Beatles Lp Stereo Uk 1st Press Black Gold Please Please Me On Parlophone

Welcome to 20th Century Collectables Quality vinyl for the discerning collector The Beatles Please Please Me Genuine 1963 1st UK STEREO pressing 1R/1G stampers on the BLACK GOLD Parlophone Label, with Dick James label credits, MZT tax code, catalogue number PCS 3042.
Comes in its original ultra-rare GOLD STEREO cover.
Dates to the original stereo release date of 26th April 1963.
20th Century Collectables is proud to be offering for auction this superb UK 1st Stereo pressing.
A genuine and most desirable Beatles rarity.
Guitar groups are on their way out, Mr Epstein - so said Dick Rowe of Decca Records in 1962.
Whilst such rejection was both devastating to Brian Epstein and The Beatles, the fact that The Beatles did not sign to Decca Records was a wonderful twist of fate and a blessing in disguise not least that The Beatles ended up working with the genius of George Martin truly the fifth Beatle but it meant that their first four albums would be recorded and released in stereo including their very first album Please Please Me.
Decca in 1963 and for a large part of the 1960 s were still rooted in mono.
Fans of the Rolling Stones were of course denied stereo versions to all the early Stones classics.
So it is that 50 years on, we can now thank Dick Rowe for lacking such extraordinary foresight and wisdom for if The Beatles had signed to Decca, this record would not exist.
The Beatles, as we know, signed to Parlophone Records, who thanks to George Martin had a policy of recording in stereo.
Of course back in early 1963, stereo was seen as an experimental format for high brow music lovers and not a format for pop music where demand was virtually non-existent, and so little attention was paid to stereo consequently The Beatles were not present for this or any of their early stereo mixes.
It is even rumoured that George Martin himself was unaware of and even against Please Please Me being released in stereo.
So the odds of have having a stereo record of the Beatles at this point in history back in early 1963 was very much stacked against them and this together with Parlophone changing the design of their labels in the spring of 1963 whilst the record was being pressed ensured its place in history.
It is commonly accepted that only 900 stereo copies were ever pressed on the Black Gold Parlophone labels, making this one of the most desirable and collectable vinyl records of all time.
Exactly how many of the 900 black gold stereo copies have survived is not known but this record is a true rarity especially in such fabulous condition.
A black gold stereo is the gemstone of any Beatles collection and a blue chip investment which can only appreciate in value over the coming years.
These initial stereo mixes were not without their controversy as previously mentioned, neither The Beatles nor George Martin were present for the stereo mix, and this may explain why Beatles fans had to wait for over 40 years for the stereo versions to be released on CD and even then they never got to hear the original and true stereo mixes.
With the advent of the CD in the late 1980 s all the early recordings were re-mastered and cleaned up one of the reasons why the stereo versions were not released at that time was because of the level of over-spill or echo commonly known in the recording business as dirt .
This is what the dormant microphone was picking up in Studio 2 at Abbey Road when the Beatles were essentially recording the album live and which features heavily in this original stereo version.
The irony and the music business now accepts this is that this unwanted echo or dirt which was being picked up by live but dormant microphones is in fact what makes this early stereo recording so special.
For unlike the mono version the stereo version has more vibrancy, more life and more character and is as close to The Beatles playing live at Abbey Road than any other recording they ever did in the studio.
The black gold stereo pressings capture the genuine atmosphere of the recording better and more accurately than any of the subsequent pressings, and so for the audiophile this is truly an important record.
It is great to turn down one of the channels on your stereo and listen to the dormant microphone picking up Lennon and McCartney s vocals bouncing off the walls of Abbey Road you can close your eyes and imagine for a moment that you are there.
Happy bidding and good luck Starting bid is 500 with no reserve.
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Please check out the pictures and read on for further details:- Matrix numbers: YEX 94-1 YEX 95-1 Stamper codes: 1/R 1/G CONDITION Disc Audio: EXCELLENT A superb sounding disc with absolutely no groovewear or distortion to any of the music signals.
All the power and dynamics of this original 1st UK stereo pressing remains.
Virtually all the tracks grade at MINT or MINT- including the easily damaged Anna and A Taste of Honey .
Even Twist Shout the inner most track on side two which normally distorts plays superbly.
There is however some light surface noise audible between some tracks but the only audible distraction is four or five light ticks on the fade out/gap at the end of Chains and two faint ticks/pops on the fade out to Do you Want to Know a Secret .
A superb sounding disc of this ultra rare stereo pressing.
The record does not jump or stick.
Labels: Side 1 EXCELLENT Side 2 EXCELLENT A superb and well preserved set of this the rarest of all black gold labels featuring the stereo banner across the centre.
Side one has evidence of only minor light wear.
Side two is very close to a nr MINT grading and severely graded at Exc .
Both labels carry the Dick James music credits and are free from any personalisation or writing.
Side 1 carries the MZT tax code.
Visual: EXCELLENT- When viewed in strong daylight the record appears fresh and undulled and still retains a vibrant overall sheen.
On close inspection in daylight there are some light superficial surface marks with the occasional light hairline but none of these marks are offensive or visually obtrusive and disappear when the record is angled or tilted.
There is a small stylus mark on part of track five on side one, which can be easily missed on first inspection, which gives rise to the aforementioned light ticks on the fade out/gap at the end of Chains but overall this disc is in superb condition for its rarity and age.
The record is above VG in condition but short of excellent and therefore an excellent minus grade is appropriate.
The heavy duty vinyl lies 100 flat on the turntable.
Cover EXCELLENT - The vinyl comes in its original 1st issue GOLD STEREO E.J.
Day cover, with the Angus McBean credit in the extreme right position and the large stereo logo featured in the upper right.
Considering its rarity and age the cover is in remarkable condition.
These stereo gold covers are of course infinitely more rare than the mono counterparts with probably only a few hundred still left in existence.
They are in fact more rare than the records themselves as copies of the album often turn up without a sleeve.
The cover is therefore valuable in its own right.
The front panel still retains it high gloss sheen with an unworn laminate.
There is very little to fault other than some moderate and minor wear to the corners and one or two light laminate creases.
The back panel has signs of wear to the corners and moderate signs of ageing however it is clean and free from any writing or personalisation.
With the exception of a sympathetic repair to the bottom left flipback towards the opening edge, all flipbacks are intact.
The spine is uncrushed and is in excellent condition.
All in all a superb example and extremely rare in this condition.
Inner-sleeve EXCELLENT Clean correct with light storage and handling creasing.
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PLEASE NOTE: 1st class next day Special Delivery to UK addresses will be 7.00 GBP.
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This record has been strictly and conservatively graded to UK RECORD COLLECTOR standards.
All text images 20th Century Collectables 2013