THE BEATLES. PLEASE, PLEASE ME. RARE, VALUABLE, COLLECTABLE YELLOW & BLACK .

	£		22
	$		29

  PMC 1202

  Side One Matrix  XEX 421 - 1N    Side Two Matrix XEX 422 - 1N 

  This is fantastic and very rare copy and an original First Pressing of the Second Yellow & Black Parlophone Label issue of the iconic and highly valued Please, Please Me, by The Beatles, on a most sought after Yellow & Black Parlophone Variation Label, released in 1963.

Before I go on, lets dispell a few myths, as many on Ebay get the whole label thing wrong with this land-mark record and I suspect some deliberately get it wrong, when selling!

The First Pressing of Please, Please Me was released on the traditional Black & Gold Parlophone Label, which was a hang over of the 'old days' of Tin Pan Alley and quite 'square' as a label. The Beatles were a new group and Parlophone was new to pop, so the 'old fashioned ways' were still the norm. It was only produced in Mono, as all records were at the time and that is how the album was recorded; on the stock four track mix. The Second Pressing was a little later in 1963 and with a few additions to the label, it was basically the same; Black & Gold and still Mono.

The Third Press Yellow & Black Label was an odd hang over from the ‘old days’ and still retained a tiny ’33 ?’  to the left of  (XEX. 422). This, after some thought, was deleted as being ‘old fashioned’ and not necessary with modern record players fast losing ‘78’, so a Fourth Press was rapidly introduced and that is what most think is the Third! So my record is a Fifth, but would, by some, be thought of as a Fourth, but there is more to this little rarity!

This Press is the same as the Fourth, but the (XEX.421) and the "Rec.First Pub. 1963" have been centred to the 1 & 2 on both sides of the label; see label examples, courtesy of Beatlebay.co.uk below.

As the Yellow & Black Label didn't officially change until the Sold in the UK line appeared, it was pressed quite a few times, starting with the Stampers at around GDD /GOP and with different tax codes; this being K T centred over the spindle, but the most common being, as in the photos, M T. The 5th Press, Type 2b, of which this is the Variant, according to the brilliant and expert Beatlebay.co.uk site,

‘’Saw the 3rd line on side 1 being set slightly longer, and the 5th line on side 2 being slightly shorter! Even though the differences here are so slight, they were deliberate and do keep in line with the mother stamper pressing numbers. These were pressed alongside & about halfway through the run of the type 2a label above, at the height of sales and therefore are quite common also. Even though there are tons of these still out there, I have seen these go for £250 in near mint Condition’’

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So, the rarity is in the Variant of the label and if a label like this and with a cover, which would be easy to find, as there are many ‘sad’ LP’s on Ebay that have been badly looked after, that have nice covers, this could be a very collectable and valuable addition or investment to either listener or collector!  

It has the usual hiddend Parlophone Codes and along with its matrix numbers of XEX 421 - 1N & XEX 422 - 1N, which denotes the First of the Yellow & Black Fifth Press matrices, this has very sought after Mother stamps. The Mother, as can be seen in my original photo, above, which is of a genuine EMI Mother, is an acetate, which is pressed copper, with a stainless steel plate and is the dye that is used to Produce the Stampers, which are the pressing plates for the vinyl. It sounds complicated, but it is quite basic, as vinyl is actually pressed into its shape, and the grooves are created in tjhis way. Stampers were many and it is not unuusal for hundreds of them to be sued and often mixed, but the Mothers or original dye produced from the Master Tape would be very few. And here is the important part; this Mother is 1G! This means it is the First Mother or Dye and this record comes from that Mother's Stampers. The codes being: Side One Stamper 'RRG' or '221' @ 3'oclock, with Mother 1G at 9 o'clock. Side Two Stamper 'RAL' or '238' and Mother G 1, with laquer 5. So we have the First of the Fifth Presses here.

It comes with its original Emitex Inner, which is intact, but with seam splits, that are not serious; at least it is original and looks fine, as can be seen from the photo, above.

All this superb record, that is now over 50 years old needs is its cover! It would have, probably, had the Ernest J. Day Cover of PMC 1202, but not necessarily, as the Garod & Lofthouse was alos used. So the hunt for a cover of wither Fourth or Fifth Press (they didn't change) from possibly a damaged copy of the record, shouldn't be too difficult and with this addition, suddenly this superb LP, is whole again and could, accodring to expert sites, fetch up to £250! Without the sleeve, despite its unique Vriant status and its Mother & Stamper Codes and its fabulous condition, I would still say it could achieve £50 to £100. So, as you can see, with a cover for a few pounds, this assett becomes even more sought after, collectable and valuable!

I base my grading on visual and audio, both looking and playing and whilst I quote the Record Collector, I do tend to think they 'over-grade', so I am conservative in what I think and say. This is a lovely example of a 49 year old record and it is in fantastic codition. It has surface hairlines, but I think, using the below, it is in excellent condition, none the less.

I do not post to any other country outside the UK, due to a time-waster, liar and cheat from Russia. Postage is based on the item not acheiveing more than £45. If it does, then it must be posted First Class Guaranteed Next Day Delivery and this is based on the record being worth £100. So, before paying, please bear this in mind and if it does sell for prices above, we will agree a postage cost, that will include insurance.

MINT: The record itself is in brand new condition with no surface marks or deterioration in sound quality. The cover and any extra items such as the lyric sheet, booklet or poster are in perfect condition. Records advertised as Sealed or Unplayed should be Mint.

EXCELLENT: The record shows some signs of having been played, but there is very little lessening in sound quality. The cover and packaging might have slight wear and / or creasing.

VERY GOOD: The record has obviously been played many times, but displays no major deterioration in sound quality, despite noticeable surface marks and the occasional light scratch. Normal wear and tear on the cover or extra items, without any major defects, is acceptable.

GOOD: The record has been played so much that the sound quality has noticeably deteriorated, perhaps with some distortion and mild scratches. The cover and contents suffer from folding, scuffing of edges, spine splits, discolouration, etc.

FAIR: The record is still just playable but has not been cared for properly and displays considerable surface noise; it may even jump. The cover and contents will be torn, stained and / or defaced.

POOR: The record will not play properly due to scratches, bad surface noise, etc. The cover and contents will be badly damaged or partly missing.

BAD: The record is unplayable or might even be broken, and is only of use as a collection filler."

As well as the above grades, Near Mint is often used as well; this is really for a record that appears new but is known to have been played because the label has light spindle marks or because it has come from a previous owner and is assumed to have been played by them. For records which appear to fall between the accepted grades, + and - are also often added to the grading.

In addition to the basic grading, any individual faults should be noted separately such as if an otherwise Excellent cover has a name written on it, or a 7" single is missing its original centre etc.

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