Rare Quarrymen disc on ebay
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| Ebay: Quarrymen 78 r.p.m. disc |
Beatles author Hans Olof Gottfridsson alerted us about a current ebay listing for what indeed looks like a 1981 replica disc of the famous first “Beatles” recording, the privately made 78 r.p.m. 10″ disc of “That’ll Be The Day”/”In Spite Of All The Danger”.
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| Original disc’s label, not from the ebay listing |
Recorded in 1958 by the group then known as “The Quarrymen”, the lineup consisted of Paul, George, John, Colin Hanton and John “Duff” Lowe. It was recorded in Percy Philips’ home studio in Kensington, Liverpool, and the group only had the money to pay for one single copy. Each band member kept the acetate disc for a week. Lowe was the last to have it, keeping it for nearly 25 years. In 1981, Lowe attempted to sell it at auction, but McCartney intervened and purchased it from him – for an undisclosed figure, but rumoured to be £12 000.
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| Ebay: Quarrymen disc – back |
McCartney had engineers restore as much of the record’s sound quality as possible and then made approximately 50 copies of the single that he gave as personal gifts to family and friends. Gottfridsson says that the disc currently on offer “show all the signs of being a copy of the replicas produced by Paul McCartney for friends as a Xmas gift back in 1981”. Gottfridsson also mentions that the disc “originally came in pair with a 7″ 45 r.p.m. record” (logically, as not all record players of 1981 could play discs at the 78 r.p.m. speed).
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| Ebay: Disc detail, with “1981” etched into the matrix |
Gottfridsson also says that “no reference copies exist since almost none of the original McCartney replicas have been up for sale. One very good clue is if it includes the unreleased long 3:25 version In Spite of All the Danger or not”.
When the songs on this disc were included on The Beatles album “Anthology 1” in 1995, “In Spite Of All The Danger” was edited down to 2:45.
In 2000, John “Duff” Lowe also had replicas made, which he advertised for sale in The Beatles Monthly Book through the website quarrymen.net (now defunct) or by contacting Lowe in writing or by email.
So, now you have the chance of owning this disc. Should you be the lucky buyer, please send me a sound file of the full length “In Spite Of All The Danger”!
Here’s the description offered by the seller in the UK:
Here for sale is an EXTREMELY RARE 10″ 78 RPM pressing of The Quarrymen – That’ll Be The Day / In Spite Of All The Danger.
The disc and sleeve are both in excellent condition and the vinyl plays in near mint. I tested the vinyl on a Rega Planar 78 turntable. The vinyl also retains a nice sheen from when i bought it.
The sleeve appears to have what looks like 1681 stamped on the sleeve (see pictures) but by looking at the number 8 and 6 and the position they are printed it is actually a mirrored 1981 stamp.
As pictured the vinyl has etched the numbers 1981 on it on the run out area. Unfortunately i don’t know what this would mean i’m afraid.
I acquired this about 30 years ago from a friend of mine who was selling a load of beatles / stones / who etc… vinyl.
I will consider sensible offers only.
Postage is free to the UK only and will be sent 1st class recorded, for all other countries it is £10.
The one and only 1958 pressing is thought to be one of the world’s most valuable records, worth an estimated £200,000 (estimated by the UK magazine Record Collector).
On the subject of the song's length, I have heard that bootlegs exist which are made up from the Anthology version, re-edited to extend the play length. This would give a superficial impression that the true full length version was in circulation, but it isn't (yet).
I thought the full length version of "In Spite of all the Danger" was on this site:
bit.ly/1gFqwHC
I don't think so – it's the artificially lengthened one. It says at the bottom of the page, ""In Spite Of All The Danger" has been edited to represent it's actual length. It is NOT taken from one of the replicas of this disc which allegedly contain the full version.
The full version is otherwise unavailable."
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i believe that there were reason the Anthology version was an edit. Most likely because there might have been a skip.
If so that record – if authentic – might contain the Anthology version.