← Beatles Albums Released in Canada

Beatles UK Blue Box Sets
(Imported UK pressings)

Between 1978 and 1988, "The Beatles Collection" blue box set was sold in most Europeean countries (+ Australia / New Zealand and Japan) as "the definitive set", being countries that had been following the not-yet-standardized catalogue of UK albums from the start (plus "the UK "Rarities" album). Box sets featured local pressings of the country it was sold in.

A unique special mono black box version was indeed created for the USA as a collector's piece (which included imported UK pressings of the time along with the different US promo version of the blue cover Rarities - SPRO 8969), but no regular blue box set was prepared in the USA since the US catalogue was vastly different.

Similarly, no Canadian pressing of the blue box sets exists, but Capitol of Canada did officially import sets into the country - these have a white "IMPORTED BY" sticker inside the opening flap, or on the back of the box. The LP box has been imported, as well as the tapes set that features a "BB 104" sticker. Both LP and Cassette sets have been imported, and in later years (1985-1988), the album selection has changed at times to include Canadian tapes instead of the UK Rarities (e.g. Hey Jude and Magical Mystery Tour inlay color pressing from 1985) -- keep in mind these sets were available before the advent of Beatles CDs on the market. The Singles box set was also officially imported, with a "BB 107" sitcker.

Also of interest: The Beatles "EP" Collection on vinyl (blue box) does not seem to have been officially imported like the albums and singles sets, and although the USA issued CD versions in 1992 (once the catalogue was standardized), Canada never produced these sets domestically either, and although US copies were available here, they were not specially marked, like the blue box vinyl sets from the UK, which is why no special entry was created in this archive for the Singles and EP CD sets.