Bought from Amazon.co.uk over the weekend - arrived yesterday, no problems.
Amazing amount of detail, still on the first few pages...
Thanks.

Ordered it on last Saturday. Got it today. Looks good after a first look!

Thanks everybody for comments and congratulations.
Still, I ask you not to write to me privately.
Please, post your on IORR for everybody's benefit.
PS for a similar book on RSR singles it'll take a year or more

In reply to those who've written asking for copies of records listed in the book: yes, spare copies available, some are rare ones. Please, use the address given on the book for your want-lists and don't forget to say if you're looking for specific couplings of Matrix numbers.I don't sell records, I trade: please send your lists of DECCA and RSR UK singles.
Thanks, Luca

Hi Luca and thanks for a very interesting book.

I have an addition for you

Street Fighting Man / Everybody Needs Someone To Love
Wrong title on the sleeve….
Sleeve printed in Sweden
Vinyl pressed in UK for export to Sweden only
Decca F 13204
Matrix number on SFM side: ZXDR-43220-T1-K1
Matrix number on ENSTL side: XZDR-34769-1T-1K

Probably a new discovery for this century is unfolding:

This is an interesting single. To begin with, this is one of the hardest UK pressed singles to find as it was ONLY pressed in small quantities for export only to Sweden. I was able to put this into my collection last week, very happy for that as on the same time I completed my UK pressed Decca singles collection. (Well, a few boxed versions of the early 60’s singles still missing, but at least I have one copy of all song combinations now)

Just before receiving it I got a phone call from my friend Olle and he had just talked to the guy who sold it to me. The seller had plaid it just before shipping it just to confirm that it plays well. Olle told me that I might be in for a surprise and requested me to give it a spin on the turntable asap.

And in deed I was! SFM is ok on 45 rpm BUT Everybody was not! It sounded like Donald Duck singing ya know. Downgraded the speed to 33 rpm and voila!
So what we have here is a single that works on 45 rpm on one side and 33 rpm on the other side. Olle had also given a spin on his copy and that plays ok with 45 rpm on both sides!!!

So, in fact, this rare F 13204 is existing in two versions, one with wrong speed on everybody and another version with correct speed. On closer examination of Olles and my copy, we did find the key difference. It is all in the matrix numbers again:
My copy has: XZDR-34769-1T-1K
Olles copy has: 45- XZDR-34769-1T-1K

Speculation on the scenario: Everybody is also existing on the F13195 SFM / Surprise / Everybody single released a few months earlier in UK. This is the only Maxi single that plays on 33 rpm from this period. I checked the matrix numbers on both singles and Everybody has the same numbers on them. So what happened was that when Sweden wanted a combination of the single less Surprise Surprise, then Decca just took the same mother plates and made new stampers out of it, without thinking about the speed! So they pressed the singles and off they sent them to Sweden.
What then probably took place is: People bought the new release, went home and plaid it, rushed back to the store and said; what a load of shit you sold me, the single does not work!!!! It has a manufacturing mistake!!

Upon this Swedish Decca ordered a new set of singles from Decca in UK who then did a corrected matrix with the correct speed and just added 45- in front of the original matrix numbers. That is why Olles copy has the 45- in the offgrooves and spins with the correct speed.


Now then the interesting question, which is the harder one to find? I had my thoughts made up rather quickly. Majority of the singles were sold within a week or two after release and it must have taken weeks to get the corrected version into stock and by then most of the fans had already bought their copy. So my guess was that the 33 rpm version would be more common.
A rare single for sure, but my friends with the Nordic Stonesvikings are known to be hard core collectors. We have 9 copies in total and so far I have got eight of them confirmed; 5 are 33 rpm’s and 3 are 45 rpm’s. Kinda confirming my thoughts that the correct 45 rpm is the rare one of these two!!!

A bit of a long text, but Collecting is fun isn’t it

If you have a copy, please let us know if it is the 33 rpm or 45 rpm version


Can't get the picture posted so here is a link to it.
[janrichards.kuvat.fi]

Jan Richards

[www.stonesondecca.com]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2017-02-25 11:13 by Jan Richards.

Dear Jan,
thanks for the great addition for the one I consider the least-known of the British singles.
No, I don't have a copy in my collection. I never had the chance to buy one, but I'd love to get, sooner or later.
On top of that, thanks for posting your finding here. This book has awakened a lot of Collectors who used to believe that British singles are a little bit boring to collect and a lot of infos and comments are coming in, at last. In particular, the long intro dedicated to unveiled aspects of DECCA Record markers on records has been appreciated and what I call 'gaps' in re-pressing timeline is much debated. Let's see what happens...

thanks again, Luca

PS do you think that some info I pass could apply to albums, as well?

Back to Jan:
Have you checked the musical content of the 45RPM B-side, by chance?
I would not be surprised it's a shortened version: are we sure that DECCA Records could put a 5minute+ long song on a single at the time? After all, if they needed a 33RPM side for 'Everybody Needs Somebody To Love' there must have been a reason why.
On top of that, let's not forget that DECCA Records dismissed the maxi-single format as it could not be played on portable equipments due to the 33RPM speed.
Thanks Jan, all the best,

Thanks, Jan!

You can add one more known copy:
I have the one with the b-side matrix 45-ZXDR-34769-T1-1K.

Quote
1963luca0
Dear Jan,
thanks for the great addition for the one I consider the least-known of the British singles.
No, I don't have a copy in my collection. I never had the chance to buy one, but I'd love to get, sooner or later.
On top of that, thanks for posting your finding here. This book has awakened a lot of Collectors who used to believe that British singles are a little bit boring to collect and a lot of infos and comments are coming in, at last. In particular, the long intro dedicated to unveiled aspects of DECCA Record markers on records has been appreciated and what I call 'gaps' in re-pressing timeline is much debated. Let's see what happens...

thanks again, Luca

PS do you think that some info I pass could apply to albums, as well?

Luca, yes, most of the information if not even all can be applied on the LP albums as well. I have lately been working a lot with the codes on album labels and I have just started to compare my own LP collection against the info you have in the book. The usage of tax code JT looks to be a bit different on the albums. I am going through my database currently, so let's see what the outcome will be.

Jan Richards

[www.stonesondecca.com]

Quote
1963luca0
Back to Jan:
Have you checked the musical content of the 45RPM B-side, by chance?
I would not be surprised it's a shortened version: are we sure that DECCA Records could put a 5minute+ long song on a single at the time? After all, if they needed a 33RPM side for 'Everybody Needs Somebody To Love' there must have been a reason why.
On top of that, let's not forget that DECCA Records dismissed the maxi-single format as it could not be played on portable equipments due to the 33RPM speed.
Thanks Jan, all the best,

Good point Luca. I will compare the content on the two versions. The 33 rpm version is then originated from the UK sold Maxi single F.13195. So I think the reason for doing it in 33 rpm in the first place was to get a single that has 3 songs on it and make sure both sides play on 33 rpm just to get all 3 songs to fit in.
I believe that the Swedish one was then just a plain mistake from Decca. They did not come to think of the fact that it was a 33 rpm as all 7" would be automatically 45 rpm records...

Jan Richards

[www.stonesondecca.com]

Quote
rootsman
Thanks, Jan!

You can add one more known copy:
I have the one with the b-side matrix 45-ZXDR-34769-T1-1K.

Thank You !

Then we have confirmed 5pcs / 33rpm vs 4pcs / 45rpm at the moment !

Jan Richards

[www.stonesondecca.com]

Great find my fiends one side 33rpm single..............

__________________________

Thanks to all info sent in by fellow Collectors/Readers (thanks!) of the book a new improved edition is going to replace the current one. I know it's not nice to publish a second edition after such a short time, but the book is 60-page longer, now.
In order to avoid this happens again in near future, I'm willing to set the dead-line for new entries on 1 June 2017. So, please, send you comments and additions in time.
Let me thank you all those who've got the book. Initially, I believed it's going to catch the attention of a very limited community of Collectors. True is that many got it, instead. All the best, Luca