"LOVE ME DO"
B/W
"P.S. I LOVE YOU"
PARLOPHONE 45-R 4949

MEGA-SUPER RARE PROMOTIONAL 'DEMONSTRATION' A-LABEL 45 SINGLE
ISSUED JUST PRIOR TO OCTOBER 5, 1962 RELEASE DATE
OF THE BEATLES' DEBUT SINGLE

CONSIDERED THE 'HOLY GRAIL' OF ALL BEATLES' RECORDS

CONDITION: NM- (VG+++)
ITEM#: PAR351
PRICE: ------

THE BEATLES VERY FIRST DEBUT SINGLE, "LOVE ME DO"  b/w  "P.S. I LOVE YOU", WAS RELEASED ON OCTOBER 5, 1962. A REVIEW IN THE OCTOBER 4, 1963 ISSUE OF THE BRITISH TRADE MAGAZINE RECORD RETAILER NOTED THE SINGLE'S SALES POTENTIAL IN A BRIEF REVIEW: "A NEW GROUP FROM THE LIVERPOOL AREA. THEIR FIRST RECORD, BUT THEY ALREADY HAVE A STRONG FOLLOWING AND THIS SEEMS TO BE THE STRONGEST OUTSIDER OF THE WEEK". THE BEATLES WOULD NOT REMAIN "OUTSIDERS" FOR LONG.

EMI PREPARED APPROXIMATELY ONLY 250 PROMOTIONAL COPIES OF THE BEATLES FIRST SINGLE FOR PRE-RELEASE DISTRIBUTION TO SELECTED MEDIA AND RADIO STATIONS, SHORTLY PRIOR TO THE OCTOBER 5TH STREET DATE FOR THE COMMERCIAL 'RED LABEL' COPY. THIS SO-CALLED 'DEMONSTRATION' RECORD (PAR 4949.DR1, SPIZER), HAS WHITE LABELS WITH BLACK PRINT AND A LARGE 'A' ON THE "LOVE ME DO" SIDE.

THE ARRIVAL OF THE DISC AT BRIAN EPSTEIN'S NEMS OFFICE SHOULD HAVE BEEN A RED-LETTER DAY FOR THE ASPIRING MANAGER, BUT INSTEAD BRIAN EXPLODED IN RED-FACED RAGE WHEN HE NOTICED THAT PAUL'S LAST NAME WAS MISSPELLED ON THE LABELS IN THE SONGWRITERS CREDIT AS 'McARTNEY'. WHEN HE CALLED EMI TO COMPLAIN ABOUT THE ERROR, HE WAS SIMPLY TOLD THAT THE LABELS OF THE COMMERCIAL COPIES WOULD HAVE THE CORRECT SPELLING.

WITH THIS DEMO'S HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE, TOGETHER WITH THE MISSPELLING OF PAUL'S LAST NAME, THIS PROMOTIONAL RECORD WAS DESTINED TO BE CONSIDERED THE 'HOLY GRAIL' OF ALL BEATLES' RECORDS, THE MOST SOUGHT AFTER AND EXTREMELY DESIRABLE COLLECTIBLE EVER. THIS RECORD HAS BEEN AND WILL CONTINUE TO BE ONE OF THE RAREST BEATLES' RECORD IN THE WORLD.

THE STAMPER CODES HAVE 'JR' ON BOTH SIDES IN THE RUN OUTS, SIGNIFYING THIS AS THE EARLIEST DEMONSTRATION COPIES THAT DISPLAY THE 'JR' STAMPER. 'ZT' CODES ARE STAMPED IN BOTH RUN-OUTS AS WELL. THE MATRIX NUMBERS ARE: SIDE ONE '7XCE 17144-1N' AND SIDE TWO:  '7XCE 17145-1N'.

THE CONDITION OF THE VINYL ON THIS ULTRA-RARITY IS A BRILLIANT NEAR MINT MINUS (BORDERS VG+++ ON SIDE TWO), RETAINING A DEEP HIGH LUSTER SHEEN AND SHIMMER TO THE GROOVES, WITH SIMPLY A FEW LIGHT SLEEVE "WHISPS" EVIDENT. SIDE TWO HAS A LIGHT SUPERFICIAL MARK THAT HAS NO AFFECT TO THE PLAY AT ALL. THIS RECORD HAS SEEN VERY MINIMAL PLAY TIME AND HAS BEEN WELL TAKEN CARE OF OVER THE YEARS. THE LABELS ARE A BRIGHT NEAR MINT, CLEAN AND UNBLEMISHED WITH VERY LIGHT WEAR TO THE CENTER HOLES THEMSELVES. THERE EXTREMELY LIGHT INDICATIONS OF SPINDLE HOLE MARKS.

ACCOMPANYING THE RARE DISC IS ITS ORIGINAL "SPECIAL RUSH COPY" EMI "TOP POP" PROMOTIONAL SLEEVE THAT WERE ONLY ISSUED WITH PARLOPHONE DEMONSTRATION COPIES FROM THIS PERIOD. THE SLEEVE IS IN SOLID AND COLORFUL VG+++ CONDITION WITH NO SPLITS, AND DISPLAYS THE USUAL AGING WEAR.