960s stereo separation
Vocals and instruments placed decisively left/right
No later EQ adjustments or compression changes
While mono first pressings get the headlines, early stereo -1/-1 copies are increasingly sought after by collectors who want:
Original mastering choices
Authentic 1960s EMI sound
A historically accurate stereo presentation
This is not a modern reissue, nor a 1970s recut — it’s a genuine product of EMI’s first stereo mastering run for the album.
📊 Condition (Graded Conservatively)
This copy has been graded honestly and conservatively:
Vinyl: VG — visible surface marks and light scratches consistent with careful use over six decades. No cracks or warps observed.
Playback: Plays through without skips or jumps. Expect some light surface noise in places, typical of vintage Parlophone vinyl and fully consistent with visible marks.
Sleeve: VG — edge and corner wear, age-related creasing; fully intact and readable.
Inner: Original-style EMI/Emitex advertising inner included.
Early EMI vinyl often plays better than it looks, and this copy is a good example of that.
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