Beatles - A Hard Day's Night MONO White Label PROMO UAL 3366 RARE 1964 US LP

$

3,000

The Beatles

"A Hard Day's Night" Soundtrack LP

UAL 3366  - MONO White Label PROMO

released by United Artists 1964

H.V. Waddell Co. Pressing
Burbank, CA

This is an extremely RARE Beatles record!

These White Label Promos are estimated to have been pressed in quantities of as few as 200 but not more than 500 copies.

This copy has the tell tale signs of being the Waddell variation of the pressing with an indented groove 1 1/4" from the center hole and "NOT FOR SALE" printed smaller than the record number on each side's label. In researching this record, I did not find any recorded sales of this variation on Collectors Frenzy, Popsike, Worthpoint, or any other record/auction archive sites. Of the dozen or so copies that have been sold and archived online over the past decade, all available photos of the record labels show the "NOT FOR SALE" being larger that the record number - making them Columbia pressing variations. This copy also features a sticker on the front that reads "D. J. SAMPLES PROMOTIONAL COPIES". I have not seen this sticker on any other copies. I don't know if this was added at the pressing plant, a radio station or through the record company.

Waddell pressing are said to have been made in a quantity of approximately 150 copies; with 3 times more Columbia pressings available.

Matrix numbers for each side are:
 
Side 1: UAL 3366A-1AG

Side 2: UAL 3366B-1AH

With so few pressed and distributed to radio stations, it's likely that not many survived in any condition, much less the fantastic shape that this is in. These promotional copies must have been played heavily since this soundtrack and film were a huge hit for the Beatles.

Also of note is that this is the only Beatles album which was released in a "NOT FOR SALE" issue. Neither Capitol or Vee-Jay released promo records in this manner.

I have graded the cover and record as VG+ on the Goldmine scale of M/NM/VG+/VG/G/P. I feel it belongs somewhere between VG+ and NM but have graded down to be safe. I have provided many large pictures for you to see exactly what is offered. More pictures are available at dropbox.com/home/Public?select=Beatles_Auction_Pics.zip. Please contact me with any questions regarding the record.

Both sides show a nice gloss and reflection and do not seem to have been played much. There is some light surface noise that is audible in quite areas, but nothing distracting or overpowering. It sounds to me to be static, possibly the dry winter air here in Reno, NV. A good wash and destat may solve this problem. There are large light scuffs that sweep across both sides and are easily visible but they do not affect play and are not audible on my system. There is also what appear to be two small scratches next to each other on A1 "A Hard Day's Night" that do not affect play and are not audible on my system. Record was played on a Technics SL-1300 through a Pioneer SX-780. These are clearly visible in the pictures provided.

The cover shows light wear and has a small 1/2" tear on the top right and the sleeve opening. There is no real ring wear to speak of, just signs of rubbing and handling in various spots. There is a light, barely visible residue on the cover where something was spilled and dripped down the front through the word "Motion", the letter "B" in Beatles and the "D"'s in Hard Day. There is some staining on the back cover along the right side and bottom right corner as well as some yellowing. Spine and sides show cracking in spots. I could say it looks great for it's age, but we have all seen 50 year old records at Goodwill that are surprisingly bright and pristine as well as 10 year old records that have been used to balance wobbly tables… Take a look at the pics and decide for yourself.

The paper sleeve is in poor shape with many folds and tears.

There are no stamps, stickers, or writing on the cover or record labels aside from the "D. J. SAMPLES PROMOTIONAL COPIES" sticker on the front.



Here is some information that is available online regarding this WLP according to Beatle.net:

PRESSING VARIATIONS

United Artists did not own its own pressing facilities. Albums for East Coast distribution were pressed primarily by Columbia Records, either in Bridgeport, Connecticut or Pittman, New Jersey. These pressings can be identified by a thin circular band located 1 1/2? from the center spindle hole. The song titles and running times are not left and right margin justified, but rather are positioned to conform to the circular band. Many of the West Coast albums were pressed in California by H.V. Waddell Co. in Burbank and Monarch Records in Los Angeles. The Waddell LPs have an indented circular groove 1 1/4? from the center hole. The type-setting is similar to the Columbia discs in that the song titles and running times are positioned to conform to the circular band. The albums manufactured by Monarch have an indented circular groove 1 5/8? from the center hole. The song titles are centered and there is no running time information. They also have hand etched job numbers (preceded by a delta symbol) and machine stamped MR circle logos in the trail off areas. As detailed in the author’s The Beatles Records on Vee-Jay, Columbia, Waddell and Monarch also manufactured Beatles albums for Vee-Jay.

United Artists also hired RCA to manufacture copies of the album. Although RCA and Waddell discs both have an indented circular groove 1 1/4? from the center hole, they are clearly distinguishable. On the RCA discs, the song titles and running times are left margin justified. In addition, the RCA labels have an identification number (RR4M-0474 on mono side one and RR4M- 0475 on mono side two) printed below the album number to the right of the center hole. The identification numbers are also machine stamped in the trail off areas.

Most of the soundtrack albums pressed in 1964 have labels that mistakenly identify I’ll Cry Instead as “I Cry Instead.” There are mono and stereo records with I Cry Instead on the label. After the error was discovered, UA sent corrected label copy information to the pressing plants, thus leading to mono and stereo records with I’ll Cry Instead labels. These later issue discs are rarer than the first issue albums with the incorrect song title.

United Artists also pressed a limited number of mono promotional soundtrack albums. These records have black print on white labels. The phrase “NOT FOR SALE” appears below the record number to the right of the center hole. There are Columbia and Waddell variations. It is believed that less than 500 copies of the promotional soundtrack album were pressed. Some of the promo albums came in covers with a black promo stamp.



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Record is sold as is.

All records are graded visually by Goldmine standards.

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