A Hard Day's Night
(US Format)

Variation LP.3366.UA1.4 is recognized by its MONO BLUE labels. Released in in early 1965 when demand was high, Compo apparently ran out of red labels (usually used for mono UA releases), so they decided to switch to black labels they still had in stock (usually reserved for stereo UA releases)--LP.3366.UA1.3. When these also ran out, Compo reverted to another similar label, but blue (usually reserved for Warner releases). These were also made in small quantities and are quite hard to find today.

Availability

This rare blue label MONO variation was available only for a short time around early 1965 after stereo copies were introduced (we can see a trimmed stereo slick under the white back slick). The standard red label pressings (LP.3366.UA1.2) returned once the proper label stocks were replenished.

General Information

Album notes and technical information being sent from the USA, Canadian pressings had "I'll Cry Instead" written as "I Cry Instead". Blue label pressings also carried the same mistake. These rare pressings were only produced once, and for a short time, to avoid busting a tight deadline in a period of high demand.

Pressing Information

These records were pressed from the same masters as their red and black label mono counterparts and they therefore have the exact same matrix etchings in the trailoff area. Production of major orders (like The Beatles) was moved from Lachine to the new Cornwall plant that opened in 1963 around the time the album was issued. It is not known with certainty where this alternate variation was pressed; normally, the transition to Cornwall would have been completed, but as suggested by some collectors, both plants could have still been used to meet high demand and tight deadlines in early 1965.

It is important to keep in mind that although the cover artwork identifies the Lachine plant up until the 1970s, most copies (if not all) were actually pressed in Cornwall. LP.3366.UA1.4 pressings also has the same matrix etchings as previous variations:

Side 1: UAL-3366A-1F 1
Side 2: UAL-3366B-1H 1

Cover

Mono reissue pressings (LP.3366.UA1.2 and LP.3366.UA1.3) use a different cover construction type than the original 1964 LP.3366.UA1.1. Like its black label counterpart, this variation also used a stereo slick that was trimmed for mono copies and "tucked" under the white back slick, indicating they were produced AFTER stereo copies were introduced in early 1965. A trained eye can see the edge of the stereo slick under the white back slick.

There were five different jacket construction types (differentiated by the shape of the cardboard inner seam - where the parts of the cardboard frame are joined inside the jacket). This blue label variation (LP.3366.UA1.4) can be found with either the Version 3, or Version 4 configuration.

Version 1 – Straight-cut with rounded outer edges

Version 2 – Angled and curved inner seams

Version 3 – Narrow straight-cut inner seams

Version 4 – Seamless construction

Version 5 – Wide straight-cut inner seams

Otherwise, the artwork for this Canadian pressing includes a manufacturing notice indicating they suposedly were pressed at the Lachine Compo plant near Montreal. The black squared marker is found on all copies up until the 1970s, but it is highly unlikely that all copies of the album were pressed there (if any!). Most of the production would have been moved to the Cornwall plant, making the Lachine notice erroneous, or at most, true for a very short period of time.

Packaging

Copies of A Hard Day's Night were sealed in a thick loose poly bag wrapper.

The discs were not placed in a usual paper sleeve, but rather, they were housed in a very distinctive semicircle plastic inner sleeve:

Sales

Sales estimates projected that 200 000-250 000 mono copies were sold in Canada. Unfortunately, no official sales figures have been documented (like with Capitol sales numbers).