Vinyl Nostalgia Back to The Beatles discography
Tracklist
Side A
- Strawberry Fields Forever (4:10)
Side B
- Penny Lane (3:03)
Labels & dead wax
Visual reference for this specific pressing. Click any image to enlarge.
Why this pressing matters
The front cover features a color photo of the band by Jean-Marie Perier. This photo was taken on the same day as the "Strawberry Fields Forever / Pany Lane" promotional video, January 30 and 31, 1967, at Knole Park in Sevenoaks. The back cover, meanwhile, was designed to resemble a photo album page, with decorative corners and childhood photos of the Beatles.
The first 250,000 copies were issued in this picture sleeve, which were a mixture of push-out centre and solid centre pressings.
How to authenticate this pressing
Specific verification cues for this exact variant.
First pressing has "The Gramophone Co Ltd" in upper case, with sold in UK text on push-out or solid center. Another important mark: K T embossed on centre label on one side (either A or AA) (U.K. purchase tax code used from 1963 until 1968).
EMI reissued this (along with every other U.K. 7" single by The Beatles released on Parlophone / Apple between 1962 and 1970) in 1976 in a green and white card sleeve using the same catalogue number.
Historical context & other notes
"Strawberry Fields Forever" was originally intended to appear on the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album but was ultimately released as a single along with Paul McCartney's "Penny Lane." Producer George Martin later publicly admitted that removing both "Penny Lane" and "Strawberry Fields Forever" from Sgt. Pepper was the biggest mistake of his career. Both songs were ultimately included on the deluxe edition of Sgt. Pepper's 50th anniversary CD release in 2017.
Other releases
This album's releases in other countries, or special editions within the same market. Full per-country chronology lives in each country's hub page.
