I Want To Hold Your Hand   b/w   This Boy

I Want To Hold Your Hand - Label Detail	I Want To Hold Your Hand - Decca Pressing Label

I Want To Hold Your Hand - Promo A-side	I Want To Hold Your Hand - Promo B-side

Label	Parlophone
Catalogue No.	R 5084
Recording Details	17 Takes on 17th October 1963
Release Date	29th November 1963
U.K. Chart Detail :	Entry Date : 5th December 1963 Highest Position : 1 ... for 5 weeks from 12th December Weeks in Chart : + + 21 Weeks   1 Week from May '64   2 Weeks from 26th Nov. '83 (reached no. 62) == 24 weeks in total ==
Detail :	The fifth official EMI release. "I Want To Hold Your Hand" was the first to sell one million copies on British advance orders alone ! Not surprisingly therefore it entered the chart with a bullet, whilst "She Loves You" was enjoying it's second spell at number 1. The following week moving to number 1, with "She Loves You" now at number 2. At this time The Four Moptops were also at number 1 and 2 in the LP charts ! As there are no significant sleeve changes, I've concentrated the scan above on the label detail. For the first time, the small "rights of the manufacturer" writing is in UPPER CASE only. First pressings of this release have the push-out centre with no writing in it. Some copies at the original time were pressed by Decca Records to assist EMI who could not keep up with the demand for this Beatles release. EMI sub-contracted Decca to run off a small batch at their Pressing Plant. As you can see from the detailed scan above there is a distinct difference between the routine EMI pressing of I Want To Hold Your Hand and the slightly rarer Decca contract pressing. The Decca version has a push-out centre with four Prongs and wider spacings. And finally, the picture disc version released in England as part of the, "It Was Twenty Years Ago" series, on 28th November 1983.

The Picture Disc A-side	The Picture Disc B-side