45.72076.1.1 is the very scarce February 1963 first pressing. Very few copies of the original pressing has surfaced to date as it originally sold around only 78 copies in 1963.
Availability
This first variation was available for a few months starting on February 18, 1963. The single was not a commercial success and sold approximately 100 copies, so it was not repressed until early 1964 when Beatlemania swept North America (in Canada that was after the success of She Loves You).
General Information
This is the very first record credited to "The Beatles" released in North America (The DECCA My Bonnie featured the Beatles as a backing group to Tony Sheridan, but did not feature any of their song, and was not even credited to the Beatles, but to "The Beat Brothers" instead). This was also the first Beatles records released by Capitol Records in North America (the Beatles music was released in the USA only a few weeks later on the smaller Tollie label).
After 200 copies pressed, the pressing plates were still usable, so when Beatlemania truly took off in 1964, the old stampers were reused, which makes it complicated today to distinguish with certainty true 1963 pressings from the early 1964 reissues that are virtually identical. Notice the CBC radio sticker glue residue in the picture above - this copy came from a lot that was purchased from CKMI TV in Québec City, where all Beatles early singles were very first pressings, from the Decca 45 to She Loves You.
Pressing Information
This Canadian single is interesting because it was not prepared from UK master tapes, but rather directly from a UK 45 sent to the Canadian head office for promotional purposes . This was confirmed by Graham Newton, cutting engineer at Capitol of Canada at the time (source: P. Hemmingsen, The Beatles’ Canadian Discography part. 1). The Canadian single therefore features the "Ringo version" of the track, unlike all other Canadian and North American releases that feature the Andy White version instead (except for the 1980 "rarities" album that reportedly did a needle drop of the Canadian single; a needle drop of a needle drop... !).
Matrix Numbers for this very first pressing have no dash and number at the end, and are written in a bigger size than later dash 2+ pressings. But keep in mind that the original pressing plates were still good after the first initial run, and were later reused in 1964 when Beatlemania really took on. So from a matrix perspective, the 1963 and 1964 pressings are indistinguishable.
Matrix numbers for this very first 1963 pressing are as follows:
Side A: 7XCE 17144
Side B: 7XCE 17145
One must therefore rely on other clues to differentiate true original 1963 pressings from the subsequent 1964 "no dash" reissue. A true first pressing confirmed to have been sent on the day of release to a member of the record industry is being used today as a reference for authenticating 1963 pressings.
From this reference copy (and other confirmed 1963 copies), research has identified a few characteristics of the 1963 pressing:
1. The older labels are slightly more "mustard color" and the paper has a different texture, slightly "spotty", giving the impression it was a little more "translucent" than later labels. This is also consistent with other 1962-1963 pressings by other artists (e.g. Please Please me, Ray Cathode, Helen Shapiro, Cliff Richard, Sergio Bruni, etc.)
2. The matrix number seems "deeper" on the 1964 reissues. This is subject to interpretation, of course, but when compared side-by-side, the original matrix numbers seem slightly more faint, as if the record wasn't "pressed as hard".
3. Placement of the printed information is different, where later copies have the following details in slightly different places relative to the swirl. After discussion with multiple collectors and comparing many no dash copies, these details have been identified on what could be 1963 copies:
On Side One: the orange swirl cuts through the bottom of the second "1" in the matrix number 7XCE17144. It then touches the bottom of the "6" in the catalogue number 72076 (with NO orange inside the "6". It then touches the outside of the 6 at the top. The bottom of the orange swirl to the left of the "7" in the catalogue number tends to end a little below the catalogue number as well. On the left side of the label, orange can be seen "inside" the top of the "C" in "Capitol".
On Side Two: the orange swirl just touches the bottom of the "1" (but doesn't cut through it). It then goes through the bottom of the "6", with NO orange inside the "6"). It then touches the outside of the "6" at the top. The bottom of the orange swirl to the left of the "7" in the catalogue number tends to end a little below the catalogue number as well. On the left side of the label, orange can be seen "inside" the top of the "C" in "Capitol".
CAUTION
Concerning this last point: Although the characteristic text placement is indeed found on a verified 1963 pressing, the authors call on collectors to be cautious before considering this the full proof official key point to authenticate a true first pressing.
The reason is explainable when understanding how these labels were printed. Sheets of "blank" labels are prepared (i.e. printed with the generic information that never changes from one release to the next: the swirl, and the legal perimeter text - image on the left), onto which specific information about the particular release is layered on top of the blank label, usually in black ink (image on the right).
Although usually quite precise, printing a second layer of information on the blank can invariably cause different alignments between the blank and the new text; discrepancies in precision that cause different text placements vis-à-vis the swirl. For example, the "blank" sheet can move ever so slightly, causing a few millimetre differences across the batch, resulting in a slightly different placement of the text, on earlier records vs later records from the same pressing batch. Here is a computer-generated example of exaggerated placement variations on a blank label:
Below are two verified examples of no-dash pressings: a confirmed 1963 pressing on the left, and a confirmed 1964 pressing on the right. These are two separate batches of pressings, and variations like this example happen all the time across different pressings, but they also occur within a same short batch of records (see the Decca My Bonnie 45 for example 45.31382.DE.1).
Finally, to be clear: the authors do not refute the fact that original 1963 pressings with that specific "R" placement have been confirmed, it is only an invitation to proceed with caution and to keep in mind that a confirmed copy does not mean ALL 1963 pressings are the same (even though most copies might be), but that there is a possibility that some other 1963 copies might have the text slightly more to the left or to the right. Thinking otherwise would be falling into the trap of bias confirmation.
THEN, HOW CAN WE TRULY KNOW IF A COPY IS 1963 OR 1964?
There is unfortunately no DEFINITE way to know, the slight physical differences are anecdotal, but the authors would advise considering a convergence of multiple clues instead of relying on one single clue. The best proof will always remain the source of the pressing.
1. If a record was from a radio station that received all its records as promotional efforts from the record companies, it is a pretty good start to have a reliable lineage to a release date. 2. If other records from the same station are also all 1963 pressings (e.g. the Dick James "Please Please me" or the Northern Songs "From Me To You", etc), it supports the theory of a first pressing. And if on top of that 3. the copy also aligns with the visual clues mentioned above, an interesting convergence of clues start emerging, pointing towards a reliable trace (but never certainty) indicating that it is in all likelihood a true 1963 pressing.
Also good to keep in mind: even a 1964 no dash copy is significantly rare and early enough in the Beatles Canadian journey to be historically significant and collectable.
Sleeve
Very first pressings were sent to radio stations across the country in a generic Capitol "Hot Stuff" promotional sleeve. Commercial stock copies sold in stores sold in a generic GLOSSY black Capitol sleeve:
Sales
Original first pressings were sent to radio stations across the country, although there were efforts to promote the new band, it gained very little traction in early 1963, having between only 78 and 140 copies sold in 1963 according to Paul White, head of A&R at Capitol of Canada (source: P. Hemmingsen, The Beatles’ Canadian Discography part. 3). It is not known if these numbers include or exclude radio station copies. Only later in 1964 when Beatlmania really took off, did Love Me Do start selling in significant numbers (around 50 000 copies in 1964).
Added to this 50 000 Canadian copies, a batch of 1964 copies were also exported to the USA (reportedly around 350 000 copies - a number the authors consider a little high when looking at matrix numbers), but whatever the number of exported copies, these were counted as USA sales and not Canadian sales. (source: P. Hemmingsen, The Beatles’ Canadian Discography part. 3)