A Hard Day's Night
(US Format)

LP.6366.UA6.1 features a completely new label design. The Sunrise label was also the last of the UA labels used with A Hard Day's Night. This variation has the first of two Sunrise variations, featuring the "CAPITOL RECORDS-EMI" perimeter print, identical to the 2nd generation purple labels (see LP.11921.10.1). The UA Sunrise and Capitol Purple label variations have an unexplained overlap (logically, either LP.11921.10.1 or LP.6366.UA7.1 should not have been used in the natural sequence of label evolution).

Availability

This first Sunrise pressing would have been available between March 1979 and Mid 1980, after which the perimeter print was updated to "Under License" (see LP.6366.UA7.1).

General Information

EMI had still not yet acquired United Artists, but pressing operations had been moved to Capitol's Mississauga pressing plant a while back. This new label design was the last to be offered on A Hard Day's Night before the album was officially transferred under Capitol Records in 1980.

The transition from the sunrise to the Capitol purple label is quite puzzling because it does not follow the logical order of label evolution. At first glance, it would seem that (having the same perimeter prints), the sunrise and purple labels were available at the same time, in both label generations. But it seems unlikely that Capitol would have reissued the album on UA once it had acquired the rights to the album and released it on its own label with a different catalogue number. The back and forth between the two labels therefore seems unlikely. All in all, there is one variation too many to follow the natural sequence of label designs (if either LP.11921.10.1 or LP.6366.UA7.1 had not been used, the logical sequence would be clear).

The authors see two possible explanations: either 1) the two labels were curiously available simultaneously during a transition period from UA to Capitol (which seems unlikely), which would mean the sunrise and purple labels "alternated" twice between 1978 and 1980, or...

2) a more logical (non-alternating) timeline would mean that earlier 2nd generation purple labels were mistakenly used when the labels had already been updated to the "Under License" perimeter print. This would also mean that the first official Capitol reissue happened slightly later than the previously estimated 1978-1980 period (i.e., in the Fall of 1980, after the "Under License" perimeter text had been introduced in mid to late 1980).

This remains to be officially confirmed, more information on this transition would be appreciated, but the authors tend to lean towards option 2. The oddball pressing would be the first purple incarnation (LP.11921.10.1), explaining the very few copies that surface today, compared to the other variations.

The theory is further supported by the fact that some collectors have reported seeing A Hard Day's Night still available on the second sunrise label in 1980 while the rest of the Beatles' catalogue was being pressed and sold on Capitol's purple label (3rd generation). One could also add the fact that the matrix numbers are completely different on purple label pressings, and the I Cry Instead mistake was corrected only on the Capitol reissues (e.g., when Capitol gained the rights to UA).

It therefore seems unlikely that leftover sunrise labels would have been reused on these new Capitol pressings; if it was the case, these sunrise pressings would carry the new matrix numbers, the new 11921 number and the corrected I'll Cry Instead title--they do not.

Pressing Information

This pressing is made from the same Captiol master as the previous variation on the Tan label, and features similar matrix etchings (minus the superscript "2"), :

Side 1: UAS-6366-A
Side 2: UAS-6366-B

Cover

The jacket is the same posterboard as the previous Tan label pressing. The images were printed directly on the cardboard frame instead of a pasted slick, with its long left-aligned legal text at the bottom of the back cover. It also featured the same mistake smudge above the word "Ontario" on the right side. This smudge in the printing master was carried until the mid 1980s.

Packaging

These tan label pressings were wrapped in a tight shrink wrap, and the discs were housed in a plain paper inner sleeve.