Introducing... THE BEATLES Authentic Vee Jay record LP1062

	£		25
	$		33

Here is a fantastic opportunity to purchase one of the most collectible records ever produced, an authentic copy of "Introducing.... THE BEATLES" on Vee Jay records.
Although I am not an expert I genuinely believe this is not a counterfeit copy. I am not a dealer either, just a huge big Beatles fan and collector. I am thinning out my collection to make room for more items (please don't tell my wife!) and this record is one of my 3 copies of this album. Please read all of the below notes, where I have explained my reasoning for saying this is genuine.
I have thoroughly cleaned this record using a Loricraft PRC4 record cleaner and play tested it. Considering the rushed and random nature of it's release by a relatively small and lesser known record label, this is not a second rate recording. Despite the inevitable pops and crackles of a record of this age, it does sound absolutely amazing! Vee Jay used original tapes from Parlophone and the quality of the production by George Martin and his team comes through clearly in the play back. This is a copy to be played and not just collected.
"Introducing... THE BEATLES" is an American version of The Beatles first album, 'Please, Please Me'. A deal was done by "The Beatles" with Vee Jay to release this record because Capitol (American leg of EMI) had refused to release it. 
Vee Jay had "stampers" produced in the summer of 1963 ready for pressing. However because of financial problems they did not go ahead with the release. It was only when the fame of the Beatles grew in America and Capitol then started to make plans to release their own version (called Meet The Beatles) that Vee Jay decided in January 1964 to rush release "Introducing... The Beatles". Although some of the mono stampers had the date 6-29-63, embedded into the run off area, Vee Jay did not actually press any discs in 1963. 
Vee Jay released their version on about 10th January 1964 but were almost immediately served with an injunction by Capitol because of the inclusion of the songs "Love Me Do' and 'PS I Love You' . Vee Jay therefore quickly substituted those two songs with 'Please, Please Me' and 'Ask Me Why' and released this new version on 10th February 1964. The 'Love Me Do' version then became known as Version 1 and the 'Please,Please Me ' version became known as Version 2. This auction is for a Version 2 copy.
There then followed more legal wrangling, until, an agreement was reached whereby Vee Jay could continue with the manufacture of 'Introducing The Beatles' until 14th October 1964. This led to Vee Jay manufacturing as many of these records as quickly as they could and meant that they had to use several different pressing plants around America. 
This auction is for a Version 2 copy which which has the 'Titles on the Back' rear cover and the track title  Please, Please Me with a comma, after the first Please. 
The cover is made of thick brown cardboard and has the 1/4 inch flaps at top and bottom on the inside (please see pictures). It is generally in very good condition for it's age but has scuffs to the corners and writing on front and back cover from a previous owner which in my view only adds to the genuineness of this album!
The front cover has a name and address handwritten in the top right corner. The rear cover has blocked out writing in the top left corner and also some blue crayon marks in the area of the track listings (please see pictures). Otherwise, it is in very good condition and does include the 1/4 inch internal flaps. I therefore think this is a cover with the Bruce Spizer designations, VJ1062(2).MC1 for the front and VJ1062(2).MC1B for the back (reference Bruce Spizer's book about The Beatles on Vee Jay).
To complicate matters even further, Vee Jay also used several different printing plants for the covers (of which I believe there are two types, with and without the comma after 'Please'). The nett result was that the discs were sent to the distributors without covers and the distributors put the discs inside the covers but without any logic or consistency. Further, if that was not enough, there were several different label variations used for the discs themselves and when all this was put together it led to one of, if not the most, fragmented and inconsistent release of a record ever. I believe there are over 30 different variations of this release , none of which can be described as 'First pressing' , 'Second pressing', etc. 
This record is with the black labels and silver lettering variation. Both front and back utilise the lower case spelling for 'Side 1' and 'Side 2'.  These make the labels ,VJ1062(2).MR4B types.  In the runout grooves, both side 1 and side 2 have the small circle with the Monarch Record logo scratched out (please see pictures). The matrix numbers in the run out groove are, side 1; 63-3402 (small triangle) 6307 and on side 2; 63-3403 (small triangle) 6307X. This denotes the record was pressed at Columbia Records in Terre Haute, Indiana.  It is only when taking the photos for this auction that I realised there is writing on the side 1 label. It is that faint to the eye that I never noticed it before, but please see the pictures.
There is no inner sleeve with this particular copy so I used an anti static record sleeve after I had cleaned it.
Some years after the initial release in 1964, it became apparent that copies of 'Introducing... The Beatles" were being traded and sold at very good prices, so some unscrupulous people decided to start making counterfeit versions. The end result is that "Introducing.... The Beatles" is now believed to be the most counterfeited record of all time! When I have looked on trading sites, roughly half of all copies I have seen, I believe were counterfeit. 
There are some simple indicators though to look out for with counterfeits and in reference only to Version 2 Mono black/silver label copies, if the album has any of the below then it is a counterfeit: - Brown borders on the front cover - The name 'THE BEATLES' being below the spindle hole - Black/silver labels featuring the large white brackets VJ logo (although a few authentic copies did have small silver brackets) - The run out groove area measuring more than 1" wide.  - The "HONEY test. All the letters in the titles on the rear cover should be "full". If there are any ink "gaps" (particularly at the top of H and E in HONEY), then it is likely a counterfeit.
I am happy to say that none of these problems apply to this copy. 
Putting all this together then, "Introducing... THE BEATLES" is the most varied and confusing record ever released. Couple that with the fact that it also is the most counterfeited, then it can be a very complicated matter to consider buying. I have tried to give some clear indications to the background of this particular copy and as a result I am happy to say that this is a rare chance to purchase a genuine collectible and playable copy of this amazing album. Thank you for bidding and good luck in the auction