„Help!” – second mono pressing (Northern Songs, NCB)

The second pressing of the mono edition of „Help!” began in mid-1966, almost a year after the first release, and continued until almost 1969. The same matrices were used for production as for the first release, so in this case, the edition is determined by examining the labels.

Cover

The covers for „Help!” were produced by Garrod & Lofthouse Ltd. and Ernest J. Day & Co. The laminated front is folded back and glued along the edges. The outline of the word „mono” appears in the upper right corner of the front.

Labels

It’s a typical black and yellow PARLOPHONE label with the text „Sold in U.K. subject…” below the label name (missing from the third pressing) and a copyright notice around the perimeter, beginning with the words „The Gramophone Co. Ltd.” The photos above show my own copy of this record. I ordered this one somewhat „blindly,” and it turned out I was lucky.

I came across an interesting variant – found only on second pressings and therefore clearly resolving the chronological issue. There’s an editorial error on page 1 at the bottom of the label. The mention „Northern Songs, NCB” (the owner of the publishing rights to the released songs) unexpectedly appears below the band’s name, not above it as it should. This error was quickly spotted, and the second variant of the label for the second pressing of „Help!” is now devoid of it. This is therefore one of the two distinctive elements to look for first.

The second element is an asterisk placed to the right of the song title „I Need You” (side 1). On the first pressing, all labels have a space between the title and the asterisk, looking like this: I NEED YOU *. Only on the second pressing has this space been removed, and you’ll find this variant: I NEED YOU*. On the labels of the third (without „Sold in U.K. subject…”) and fourth (easily identifiable because it’s a 1-box) pressings, the space has been restored. The second label variant of the second pressing, as I mentioned, does not have the „Northern Songs, NCB” error, but still retains the easily identifiable asterisk preceded by a space next to „I Need You.”

Matrix / Runout

The first four pressings of „Help!”, up until 1970, were pressed from the same masters, so they don’t so much allow us to identify the pressing number as they do the authenticity of the UK production (foreign releases have different master numbers).

Page 1: XEX 549 – 2
Page 2: XEX 550 – 2

On the album…

The album „Help!” is a very interesting release by The Beatles, featuring two huge hits: the title track „Help!” and „Yesterday,” as well as the popular „Ticket to Ride” and a cover of Larry Williams’ rock 'n’ roll classic „Dizzy, Miss Lizzy,” which John Lennon later performed with his Plastic Ono Band (in 1969). It sounds fantastic in mono!

Share Your Opinion