The Beatles - A Hard Days Night LP - RARE LABEL FORMAT, MT TAX CODE & EJ DAY

	£		35
	$		46

Beatles – A Hard Day’s Night LP

VERY RARE SIDE A LABEL FORMAT, RARE MT Tax Code and HARDER TO FIND ERNEST J. DAY sleeve.
Original UK Mono 1st Press of The Beatles 3rd UK album, released 10th July 1964.

Housed within the rarer laminated Ernest J. Day sleeve with black and white “Parlophone Company” logo and “Trade Mark of the Parlophone” text, front top left and mid-sized “mono” top right.  Complete with original tracing paper lined “Use Emitex…” die-cut inner sleeve.

Black/Yellow Parlophone Labels with Arial font.  “Recording First Published 1964” "THE PARLOPHONE CO.LTD." perimeter print and "SOLD IN U.K SUBJECT TO...." label text.

Track listing format of side A is VERY RARE!  Most pressings show the track titles listed directly beneath one another or wrapped text where the title of track 2 “I Should Have Known Better” is split over two lines.  This rare pressing shows the titles of track 1 “A Hard Day’s Night” and track 2 “I Should Have Known Better” printed on one single line.  I have consulted a number of vinyl specialists and none have seen this pressing.  The only reference I have found to it is in a Japanese collectors book.  Please see photograph.  This is a very rare press and a real collectors item!!!

Catalogue Code: PMC 1230.

Matrix Numbers: Side A - XEX 481-3N and Side B - XEX 482-3N

Side A: Mother code 4 and Stamper code ART (329).

Side B: Mother code 7 and Stamper AAO (335).  Side B also has a Stamper code OO that has been crossed out!

RARE MT Tax Code around spindle hole on side B.

With the fluctuations in purchase tax the tax codes were changed accordingly.  The MT tax code was in use between 1st January 1963 and 30th June 1963.  Following this the KT tax code was introduced on the 1st July 1963 and was used until at least 1972.  This album was released on 1st June 1964, by which point the KT tax code had been in use for nearly a year!

Vinyl condition: EX/EX.  Plays brilliantly!  Both sides of the vinyl are clean with only some very light surface scratches that are only visible under very bright light and do not cause any deterioration in sound quality.  It plays extremely well with no interference. Only a very occasional click / pop, mainly heard between tracks.  No skips or jumps.  However, opinions will differ according to different eyes, ears, equipment etc.  Minimal spindle wear to both sides of the LP.  Some minor spindle marks to the centre of the label around the spindle hole on both sides.

Emitex inner sleeve is in very good condition with no tears.  Only a few creases to the corners and some mild discolouration due to age.

Sleeve: Front EX- / Back EX+.  It is clean from marks and writing both inside and out.  Perfectly flat.  The front of the sleeve is in excellent condition, some very light surface wear to the laminate in places although still maintaining its glossy surface.  The blue background and red writing are bright and clear – no fading or discolouration.  The white top border is bright without any yellowing.  The back of the sleeve has some very mild discolouration to the un-laminated cardboard although this does not obscure or detract from the text or black and white photographs and is mainly adjacent to the open edge.

There is some very slight scuffing to the top right corner ad bottom corners of the sleeve although minimal and a few chips to the laminate of the bottom seam where the white card underneath is evident.  A couple of areas of light spidering / creasing of the laminate along the fifth column of photographs near the open edge of the sleeve over the photographs of George and Paul.  This is also some light spidering / creasing of the laminate horizontally away from the spine in a few places.

Flip backs of the Ernest J. Day sleeve are intact and sound.  Some slight discolouration to the bottom of the vertical flip back (approx 3cm).

The spine is in excellent condition, bright white with no yellowing or discolouration. Laminate is intact with no creases, tears or cracks.  Title text of the spine is perfect with no damage or wear.

Generally this LP is in excellent condition given its age of 48 years!  Also worthy of note, “that the LP housed within this sleeve is the first-ever album release to be made up entirely of self-composed and self-performed Beatles compositions” as it proclaims on the back of the sleeve.  An excellent and often overlooked LP (and film!) and a fantastic example of the prolific song writing ability of Lennon and McCartney at the beginning of 1964!

Track Listing: (1) A Hard Day’s Night, (2) I Should Have Known Better, (3) If I Fell, (4) I’m Happy Just To Dance With You, (5) And I Love Her, (6) Tell Me Why, (7) Can’t Buy Me Love, (8) Any Time At All, (9) I’ll Cry Instead, (10) Things We Said Today, (11) When I Get Home, (12) You Can’t Do That, (13) I’ll Be Back.

Thank you for looking at this item.  Happy Bidding!!!

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MINT (M)

THE VINYL WILL BE IN BRAND NEW CONDITION. THERE WILL NO SURFACE MARKS OR DETERIORATION IN QUALITY. FOR THE SLEEVE AND ANY EXTRAS THE SAME APPLIES

EXCELLENT (EX)

THE VINYL COULD HAVE SOME MINOR SIGNS OF PLAYING WITH VERY LITTLE LESSENING IN QUALITY. SLEEVE MAY HAVE SLIGHT SIGN OF USE AND SLIGHT CREASING

VERY GOOD (VG)

THE VINYL HAS OBVIOUSLY BEEN PLAYED MANY TIMES BUT NO MAJOR DETERIORATION IN SOUND QUALITY. THERE MAY BE SURFACE MARKS AND THE ODD LIGHT SCRATCH. ALSO THERE COULD BE SOME SURFACE NOISE. NORMAL WEAR ON SLEEVE BUT NO MAJOR FAULT IS ACCEPTABLE

GOOD (G)

DUE TO PROLONGED PLAYING THE VINYL’S SOUND QUALITY HAS NOTICEABLY DETERIORATED. THERE COULD ALSO BE DISTORTION AND MILD SCRATCHES. THE SLEEVE COULD SUFFER FROM DISCOLOURATION, FOLDS, SPLIT SPINES AND SCUFFS.

FAIR (F)

THE RECORD IS JUST PLAYABLE DISPLAYS CONSIDERABLE SURFACE NOISE, MAY JUMP. THE SLEEVE MAY BE TORN, STAINED AND DEFACED

POOR (P)

VINYL WILL NOT PLAY PROPERLY DUE TO SCRATCHES BAD SURFACE MARKS ETC. THE SLEEVE WILL BE BADLY DAMAGED OR MISSING

VARIATIONS

(NM) = NEAR MINT (VG-) = SLIGHTLY UNDER VERY GOOD (EX+)= SLIGHTLY BETTER THAN EXCELLENT

THE N,+,- SYMBOLS ARE USED TO GRADE INBETWEEN THE SET GRADES