| Here we have one of four incredibly rare records we are currently offering on eBay. Two from The Beatles and two from the Rolling Stones. You may have seen the 21 Beatles demonstration singles that we recently sold here. (You can see the details of these if you click on our feedback score and look at the items listed as "BEATLES 'DEMO' SINGLE one of a LARGE DEMO COLLECTION "). These attracted so much interest that we have decided to offer these items as well.
First of all, a brief explanation to show the importance of the LPs we are selling this time.
Before the general release of a record, the company would send out some 'promotional' copies for reviewers and radio stations to generate interest in the new release. These would, in the case of the singles we mentioned previously, be marked "demonstration not for sale" or, on LPs, they would usually have a sticker, again saying, "not for sale". These 'demos' are very scarce and valuable. However, what we have here from both The Beatle and The Rolling Stones (the UKs two most collected groups ! ) are not 'demos' but LPs that predate even the first pressings!
Both The Rolling Stones LPs have hand-written Decca labels that say "Factory Sample NOT FOR SALE" and bear the message "NOTICE. - This pressing is not necessarily representative of the finished record and must not be used for review purposes" There would have been only a handful of these taken off the press and played to management, quality control and, certainly Andrew Loog Oldham, their manager to see if they were ok for release as a finished item.
The same can be said for the two Beatles LPs but, since these were Parlophone pressings the labels are different. They say "LONG PLAYING TEST RECORD. NOT FOR SALE". And to further verify their status pre-production records they also have the message "This record may not be placed on sale until sanctioned by Copyright Department nor publicly performed".
Needless to say each of these four being offered here are incredibly scarce. In over thirty years of dealing in rare records we have only seen a couple from the Rolling Stones and never, never had any, apart from these, from The Beatles. In fact, after extensive checking we cannot find any Beatles LP Test Records having been sold either on a site such as eBay or through the major auction houses. The winner of any of these will have one of the most desirable LPs that exist from these artists .
If you want to see the other three that we are selling click on the tab on the top right that says " view seller's other items ".
This auction is for THE BEATLES "BEATLES FOR SALE" TEST RECORD LP and is described below:
Do note that this item comprises TWO single sided test pressing LPs. One is the A-side of 'Beatles for Sale' and the other, the B-side. The blank sides of the test pressings have grooves but only play a test tone. The B-side labels, therefore are also blank as you can see from the photo.
The A and B side labels have been clearly photographed and show that the title and artist are hand written in blue. The letter "S" has been added to the word "artiste" on both lables and the comment "remarks" has been struck through. Apart from these additions there is no other writing or marks on any label.
The playing surface for both sides have some light surface marks, most likely being caused by handling rather than a needle as they both retain a good shine and play very well.
The matrix numbers YEX 503-3N on side 1 and YEX 504 3N on the B-sidetogether with the stamper numbers 1 at the 9 o'clock position and G at the 3 o'clock position show this to be one of the very first pressings. There would have been no more than one or two taken from the stamper on each press to test the quality and the accuracy of the master. These would have had to be approved by the engineering and production department before the pressing went into progress. We doubt if another of these still exists.
Being a very early Sample Record it would not have had a cover as, most likely the design had not yet been approved. However, to add to the appeal of this item we are including an original Parlophone Mono cover.
This is a fascinating and incredibly rare piece of Beatles history.
STARTING PRICE: I have set a realistic starting price below which we will not consider selling such a rare pair of records such as these.
As with other rare records I am listing I would like to tell you a little about me to give you confidence in bidding and to assure you that this is an absolutely genuine item. I am the managing director of the world famous BEANOS RECORDS and we have had our shops in South London for over 30 years. I write about rare records, appear on TV and Radio and constantly in the National Press. It is BEANOS LIMITED that are selling this most desirable item but I want to be your contact for any queries and, also, to take away the faceless negotiation that an important international auction can sometimes have. I can tell you everything you need to know about the record if you email me with any questions and, you are welcome to visit our shop and view the actual item (by prior appointment) with myself. I have to point out that most of the records I offer on eBay are also on sale in my shop and I might have to end an auction early if I have another buyer.
David Lashmar
Managing Director
BEANOS LIMITED
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