A HARD DAY'S NIGHT
Parlophone PMCO 1230 / PCSO 3058
Released 3 September 1964
Original recommended retail price: 52/6
Released in Australia on 3 September 1964, A Hard Day’s Night was The Beatles’ third Australian LP and the first of a short run of albums locally mastered by EMI (Australia) from tape copies supplied by EMI UK.
Labels & Related Material
AULP1230YBM
September 1964
AULP3058BS
September 1964
AULP1230NZCB
AULP3058NZCB
1967/68
AULP3058YBS
February 1969
AULP3058OA
Q3 1969
AULP3058OC
Early 1979
AULP3058NZCC
January-June 1981
AULP3058SBA
April 1982
AULP3058SBB
July 1987
Tracks
Same tracks as UK release
Pressing & Mastering

Format

First Issued

Side 1

Side 2

Parts

Mono

3-Sep-64

✎XAPAX 49

✎XAPAX 50

AU

Mono

64

✎XAPAX 49-2

✎XAPAX 50-2

AU

Mono

64

✎XAPAX 549-3

✎XAPAX 50-3

AU

Stereo

3-Sep-64

✎YAPAX 1001

✎YAPAX 1002

AU

Stereo

79

YAPAX 1001-2

YAPAX 1002-2

AU

Mono

19-Dec-88

✎PCSO 3058D-A

PB EMIDISC - DMM

✎PCSO 3058D-B

PB EMIDISC DMM

AU
Sleeve Information

Code

Circulated

Comments

AU1

Sep-64

Mono + stereo catalogue numbers; flipback sleeve; rear footer left justified

AU2

65/66

Mono + stereo catalogue numbers; flipback sleeve; rear footer centred

AU3

69

Mono + stereo catalogue numbers; non-flipback sleeve; bottom left corner of John photo missing. Narrower gap between lines 2 & 3 on rear footer

AU4

Dec-69

Stereo catalogue number only; non-flipback sleeve. New rear footer

AU5

~72

'Damaged' photos on rear

AU6

Jun-80

As per A5 but 'repaired' photos

AU7

Dec-88

"DIGITALLY REMASTERED" footer on rear cover
Overview
A Hard Day’s Night introduced a new stage in the Australian manufacture of albums by The Beatles. The first two LPs had been pressed from British metal parts; this time, EMI UK supplied tape copies and EMI (Australia) undertook the mastering itself.

It was the first of three consecutive albums cut locally from British tapes, followed by Beatles For Sale and Help!. From Rubber Soul, EMI (Australia) returned to imported UK metal parts.

The local mastering history began with -1/-1 matrices, followed relatively quickly by a -2/-2 recut. Why another cut was required so soon remains unknown, as does the reason that the -2/-2 version was itself short-lived before being replaced by -3/-3.

All Australian pressings carry the wording SONGS FROM THE FILM “A HARD DAY’S NIGHT” on both labels. The sleeves, however, show an unusually large number of small variations, all confined to the rear cover; the table above identifies them. Around 1972, several rear-cover photographs began appearing with visible damage in their reproduction. They were retouched in 1980, as illustrated in the example below.

The 1988 digitally remastered edition added another distinction. Its recording was mono, matching the contemporary CD, but its catalogue number remained within the stereo numbering system.