The Beatles Sgt. Pepper AFRTS Stereo RL37-8 Special Issue DJ Radio Station Copy

$

1,025

INCREDIBLY RARE DJ RADIO STATION "FOR USE ON AUTHORIZED AFRT OUTLETS ONLY" COPY

THE BEATLES ~ SGT. PEPPER'S LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND

UNIQUE RADIO STATION AFRTS TRUE DJ LABELS WITH THE SPECIAL TIMING 

ORIGINAL VINTAGE 1955 AFN "THE AMERICAN FORCES NETWORK" UNIT PROGRAM "STARS AND STRIPES PRINTING" 14½" x 17½" POSTER

ORIGINAL VINTAGE SINGLE SHEET DJ RADIO STATION INSERT WITH SONG LISTING AND TIMINGS

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Among all of the existing editions of The Beatles Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band this DJ radio station copy pressed by AFRTS around 1968-70 is without any doubts the rarest one. It’s hard to name the amount of existing copies of this pressing in the world. Let’s rely on the fact that among the 300 existing AFN radio stations in 1945 in the world, in 1949 only 60 remained. How many copies had to be pressed in order to provide with them these radio stations? According to Keith’s Kollectibles, one LP was pressed for each military facility around the world. After a long search, I could find the information related to only 3 copies of this release that have ever been sold. Pressed “For Use On Authorized AFRT Outlets Only” this release was strictly prohibited from other use or reproduction by the U.S. government. The AFRTS pressed their own versions of popular LPs for distribution to their affiliate stations around the world, in order to standardize their record libraries. It’s most likely, this circumstance explains why this edition includes 11 tracks as oppose to 13 that are found on the Capitol Records Sgt. Pepper release. Side 1 label is missing the A7 “Being For The Benefit of Mr. Kite!” while Side 2 is missing the B5 “Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)”. Unique white AFRTS special labels with the DJ timings. You can see the additional numbers inside the parentheses after each track’s timing. They designate the time when the vocals on the track starts in order for the DJ playing the record to know when he should stop his monologue in order not to talk over the singing. The additional special DJ timing makes these labels unique and truly one of the kind among all of The Beatles issues.  Original “For Use On Authorized AFRT outlets only” label with the US Ministry of Defense logo on the left side and AFRTS logo on the right, in addition to the Stereo catalog number RL 37-8 on both sides. The vinyl comes with an original Broadcast Records cardboard sleeve with a die-cut center hole. The bottom of the sleeve has a banner reading “These Records May Be Played On All Mono - Hi-Fi - Stereo Phonographs”. The listing includes an original vintage “The Beatles Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” single sheet DJ radio station insert with the 11 song titles and timings for them. As a bonus, the record comes with an original vintage 1955 AFN “The American Forces Network” 14½” X 17½” unit program poster printed by Stars and Stripes.

★

I grade the vinyl as Very Good Plus. It has some light non-feelable surface hairlines and scuffs, most likely from the original cardboard sleeve, at the same time, maintaining a beautiful gloss. The beautiful white labels are in gorgeous Near Mint condition and don't have any wear, scuffs or spindle marks. The original white "Broadcast Records" cardboard sleeve is graded as Excellent Minus. It's in great shape overall and doesn't have any splits or tears only having some light shelf wear along with a couple of pairs of staple holes in the upper left-hand corner. Both, the original American Forces Network" program poster and "Sgt. Pepper" insert, are in Near Mint Minus condition. The glossy vinyl has preserved its beautiful factory gloss. I grade it as strong Very Good Plus. It has some light non-feelable surface hairlines and scuffs, most likely from the original cardboard inner sleeve. The vinyl sounds great overall, having some light background noise, which is most likely just static and could get reduced if the record is professionally cleaned using a VPI cleaning machine.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

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