She Loves You /
I'll Get You

This very first pressing of She Loves You has no dash and number and is extremely scarce today. Very few copies seem to have been produced (a defective pressing plate early in the process is the common understanding), and -2 copies were sold simultaneously on the day of release.

Availability

This first variation (45.72125.1.1) was the first version available, only so very early on in the initial batch of records in September 1963. The author of this archive has bought a set of records from a radio station in Québec City, which contained ALL Beatles first pressings (Decca My Bonnie, Love Me Do 1963, Please Please Me Dick James, From Me To You Northern Songs), and She Loves You was (already) a -2 copy. This leads the authors to determine that "no dash" (45.72125.1.1) and "-2" copies (45.72125.1.2) were issued at the same time and were both part of the initial offering in September 1963, making "no dash" copies extremely rare, with only a handful of copies to have been documented to date.

According to Piers Hemmingsen, an initial run of 1000 copies was pressed on September, out of which approximately 200 were sent to radio stations (source: capitol6000.com - see the link below the technical column on the right side of this page). This leads to think that possibly less than 200 "no dash" copies were produced (if all very first pressings were set aside for promotion) because some -2 copies were also already being used as promotional items before / on the day of release. In reality it's impossible to know for sure how many were produced before -2 copies were introduced. But one thing for sure, -2 copies were introduced from the very start and sent to radio stations alongside "no dash" copies when the single was released. "No dash" copies are therefore very scarce pressings that were distributed before the singles (or the band for that matter) became significantly popular, launching Beatlemania in Canada three months later.

General Information

This single was the fourth effort by Paul White to push the Beatles on the Canadian market. But this time around, the Beatles' success in the UK was felt here in Canada as well, and She Loves You was the first commercial success of the band in Canada (the first title to chart in Canada, reaching #5 in December, and shortly after, the No. 1 spot. (source: P. Hemmingsen, The Beatles’ Canadian Discography part. 1)). This record marks the Beatles gaining popularity in Canada.

It is important to keep in mind that She Love You did not chart at all for the first three months, and sales really picked up later in early 1964.

Pressing Information

This 45 was also dubbed from the UK single, like its predecessors. Copies with "no dash and number" are extremely scarce today, as very few copies seem to have been made -- not even enough to fulfill initial orders (which is why the "defective stamper" seems a likely explanation).

The stamper was quickly replaced with a -2 number to complete the initial batch of copies needed for the release (45.72125.1.2). It is not known how many copies were made before changing to -2, but only a handful of copies have been documented today. Even radio stations received -2 copies upon release. (see image below: a -2 copy found at CKMI station in Québec City, alongside other very first pressings of early Beatles releases).

Matrix numbers for all copies of 45.72125.1.1 are as follows:

Side A: 7XCE 17395
Side B: 7XCE 17396

Packaging

Commercial stock copies sold in stores were found in a generic GLOSSY black Capitol sleeve. Shortly after, repressings as early as December 1963 would have been sold in the thinner flat black Capitol sleeve (see 45.72125.1.2).

Sales

She Loves You did not chart upon release, but it reportedly sold well when it started receiving airplay in December of 1963 (20 000 copies reportedly sold in 1963) (source: P. Hemmingsen, The Beatles’ Canadian Discography part. 3) ; but of these 20 000 copies, only a small number (if any) were the true "no dash" copies (45.72125.1.1), most of them being -2 copies or higher. This record marks the Beatles gaining popularity in Canada well before they had any effect in the USA. Sales continued to grow in high numbers in 1964 (see 45.72125.1.2).

This 45 was not exported to the USA, so there were no "extra" big batches of copies produced like it was the case for Love Me Do.