E.P. - The Beatles Hits

The Beatles Hits - Front Cover	The Beatles Hits - Rear Cover

Label	Parlophone
Catalogue No.	GEP 8880
Matrix No.'s	A-side   B-Side First Issue : 7TCE 760-2N   7TCE 761-1N      (Plus Tax code of KT on side 1, but on mine it looks like KMT on side 2)
Release Date	6th September 1963
U.K. E.P. Chart Detail :	Entry Date : 21st September 1963 Highest Position : 1 ... for 3 weeks ... from the 2nd November 1963. Weeks in Chart : 43 Weeks !
The Tracks :	Side 1     Side 2 From Me To You     Please Please Me Thank You Girl     Love Me Do
Detail :	The Beatles second official E.P. ... although it's catalogue number is lower than Twist And Shout. This second E.P. contained the first three hits and one B-side, and interrupted the run at No.1 of "Twist And Shout". "Please Please Me" is the original single version (eg, without "the mistake"), and "Love Me Do" is the album version. ALL tracks are attributed as writers to ... "McCartney - Lennon". "The Beatles Hits" also reached the standard singles charts reaching No.14 in an 18 week long stay. The cover shot is just an early 1963 publicity photo which lacks the spontaneity of the previous release. Finally, how do you spot original pressings ? On the label, the typeface on more recent issues is both more modern and smaller than on the originals, while the actual catalogue number was actually BIGGER on originals. Around the edge of the label, the words stating the rights of the publishers started with "The Parlophone Co. Ltd." The date on the label is shown as "Recording First Published 1963" (although I have seen in Record Collector that they suggest that for this release very first pressings do not have this). The disc has a push-out centre with an embossed "KT" tax code visible on the side 1 record label. The sleeve is a laminated flipback sleeve with curved edges. Post 1965 pressings have across the press-out centre the words, "sold in U.K. subject to resale price conditions, see price lists", the rights start with "The Gramophone Co. Ltd.", and the date is not preceded with "Recording First Published", but instead has a circled "P". Re-pressings were also made in the 1970's, these do NOT have across the press-out centres the words, "sold in U.K. subject to resale price conditions, see price lists". See below for a first pressing and an example of a 70's issue !! The sleeve also has marked differences. For starters (surprisingly !) the quality of new editions is worse, which suggests that EMI copied old sleeves rather than the actual photos ! ... I could demonstrate this with my copy of "A Hard Days Night", I have an original and a newer edition, and it is astonishing how much worse the newer one is ! Next, look out for the edges of the fold of the front cover onto the back. The edges of the fold used to be curved, now they are sharp, straight. Finally, the fold itself is no longer laminated, and the cover itself feels thinner than before.

First Pressing - Label	Seventies Pressing - Label