BEATLES Please Please Me UK LP 3rd Press + Small 33

	£		144
	$		191

THE BEATLES - PLEASE PLEASE ME

• LABEL: PARLOPHONE
• CATALOGUE: PMC 1202
• MATRIX: XEX 427-1N / 428-1N
• STAMPERS: 2 RR / 1 RR

YOU ARE ABOUT TO READ A DESCRIPTION OF A VERY UNIQUE PRESSING OF THE ALREADY RARE BEATLES PLEASE PLEASE ME LP 3RD PRESS WITH THE SMALL 33 ON THE LABEL. BUT BEFORE I GET INTO THE CONDITION, IT IS WORTH DETAILING THE HISTORY OF THE FIRST 4 PRESSES OF THIS CLASSIC AND SOUGHT AFTER LP.

BACK IN 1963 WHEN THE FIRST PRESSING OF THIS LP WAS DONE, PARLOPHONE WAS STILLUSING THEIR BLACK AND GOLD LABELS RATHER THAN THE MORE WELL KNOWN YELLOW AND BLACK ONES. THIS GOLD AND BLACK LABEL ONLY LASTED A MATTER OF WEEKS BEFORE IT WAS CHANGED, BUT EVEN THEN THERE WERE TWO PRESSINGS IN BLACK AND GOLD. THE FIRST PRESS HAD ACCREDITATION ERRORS FOR SOME OF THE SONGS, AND SO A SECOND PRESS WAS ISSUED TO CORRECT THESE PROBLEMS. BLACK AND GOLD LABELS ARE NOW VERY SOUGHT AFTER AND CAN COMMAND VERY HIGH PRICES PARTICULARLY IN STEREO.

WITHIN WEEKS OF THE FIRST TWO PRESSES, PARLOPHONE DECIDED TO CHANGE THEIR LABELS COMPLETELY TO THE MORE FAMOUS YELLOW AND BLACK, AND SO A 3RD PRESSING WAS COMMISSIONED ON THE NEW LABEL. BUT GUESS WHAT THEY MADE A MISTAKE AND WITHIN A MATTER OF DAYS A 4TH PRESS WAS ISSUED, AND IT IS THE 4TH PRESS THAT IS MOST COMMON OF ALL AND THE ONE YOU WILL SEE LISTED IN THE VAST MAJORITY OF EBAY SALES. THE 4TH PRESS CAN EASILY BE DISTINGUISHED BY THE WORDS "RECORDING FIRST PUBLISHED IN 1963" WHICH APPEARS AT 9.0'CLOCK ON THE LABEL DIRECTLY  UNDER THE MATRIX NUMBER IN BRACKETS.

THIS WORDING WAS MISSING FROM THE 3RD PRESS, WHICH AS I SAY WAS CORRECTED WITHIN DAYS. IT IS THEREFORE BELIEVED THAT IN FACT THE THIRD PRESS IS FAR MORE RARER THAN EITHER OF THE FIRST TWO PRESSES DUE TO THE TIME IT WAS AVAILABLE.

EVEN WITH THIS SHORT TIME SPAN THEY STILL MANAGED TO GET THE LABEL OF THE THIRD PRESS WRONG, AND CHANGED IT. THIS FACT IS NOT RECOGNISED IN THE RECORD COLLECTOR GUIDE, AND SO THE REALITY IS THERE ARE ACTUALLY TWO THIRD PRESSES. THE FIRST THIRD PRESS (CONFUSED YET??) HAD A VERY SMALL 33 AND A THIRD LOGO ON IT WHICH WAS SITUATED NEXT TO THE MATRIX NUMBER AT 9.O'CLOCK ON THE LABEL. THIS SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN THERE AS THE NEW YELLOW AND BLACK LABEL HAD A VERY LARGE 33 AND A THIRD IN SILVER TYPEFACE ABOVE THE FIRST FOUR LETTERS OF THE LARGE YELLOW PARLOPHONE WORD. IF YOU LOOK AT A BLACK AND GOLD LABEL YOU WILL SEE THIS SMALL 33 AND A THIRD NEXT TO THE MATRIX NUMBER, BUT NO LARGE 33. SO THE DESIGNERS ACTUALLY HAD TWO 33'S ON THE SAME LABEL, ONE COPIED FROM THE BLACK AND GOLDS, AND THE NEW LARGE DESIGN. SO WITHIN A FEW PRESSES THIS WAS SPOTTED AND CHANGED TO JUST HAVING THE ONE LARGE 33, AND IT IS THIS LABEL THAT IS MOST COMMON OF THE ALREADY RARE 3RD PRESSES. THE LABEL THAT HAD BOTH 33'S ON IT WAS ONLY PRESSES IN A VERY VERY SMALL QUANTITY, AND SO IS CONSIDERED BY COLLECTORS THE WORLD OVER TO BE THE RAREST PRESSING OF ALL.

THIS PARTICULAR LP YOU ARE CONSIDERING HAS THE SMALL 33 AND A THIRD ON THE LABEL OF SIDE 2 BUT QUITE AMAZINGLY IT IS MISSING FROM SIDE ONE. IT IS PROBABLE THEREFORE THAT THIS PARTICULAR PRESS WAS SPOTTED AT THE TIME OF NOTICING THE PRESS ERROR, AND WAS PRESSED WITH THE CORRECT LABEL ON ONE SIDE ONLY AS THE OTHER SIDE MUST HAVE ALREADY BEEN PRESSED. I HAVE NO IDEA HOW MANY OF THESE MADE IT OUT OF THE FACTORY, PERHAPS THIS IS THE ONLY ONE

RIGHT FINALLY TO THE DESCRIPTION OF THE RECORD.

THE SLEEVE'S FRONT SURFACE IS LAMINATED AND TOTALLY FLAT AND CREASE FREE, APART FROM A FEW LAMINATE LINES ALONG THE BOTTOM EDGE. THERE IS ALSO A LITTLE SHELF WEAR ALONG THE BOTTOM EDGE WHICH IS ACTUALLY A LITTLE FLAKING BELOW THE NUMBER 12, AND A TINY CORNER NICK AT THE OPENING EDGE. THE TOP EDGE IS PERFECT. THE SPINE IS PERFECTLY LEGIBLE, AND HAS SUFFERED NO LAMINATE LOSS. THE OPENING EDGE IS VERY VERY SHARP WITH JUST A COUPLE OF TINY THUMB NAIL NICKS WHERE THE RECORD HAS BEEN PULLED OUT, BUT NO FEATHERING AT ALL. THE REAR SURFACE IS VERY WHITE AND UNMARKED SAVE A LITTLE HANDLING . THE BOTTOM FLIPBACK HAS SUFFERED A LITTLE WEAR WHERE IT MUST HAVE BEEN CAUGHT BY ANOTHER LP AT SOME POINT AND HAS A LITTLE FLAKING. VERY MINOR ,AND ACTUALLY LOOKS A LITTLE WORSE IN THE PICTURE THAN IT REALLY IS. THE OTHER FLIPBACK'S ARE PRISTINE.

THE SLEEVE IS THE FIRST TYPE MADE BY THE E.J.DAY COMPANY.

THE ORIGINAL EMI INNER SLEEVE IS INCLUDED AND IS IN TOP CONDITION

THE LABELS AS MENTIONED ABOVE ARE THE YELLOW AND BLACK ONES AND ARE IN EXCEPTIONAL CONDITION. NO MARKS, AND NO WRITING, AND NO FADING OF THE COLOURS. NO SPINDLE HOLE WEAR EITHER. THERE ARE A FEW VERY LIGHT SPIDER LINES WHICH INDICATE THAT THE LP HAS BEEN PLAYED A FEW TIMES, BUT ALSO THAT IT HAS BEEN HANDLED WITH CONSIDERABLE CARE.

THE SURFACE OF THE DISC HAS RETAINED ALL OF IT'S ORIGINAL SHEEN, AND LOOKS SUPERB. IN DAYLIGHT IT LOOKS IMMACULATE, AND UNDER INTENSE ILLUMINATION YOU ARE ABLE TO SEE SOME VERY LIGHT TRACES OF HANDLING , AND SOME WISPY HAIRLINES. ALL IN ALL A STUNNING LOOKING DISC.

GENTLY LOWERING THE STYLUS ONTO SIDE ON I WAS IMMEDIATELY IMPRESSED WITH THE NEAR SILENT RUN IN. NO FRYING BACON OR LOUD POPS. THE LP OPENS WITH THE CLASSIC " I SAW HER STANDING THERE" WHICH SOUNDS INCREDIBLE ON THIS 43 YEAR OLD DISC.. SUPERB PRODUCTION AND  CRISP CLEAR SOUND. THIS IS TYPICAL OF ALL OF THE TRACKS RIGHT THROUGH BOTH SIDES. THE LINKING GROOVES ARE AS GOOD AS THE RUN IN GROOVE, AND THE ONLY NOISES TO REPORT ARE THE VERY OCCASIONAL LIGHT POP, AND THE VERY ODD BIT OF STATIC. CERTAINLY NO LOUD CLICKS, OR ANY CRACKLES THAT WOULD SPOIL THE LISTENING PLEASURE TO BE DERIVED FROM THE VINYL.

THIS IS WITHOUT A DOUBT A HIGH GRADE COLLECTIBLECOPY OF THIS INCREDIBLY RARE PRESSING, AND WILL GRACE SOME FORTUNATE COLLECTION SOMEWHERE

GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR BIDDING IF YOU DECIDE TO GO FOR IT.

A WORD TO THE WISE. DONT FORGET THAT LP'S ARE ALWAYS BIDDED ON VERY LATE IN THE AUCTION WITH MOST WITHIN SECONDS OF THE FINISH. I SUSPECT THAT THESE BIDDING PROGRAMS ARE USED TO NAIL A LAST SECOND BID, SO IF YOU REALLY WANT THIS THEN JUST BE CAREFUL OF THIS HAPPENING