Spotted in the ‘From The Message Boards’ item in a recent Private Eye. I am sure this will give many of you something to smile about this fine autumn morning. It references a “new’ book, ‘Dull Men of Great Britain’.
‘As a serious record collector I collect mint vinyl (stored in optimal conditions which I have described before) and don’t own any form of gramophone (records are not for “playing”: styli damage grooves and turntable heat causes warping). The only non-mint discs I possess are valuable mis-pressings and mis-labelings: the Holy Grail of record collecting – nay, ALL collecting. Hence no such serious collectors appear in this rather silly book. – PCS 3042
If you don’t play them, how do you know they are mis-pressed and mis-labeled? – Jon
i got some record’s that are even more rarer i got a copy of the beatels sergeant pepper in the sleeve of dawns greatest hits and a copy of disc one of elvis 40 greatest hits in the sleeve of cherish by david cassidy i got them at car boots for 50p each but they must be worth a fortune – Record Fan
Those are neither rare, nor collectable or valuable – PCS 3042
y not – Record Fan
Because they’re not. – PCS 3042
your just jelous i bet you aint got them – Record Fan
I refuse to waste my time arguing with you. If you don’t believe me, consult Record Collector or Goldmine. If you can’t read, get a grown-up to read them to you – PCS 3042’
(with apologies to Private Eye).
I noticed this too and always look forward to the appearance of “PCS 3042” for he/she is none other than the original gold label stereo pressing of Please Please Me
This was not even known to exist until a few years ago, but now sells on eBay for a couple of grand every week.
http://i.imgur.com/JAmiUpg.jpg
The original gold issue of Please Please Me has been known about for a long time.
The gold and black label design was the standard for Parlophone releases during the early 1960s. The mono version of the album appeared in late March 1963, with the stereo version turning up about six weeks later. Three after that saw the introduction of Parlophone’s new black, white and yellow label design, hence the scarcity of stereo pressings on the original, particularly as stereo versions of ‘pop’ records sold in tiny quantities back then.
It’s the high prices fetched my mono copies of this album that puzzles me. The album had been at no. 1 in the charts for about a month when EMI switched the label design, so copies should be somewhat plentiful.
To complicate things further there are actually two different versions of the mono and stereo variants, caused by the Beatles’ publishing changing from Dick James Music to Northern Songs.
The black & gold mono label Please Please Me has always been known about, but the black & gold stereo pressing was thought not to exist until around 15 years ago, because it was released just weeks (if not days) before the changeover to the black and yellow label design.
The stereo issue was certainly known about in 1988, as that was when I started buying Record Collector magazine, and my very first issue had that particular album at the top of their list of the most valuable UK records.
When Record Collector became a stand-alone magazine in 1980 the stereo gold & black PPM was only rumoured. So perhaps I should say 30 years, not 15.
I worked as a freelance at RC from 1980 to mid-90s and distinctly remember the rise of the gold stereo PPM from rumour to reality and then to holy grail.
It does turn up surprisingly often though, I must say. Unless it’s just dealers selling the same copies month after month.
What are the rarest records in your collection in terms of monetary and emotional value JC?
Emotionally it’s Cliff Sings.
I was given the Peter Pan of pop’s second LP as an Xmas gift in 1959. It’s the first LP I ever owned and I still have that original copy, now somewhat dog-eared.
I’ll need to think about the second part of the question.
I still the very first single I bought with my own money, actually an ep, by Adam Faith. My first LP was probably Elvis Presley’s Blue Hawaii. I don’t the actual copy but have it on CD.
Rarest? Spirogyra’s Bells, Boots and Shambles on Polydor.
I don’t know about you, but when the Beatles arrived, most of the stuff I’d listened to up to that point (Cliff, Adam Faith etc) suddenly seemed irrelevant and was quietly hidden at the back of the sideboard cupboard.
Actually knowing you, the opposite is probably true.
I was a fan of early sixties stuff, collecting cards with photos of Marty Wilde, Adam and Billy Fury. I saw the Beatles in their regular spot on Granada TV before they were famous so grew up with them.
Once had a plastic Beatles wig. Wish I still had it.
And that Spirogyra LP, in top condition, is probably worth the thick end of 500 quid these days
In the RC world it is. On eBay I have seen one sell for £1300. I have been tempted to get my copy signed as I am touch with both parties to that LP. Maybe I should just get my South Korean reissue signed instead.
Another record rumoured to have been issued, the UK 78 pressing of Elvis’ “It’s Now Or Never”, has never been properly confirmed. Record Collector ran various articles on its supposed existence, but positive sightings were never claimed.
A copy supposedly surfaced on EBay a few years ago, but the label copy appeared to be a fake as it was missing various bits of text found on all RCA 78s and 45s at the time.
I remember that fake Elvis 78 episode.
It’s a strange phenomenon. Early rock 78s tend to be worth very little compared to their 45 counterparts, because they sold many more copies.
Toward the end of the 50s however, the situation was reversed as 45s became the dominant format and 78s sales dropped to almost nothing (and in some cases they were available by special order only) before they were discontinued in 1960.
Well, the copy I’ve lost (see below) was bought by my late wife (who had a dad with a stereo) when it first came out. Very advanced all round. So she knew it existed!
The stereo PPM LP itself was always known to exist Mike, it’s the gold label pressings that were in doubt.
This is because the stereo editions of PPM came out a month or so after the mono version, a date which coincided almost exactly with the changeover from the gold/black label design to the more well-known black/yellow label.
So the question is, was your copy black & gold or black & yellow?
http://i.imgur.com/USgaiMk.jpg
Black and gold, goddammit! Dick James Music, Emitex ad, the lot.
I had a mint mono black/gold, too. With the green-printed Emitex/Parlophone flyer. Someone else has it now, lovingly gazing at the glossy grooves.
This discussion has been the epitome of ‘A very Afterword exchange’. Carry on, chaps.
It remains a charming little album in any format. Shuffle with George Formby and Vera Lynne for context.
Yes, we should stop this now before we sink any further into pedantic twatishness.
I’m expecting @minibreakfast to wade in any minute with either some fascinating label minutiae or, more likely, one of her trademark *twacks*
Sadly the only Parlophone black and gold labels in our house are on Mr B’s mum’s old Mrs Mills records.
The original US equivalent of this album, Introducing The Beatles, issued on Vee-Jay, is even more complicated.
The original version of the album omitted Please Please Me and Ask Me Why. However about a week after going on sale, it was discovered that Vee-Jay didn’t possess the rights to Love Me Do and PS I Love You. Hence the running order was changed, with the previously omitted tracks substituted in place of the errant tracks. Both versions were issued in mono and stereo.
Vee-Jay used several different pressing plants for both versions of of the album, and hence there’s several subtle different label designs, with some pressings using a logo that Vee-Jay had supposedly already phased out.
The sleeves are also varied. The first version came with three different possible back covers, one with a track listing, another with a list of other Vee-Jay releases, whilst the third is blank. There’s also some other subtle printing variants.
Altogether there’s probably something like 30 different versions of the album out there. Stereo copies of the first version are the rarest, with mono copies of the first version from one particular pressing plant also being fairly rare.
The album has also been heavily counterfeited, to complicate things further.
When I was at college in the latter part of the 1970s a fellow student told me his dad worked at the RCA pressing plant. Apparently when producing test pressings they would often experiment with coloured vinyl. It is quite possible that out there are one-off copies of Bowie LPs of the non-standard black variety. If only I had paid more attention to my “new best mate”.
A copy of one of the Beatles’ US singles came up at auction once, pressed in half-black-half-white vinyl. That was supposedly created as a test pressing by someone at the Capitol plant.
I have a copy of that, but when I cleared out my storage before leaving Blighty I couldn’t find it. I’m hoping it’ll magically turn up again when I go back. I can’t have taken it to the charity warehouse, surely?
I was in Foyles yesterday and saw that very book: Dull men of Great Britain.
My son smirked. Finally somoeone’s written a book about his dad.
A few months ago I was in town with my daughter when we passed signs for a record fair which was on at that time. So I convinced her to humour her old dad and we both went in. Her comment: “This place is full of men just like you, dad”
I go to various local auctions on a regular basis and shovel up vast amounts of LPs for very little pennies. If there is a hint of a Beatles recording in a box it will usually increase the value tenfold, irrespective of the quality of disc or sleeve.
Too true. I went to a record fair last weekend and I arrived early (as you would). As I walked up to the hall where it was being held I told myself that the queue would be made up of middle aged men wearing jeans and flowery shirts, some with beards, some with pony tails, but mostly losing their hair. And, sure enough, that’s just what awaited me. I felt quite at home! (I am one of the non-bearded, losing hair specimens.)
That was a reply to @douglas
Best bargain at a record fair? Bought several copies of this single in promo DJM sleeves, including an acetate test pressing. All 1p each.
Private Eye.
I was heartened for a series of issues to see a debate going on, issue by issue, about the accuracy of one of their Tudor- based cartoons, resulting in a discussion as to whether or not Cranmer would in fact be rolling in his grave.
Since there is talk about old records, in 1972ish we had a very old record player that had a 16rpm setting. I have never seen a record that plays 16rpm. Any ideas anyone?
The idea, you see, was that you could play albums at just under half speed ( or 78’s at 1/5th) and pick up the subliminal message that Paul was dead, George Robey was the devil, or whatever.
Not sure about that. All I know is that it made my Pinky and Perky singles sound like Paul Robeson.
16rpm was used mainly for spoken word records because of the lo fi sound (the slower the speed, the worse the fidelity, s with tapes).
However, some countries, notably South Africa issued music LPs which played at 16 rpm. These seemed to be almost exclusively produced by RCA and I’ve seen examples by Jim Reeves and Elvis – plus some various artist collections
Because of the slow speed it was possible to get 40-50 mins per side of each LP making them equivalent to double albums.
Not sure when 16 rpm was phased out. Probably when those Garrard decks went out of production in the late 70s
Interesting way of centering the record!
I had to turn that off, the crackle/scratches were too much to bear. Does anything happen toward the end?
Dancing girls, messy food sex, that sort of thing….
Blimey! Was it all happening at 16 rpm too?
This is from the canned music system produced by Seeburg, a leading jukebox manufacturer.
These particular records were made for playback in a custom record-player which took a stack of 25 records at a time, and which played them through in sequence, playing both sides. The stylus was narrower than on a standard record player.
Each record had a playing time of approximately 40 minutes a side. Records were distributed by subscription only. There was a separate stack of records just for Christmas music.
The system lasted in one form or another from the late 1950s until the mid 1980s.
Thanks @johnny-concheroo , I didn’t know that there were actual records made at 16rpm.
According to Jeremy Beadle* 45rpm on the 7″ single was made expressly for jukeboxes. The single song between 2-4 minutes became standard at that point. The previous form of popular song were Music hall songs that were often very lengthy. My dad memorised Irish folk songs that seemed to go on forever.
Now that we have downloads, I wonder if we’re going to change again.
Everything’s on YouTube now.
Books for the blind.
From Wiki:
Some recording, such as books for the blind, were pressed at 16⅔ rpm. Prestige Records released jazz records in this format in the late 1950s, for example two of their Miles Davis albums were paired together in this format. Peter Goldmark, the man who developed the 33⅓ rpm record, developed the Highway Hi-Fi 16⅔ rpm record to be played in Chrysler automobiles, but poor performance of the system and weak implementation by Chrysler and Columbia led to the demise of the 16⅔ rpm records. Subsequently, the 16⅔ rpm speed was used for narrated publications for the blind and visually impaired, and were never widely commercially available, although it was common to see new turntable models with a 16 rpm speed setting produced as late as the 1970s.
I also heard that blank cassette tapes were legislated to be cheap to cater for the talking books and newspapers accessed by the blind. When I was a hospital radio presenter we taped the news programme onto about a dozen blank cassettes for distribution to the blind.
There were six titles issued by Prestige on 16 2/3 RPM records, each one coupling together two previously issued albums by the same act. The Miles Davis one coupled together Bags’ Groove and Miles Davis And The Modern Jazz Giants.
Probably the largest issuer of 16 2/3 RPM records was the US based The Audio Book Company, who put out many titles on 7″ records, often as multiple disc sets. Their set of The New Testament ran to 24 discs.
Another US label issued some ‘dinner-party’ LPs at 16 2/3 RPM. The purpose was to give an hour of uninterrupted background music.
Here in the UK it’s possible that Argo records issued some of the mammoth Shakespeare cast recordings on 16 2/3 RPM LPs.
This ‘might’ sound ever so slightly snobby.
The quality of yer vinyl bod has gone down the pan ever since Record Collector went ‘isn’t everything great’ about, oooo, 15/20 or so years ago.
In the last few years I’ve encountered far too many thin, bearded youths, taking up far too much space, starring intently at a Culture Club or Duran Duran (f— me sideways!) record to see if it has a scratch.
I used to much prefer the mag when they’d do a grudging 3 page piece on the crap of the day, say Madonna, with the proviso that you’d (rightly) be much better off reading the 10 page article on Eddie Cochran elsewhere.
All part of the general dumbing down, I’m afraid.
Told you it would sound ever so slightly snobby.
As Elvis C says:
Don’t start me talking. I could talk all night.
My mind goes sleepwalking.
While I’m putting the world to rights.
The current vinyl craze drives me mad in so many ways.