The Beatles - Help - RARE 1981 UK MONO PMC 1255 *EX* (Read Desc)

	£		25
	$		33

The Beatles - Help! - RARE 1981 UK MONO PMC 1255 *EX* (Read Desc). Condition is Used. Dispatched with Royal Mail 2nd Class.

Up for sale is an extremely rare pressing of one of the most widely known Beatles albums, Help!
What makes this copy so rare is the pressing that it is from, combined with the great condition that this album is still in today!
In 1981 EMI decided to do a VERY small pressing run of mono Beatles records, for the first time since the late 60s. At the very end of the 60s the mono format died out in favor of stereo, so EMI ceased production of mono Beatles records and pressed only their stereo mixes into the 1970s, which to a lot of fans are the inferior mixes out of both options. For years among the Beatles enthusiasts the original mono mixes of their albums have been considered the definitive issues of the albums, and the preferred way of listening to them. When EMI decided to stop making mono records, they took their remaining stampers (metal pieces used for pressing the records) for their mono records and put them into storage. These manufacturing pieces are what they went on to use for this 1981 pressing run, so as a matter of fact, most of these 1981 mono records sound EXACTLY the same as the very first pressing of the album did back in 1965, because a lot of the records have the exact same matrix numbers.
In this instance, side 1 of the album was re-cut in 1981 when preparing for this mono release, as presumably they had run out of original stampers for side 1 before ceasing their production in the late 1960s, storing away their stampers for side 2 and using them on this release. This means that side 1 is a fresh new cut of the album made at the time of pressing, and side 2 sounds exactly like the first pressings did in the 1960s, revealing their original sound in generally better conditions due to their age in comparison to the originals

First pressings of Help! are not rare, not in the slightest. This was a very popular record in it's time and there was a huge demand for it because there are a lot of original 1965 copies out there, and they can be had really cheaply a lot of the time. However there weren't that many people who played their Beatles albums once or twice and didn't like them, leaving them stored away for the next 50 years. The copies you will be able to find are quite worn, scratched and damaged after 50 years of extreme love and use, and if not, they will set you back hundreds, if in the same condition as the one I am selling here, plus this 1981 pressing run was only done until EMI's remaining stock of stampers was used up, so there won't be more than a few thousand copies of this record out there, let alone preserved this well! I feel like this really is such a rare opportunity to own one of these.
Gradings
Record - EX, this record has clearly been played and loved over the almost 40 years it's been around however it is clear that this record has been taken care of and possibly stored away for some time too. When playing this record on a stereo cartridge there is some scarce surface noise noticeable in quiter segments of the music and between tracks, however once the tracks begin they play mainly noise and distortion free, and it's a great listening experience. I found that playing this record with a dedicated mono cartridge made this a perfect, noise free listening experience and I imagine that with a Y splitter you could also get a similar effect on a stereo setup. It may also be a case that this record just needs a deep cleaning, something that I have not done myself, as the surface of the record does look quite nice, with only minor sleeve removal marks.

Cover - VG, the cover is showing signs of storage and wear over the years, having some ring-wear on the front of the cover and minor yellowing and dirt on both front and back, however it's still holding up quite nicely, and the spine is still nicely square and fully clear. Once again I think this cover might possibly just need some TLC after so many years to get it back to a really nice shape.
Matrix Numbers Side 1: XEX 549 - 3 HTM
Side 2: XEX 550 - 2
Please note that side 1 is a re-cut and not an original stamper, this means that it was cut with transistor equipment and may have sonic differences to the original 1965 vacuum tube cutting of side 2, however it was done by Harry T. Moss, a famous cutting engineer from Abbey Road who was renowned for his excellent job at cutting records, and with this release it really does show, I much prefer this cutting of side 1 compared to my original 1965 pressing!
Postage will be Royal Mail Signed For First Class, or better, at £3.95
Strictly no international buyers please, mainland UK shipping only
Any questions, please don't hesitate to message me, I'll do my best to help you! :)
Happy bidding!