Beatles Please Please Me UK Parlophone LP 1st Press Mono Small 33 1/3 on Label

$

650

I am a 40 year collector of LPs and 45s from the 50s and 60s. I have been collecting The Beatles UK LPs for 25 years. The Beatles LPs I have listed on eBay are from my personal collection.

I have also been an audiophile for 40 years (analog only). The unsealed LPs listed have been play-graded on high quality equipment (turntable, tone-arm, cartridge, pre-amp, amp, speakers, and subwoofers). My system picks up the slightest surface noise on vinyl; i.e., ticks, pops, hiss, and sibilants due to groove wear. The standard I have used in adding a record to my collection has been how well it played (no surface noise present) in addition to how it looked. Over my years of collecting I have continuously upgraded my personal collection of Beatles LPs to where almost all of them play as new. To me, this means quiet surfaces; i.e., no ticks, pops, crackle, or hiss in the music or the dead wax.

The outer sleeves/covers of these LPs have been stored in polyethylene sleeve protectors since I acquired them. I also removed the LPs from the original Emitex inner sleeves and stored the LP in a custom rice paper sleeve while keeping the original Emitex inner sleeve in the LP jacket.

I have used strict grading standards of the UK publication Record Collector. I will use a mint grade only if I know a record has never been played. Unless a record is sealed, M- is my highest grade. I have described the flaws, if any, on the labels, vinyl, and sleeves. All the LPs I have listed will play as good as, or better than, they look. If you wish to see larger pictures than those shown on Ebay, I can send you much larger photos attached to an e-mail. I hope you find something you can add to your collection and enjoy it as much as I have enjoyed listening to vinyl records for the last 57 years.

This is the rare transitional label variation of the Beatles’ Please Please Me to have Parlophone’s first yellow and black label. It included a small 33 1/3 on the left side of the label. This was the first label to follow the black and gold labels and was used for a very short period of time (a period of days rather than weeks) when EMI was transitioning the labels on Please Please Me in early 1963 from the black and gold labels to the yellow and black labels that included the statement “Recording First Published 1963” on the left side of the label. It is a mono LP, catalog # PMC 1202.

When considering the value of this label variation of Please Please Me it is important to know that EMI did not start with a second master lacquer (Matrix) or different mothers and stampers when it changed the label on Please Please Me from the black with gold lettering to the black with yellow lettering of this LP. This yellow and black label pressing was a continuation of the pressing cycle that produced the Please Please Me LPs in the early months of 1963. EMI merely changed the labels it used on this LP during the early months of 1963. This LP was in the same pressing run as the initial black and gold label pressings regarding matrices, mothers, and stampers; thus, it is an early pressing of the Beatles first LP.

Matrix #s:

Side 1: XEX 421-1N

Side 2: XEX 422-1N

Mothers:

Side 1: 1

Side 2: 2

Stamper letters:

Side 1: RM

Side 2: GO

Labels: EX

This label has the small 33 1/3 on the left side of the label under the Parlophone name.

The spindle hole shows signs of moderate wear and spindle tracks on both sides. Otherwise the labels are unmarked.

Vinyl:

Visual Grade: EX

The vinyl shows the sheen and high gloss of an LP that has not had much time on a turntable. Its grade is due to a few short but light lines on both sides of the vinyl. These are surface lines only and do not affect the sonic quality of the LP. The vinyl is completely free of dust or dirt that would dull its natural sheen and affect its sonic qualities.

Play Grade: EX+/M-

I carefully listened to this LP from beginning to end. This is one of those LPs from the era that was pressed on thick wax and plays near to mint even though it shows a few surface lines on the vinyl. There are no ticks, pops, or surface noise whatsoever with the music. The dead wax run-ins and run-outs are completely silent. There is a very light tick (light tick as in the kind you might hear on new vinyl, no pops) in the dead wax after the first three songs on Side 1 and in the dead wax after the first song on Side 2. Otherwise the dead wax on both sides of the LP is completely silent. I heard nothing in the music except the music.

Sleeve: EX-

The sleeve is the second Ernest J. Day sleeve with the indented Angus McBean credit. Both panels are firm and the front has retained the gloss of these classic laminated sleeves. The spine and top and lower edges are solid and completely intact. There are no tears or separations in the laminate or in any seams. There is a hint of ring wear on the right side of the front of the sleeve near the mouth. The corners are lightly dinged and there are some short, light creases in the laminate along the upper and lower edges of the front of the sleeve. The reverse side shows some very light age spots and a crease on the lower right corner.

The Emitex inner sleeve is M-. It is intact with no splits.

Payment, Shipping, and Returns:

Please do not remit payment until you receive an invoice. The buyer is responsible for all shipping costs. All boxes and other shipping materials are new. Each LP is carefully packaged in custom made LP mailing boxes with the disc removed from the sleeve cover. This LP will be double-boxed. The LP mailing box will be placed inside a larger box filled with Styrofoam material. Shipping costs include only the actual costs of shipping and the required shipping materials. Shipping services within the US are USPS Priority Mail and the cost is $19.00.

I will ship to any location in the world. Shipping costs vary widely outside the US. International shipping services are either USPS International or Federal Express International. For all locations outside the US please contact me for an exact shipping cost. The buyer is responsible for any customs or import duties. Shipping services include a signed-for receipt.

Satisfaction guaranteed. Notification of intent to return an LP must be made within 48 hours of receiving the LP and must be returned to me within 7 days of receipt. Shipping costs are not refundable and the buyer pays return shipping. A returned LP must be packaged in the same manner in which it was received and I must receive it in the same condition as it was received by the buyer.

Other Listings:

I have many other Beatles UK LPs listed on Ebay, including Factory Samples and export LPs.