Love Me Do /
P.S. I Love You

45.72076.1.3 is the common later repressings found between mid 1964 and mid 1966. Some copies were even pressed for export purposes to the USA. This is the most common swirl variation. Labels for 45.72076.1.3 are the same as previous variations, but the matrix numbers have a dash and number.

Availability

This third variation (45.72076.1.3) reflects the fact that RCA kept pressing copies and replacing plates as much as needed, adding a "dash and number" after the matrix numbers in the dead wax (-3, -4 etc.). Copies up to -7 can be found. In this sense, copies with -2,3 are most likely from mid-late 1964, while higher dash numbers (-4,5) were probably pressed closer to 1965, and late dash numbers (-6,-7) possibly even in early 1966.

General Information

These later pressings were issued as needed between 1964 and mid 1966, and copies up to -7 have been documented. There are rumors of a later "brackets Swirl" reissue, but this has never been confirmed to date (these would be numbered 45.72076.2.1 if they exist).

Pressing Information

45.72076.1.3 was cut from new lacquers and have an added "dash and number" to the original matrix number. These pressings have a much smaller size marking than original pressings:

Side A: 7XCE 17144-7
Side B: 7XCE 17145-5

Sleeve

1964 copies (until 1966) were sold in a generic THIN FLAT black Capitol sleeve:

Sales

Sales of original first pressings were insignificant. 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, approximately 350 000 copies were reportedly also exported to the USA in 1964 (source: P. Hemmingsen, The Beatles’ Canadian Discography) (these numbers need to be confirmed since they difficultly align with matrix numbers; see next paragraph), and although they only would have counted as USA sales, they do count in today's collector's market, expanding the pool of existing copies beyond the Canadian sales numbers.

A word on sales numbers and manufacturing quantities

It seems that in many cases, the logical matrix number sequences found or records do not align with reported sales (i.e., reported sales are not always consequent with numbers of manufactured copies, according to matrix information). It is believed that in the 1960s, up to 10 000 copies could be pressed from a single stamper before being worn out and replaced (and some numbers are even more conservative, at around 2000 copies).

Technically, every time a part was replaced, a dash and number were added to the matrix, indicating it was a new generation of parts. In the sense, a record would have an added "dash and number" at every 10 000 copies (if the part was good for that long). So again, following this logic, a -2 would be a record in the 10K-20K copies range, and so on. Similarly, a record sold at 100 000 copies would see masters up to approximately -10.

Reality is always a little different, and below are possible explanations why matrix numbers could be different from expected numbers, and therefore misalign with matrix numbers:

• 1. Records of sales / memory and recollections can be incomplete or skewed
• 2. Stampers broke or wore out earlier than expected
• 3. Older stampers were re-used later

Below is a representation of the different steps required to press a record. Terminology changes from one plant to another, but the gist of it remains valid:
Lacquer > Metal Master(s) (or Father) > Metal Mother(s) > Stamper(s).

The million-dollar question is "which part of the process saw an updated matrix (-2)?": The stamper? (Every 10 000 copies), the Mother (every 100 000 copies if a mother produces 10 stampers), or the lacquer producing multiple mothers? (i.e., even more identical copies).

This would imply two other possible explanations:

• 4. Matrix numbers only changed on lacquers (and therefore on the Father producing multiple mothers)
• 5. A single mother produces many IDENTICAL stampers (without no added -2 number)

These last two seem to be the most plausible explanation, especially when looking at singles with official sales figures that have kept very low matrix numbers (like All My Loving, 45.72144.1.1, for example) - this would account for higher reported numbers without having the high matrix numbers that would reflect the reported quantity of discs pressed. In any case, the estimated numbers presented here do not always align with the records matrix numbers as we understand them and the various factors above need to be considered when exploring the different ranges of sales / pressed copies.

**IMPORTANT NOTE**
In the case of the three exported records (Love Me Do, All My Loving and Twist And Shout), the 350 000 number seems high, where only points 4 and 5 above could explain these numbers. The estimation could also possibly have been an error from a more realistic 35 000 number. Then again, sources for these numbers have usually been very reliable, so this needs to be validated.

For the case of LOVE ME DO, the authors would rather be comfortable with numbers in the range of 50 000 copies for Canada and 20 000-30 000 copies prepared for export to the USA - this would stay within a logical -7 range of copies, as the numbering system is currently understood, i.e., an added dash and number when a part was replaced by a newer one.