DESCRIPTION
(ACTUAL SCANS)

IN 1968, AS PART OF A CORPORATE RESTRUCTURING OF CAPITOL AND EMI, CAPITOL RECORDS, INC. BECAME A WHOLLY OWNED SUBSIDIARY OF A NEW ENTITY KNOWN AS CAPITOL INDUSTRIES, INC. THE DECISION WAS MADE TO IDENTIFY THE NEW ARRANGEMENT ON SUBSEQUENT CAPITOL RELEASES. THIS REQUIRED THE REPRINTING OF 45 SINGLES AND LP ALBUM LABELS TO REFLECT THE NEW OWNERSHIP.  FOR SINGLE RELEASES, THE PERIMETER PRINT WAS CHANGED TO "MFD. BY CAPITOL RECORDS, INC, A SUBSIDIARY OF CAPITOL INDUSTRIES, INC. U.S.A."

THE PERIMETER PRINT WAS NOT THE ONLY CHANGE TO TAKE PLACE IN 1968. THAT SUMMER, CAPITOL RETOOLED ITS 45 PRESSING MACHINES TO PRODUCE "NON-SLIP" DISCS. THE NEW SINGLES, WHICH MADE THEIR DEBUT ON AUGUST 1, HAD A RING OF 360 NOTCHES AROUND THE LABEL. THE PURPOSE OF THE NOTCHES WAS TO HAVE THE RECORD INTERLOCK TO OTHER RECORDS WHEN STACKED. BECAUSE THE NOTCHES WERE RAISED, THEY COULD ALSO GRIP THE SMOOTH SURFACE ON RECORDS THAT DID NOT HAVE THE SERRATIONS. THE LABELS FOR THE NEW DISCS WERE REDUCED FROM 3 5/8" TO 3 5/16" TO ACCOMMODATE THE NOTCHED RING.

This "SUBSIDIARY" label variation was made for ONLY approximately TEN months, from THE Fall of 1968 to Summer of 1969 - and is actually significantly rarer than the labels without the "subsidiary" verbiage. ALTHOUGH THE SUBSIDIARY SWIRLS ARE NOT FIRST ISSUES, THEY ARE MUCH RARER THAN THE FIRST ISSUES - AND ARE HIGHLY COLLECTIBLE.

FOR YEARS THIS BEATLES 1967 'DOUBLE A-SIDE' CLASSIC "STRAWBERRY FIELDS FOREVER  b/w  "PENNY LANE" WAS PREVIOUSLY UNDOCUMENTED AND ORIGINALLY BELIEVED NOT TO HAVE BEEN PRESSED OR ISSUED FOR THE ORANGE AND YELLOW SWIRL 1968 "SUBSIDIARY" CATALOG.  ALL BUT TWO OF THE ORIGINAL 19 CAPITOL SINGLES, "I WANT TO HOLD YOUR HAND AND "HELLO GOODBYE" HAVE BEEN CONFIRMED WITH THE SWIRL "SUBSIDIARY" LABELS.

THIS OBSCURE AND MUCH SOUGHT AFTER MEGA-RARE "STRAWBERRY FIELDS FOREVER" 'SUBSIDIARY' 45 SINGLE WAS NOT CONFIRMED UNTIL FEBRUARY 2007, NEARLY 40 YEARS AFTER THE RECORD WAS ISSUED AND THEN INDEED DOCUMENTED IN THE PERRY COX 2007 BEATLES PRICE GUIDE 6TH EDITION. IT IS NOW ESTIMATED THAT LESS THAN SIX HAVE SURFACED TO THIS DATE. THIS EXAMPLE BEING OFFERED HERE IS THE FINEST KNOWN TO EXIST.

THIS LOS ANGELES PRESSING AND ITS WEST COAST LABELS ARE QUITE UNIQUE FOR THE "MICRO" FONTS USED HERE DIFFER ENTIRELY FROM THOSE USED FOR THE ORIGINAL STANDARD 1967 ISSUE, AND ALSO DIFFER FROM THE LABEL COPY USED FOR THE OTHER "SUBSIDIARY" RELEASES.

THIS EXAMPLE IS GRADED AS A MAGNIFICENT, SHIMMERING MINT UNPLAYED "AS NEW" JEWEL, WITH STUNNING GLOSSY, FLAWLESS STUNNING NEAR MINT LABELS. THE MEGA-RARE DISC IS ACCOMPANIED BY ITS NEAR MINT AND CORRECT 1967-68 CAPITOL RECORDS GENERIC SLEEVE.

FAB 4 COLLECTIBLES PAST SALES SHOW THAT WE HAD SOLD A NEAR MINT COPY OF THIS SINGLE IN AUGUST 2017 FOR $2,775. WE HAD ALSO SOLD A NEAR MINT COPY OF THE RARER ISSUE PRESSED WITHOUT THE NON-SLIP NOTCHES BACK IN JANUARY 2015 FOR $3,275.