Of Hopes Dreams and Tombstones, USA Youth Opportunity Programme, original demo
£
950
$
1,259
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Description
YOUTH OPPORTUNITY PROGRAM - Of Hopes Dreams & Tombstones 45 RECORD, mega rare Northern Soul, 1st pressing promo release Columbia Records #4-43407 with instrumental & vocal track versions. Both the artist and the record company are uncredited on the label. *The Youth Opportunities Back to School Programme was a U.S. government sponsored initiative whose aim was to promote the public education system. It licensed various musical material by contemporary artists at the time to promote their "Don't Drop Out' agenda to the youth of America.
This record was given to me by my boyfriend in 1978 and has been safely stored by me, ever since. It has not been played in over forty years, other than very recently to check it over for selling. It is in nice clean condition and good shape. There are obviously some signs of historic use as this is a vintage item, but it plays as well as it ever did. Very hard to find, and a highly prized collector's item that does not come up for sale often.
The machine stamped matrixes in the deadwax read:
jZSP111419-1A (Instrumental) jZSP111420-1A (Vocal)
*The back story to this song is that the "Back to school programme" was launched by the U.S. government in the mid 1960's in order to encourage the young people of the nation to continue with their education. These records were sent to 5000 radio stations across the USA in 1965, and were not intended for sale to the general public. The general public's version went out later, as Jimmy Fraser on Colombia records, and was launched on 18th October 1965. It later became a massive northern soul hit across the UK and subsequently Europe. For those who weren't around at the time (I was), please note the instrumental was the version I remember being played at all-nighters, not the vocal - and clearly from the matrixes this is correct (it appears to have been a double A side, with the instrumental version holding the earlier number)!
I will include a copy of the U.S. government press release that would have accompanied this record in the 1960's, as sadly it is missing its original jacket, and also a printed copy of the little news-clipping (Some copies of the record came out in a printed sleeve bearing a message from Hugo Humphrey and the U.S. President, some copies also had a typed insert from Columbia records). I have done all the above research for selling the record (I never knew much of this stuff before). Selling to fund a safe play-space for my disabled grandson.
The record will be sent in a red cardboard sleeve with an additional vinyl sleeve to keep it safe. It will be posted by first class recorded delivery and be sent fully insured.
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