Production Master Tapes

Inside EMI (Australia)’s once-vast archive of Beatles production masters—and what became of it
For decades, EMI (Australia) maintained an extensive library of production master tapes used to manufacture local Beatles and Beatles-related releases. This surviving 1981 inventory provides a rare snapshot of that archive: how the tapes were numbered, stored and sourced, and how many were later recalled, discarded or dispersed into private hands.
An example of one of many tape boxes stored within EMI (Australia)'s 301 Castlereagh St basement
The archive
Below is a list of all Beatles and Beatles-related production master tapes held by EMI (Australia) as at the end of 1981 (missing numbers relate to non-Beatles/non-Beatles related artists). The tapes were stored in the basement of EMI (Australia)'s 301 Castlereagh Street premises. The basement was not air-conditioned: climate control was facilitated by opening the stair doors or back door!

To visualise, tapes were predominantly 1/4" 15ips on 10.5" reels. All tapes (not just Beatles) were stored in about 15 rows of 10m long compactus, each with about 6 or so shelves. Studio tapes (2" masters of local acts) were stored separately in a smaller unit. Tape boxes had a light blue strip applied to the spine with the catalogue number or name of the artist handwritten in blue or black texta.

The tape numbering system commenced at the end of 1970. It did not apply to individual single or EP tapes (although there are examples of compiled tapes of both). The few singles tapes that existed had a single shelf to themselves.

Tapes were sorted by label, which for Beatles and Beatles-related meant PARLOphone, CAPitol, HMV and COLumbia. Digital masters were not part of this numbering system and were stored separately at EMI (Australia)'s Homebush factory.

You'll notice only two sets of mono tapes remained; they were sourced from Abbey Road back in 1964 to cut the Aussie mono releases of A Hard Day's Night and Beatles For Sale. All other mono production master tapes were purged over the years as redundant.

Commencing in the early 1970s, EMI (Australia) would secure tapes from both EMI UK and Capitol US, even for the same title.

By the late 1980s, most of the production master tapes had been relocated to the old factory area at Homebush. Around this time, EMI UK issued a recall for Beatles (analogue) production master tapes that existed across its worldwide subsidiaries. EMI (Australia) dutifully responded, sending an unknown number of tapes "back home".

When EMI (Australia) closed Homebush at the end of 1990, the tapes were moved to EMI (Australia)'s cassette factory at Silverwater. However, not all tapes made the move. EMI (Australia) decided that production master copies of international acts that had been deleted from the catalogue were considered expendable, and thus about two shipping containers' worth of production masters were sent to the tip. This included analogue Beatles tapes that were not sent to EMI UK as per their recall request. And, despite some effort to sort through the tapes, it's believed the cull also included obscure/old Australian artists.

EMI (Australia) later outsourced the remaining storage to a private storage company. Again, not all tapes made the move with many more ending up at the tip.

It's evident that not all the discarded tapes ended their life as landfill. A number of tapes ended up in private hands. Indeed, in recent years more than a handful have found their way to international auction houses, selling for thousands of dollars each.

Please view each album page for individual master tape details.
Tape No. Title Notes
PARLO
4-7 All Things Must Pass Cassette version only
73-74 A Hard Day's Night Mono
75-76 A Hard Day's Night Stereo
80-81 Beatles For Sale Mono
82-83 Beatles For Sale Stereo
84-85 Help!
89 The Beatles Greatest Hits Vol 1 Both sides
90 The Beatles Greatest Hits Vol 2 Both sides
99 EPs
101 A Collection of Beatles Oldies Destroyed ~1982
123-124 Wonderwall Music
157-158 A Collection Of Beatles Oldies
159 Revolver Both sides
171-172 John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band
176-177 Ram
179-182 The Beatles
191-192 Imagine
195 Hey Jude! Both sides
200-201 Wild Life
207-208 Let It Be
209-210 McCartney
221-222 Please Please Me
223-224 Help!
225-226 With The Beatles
236-239 Sometime In New York City
240-241 Abbey Road
248-249 Magical Mystery Tour Both WRC and EMI UK tapes
252-253 Rubber Soul
254-255 Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
262-263 Hey Jude!
266-267 Yellow Submarine
283-286 The Beatles 1962-1966
287-290 The Beatles 1967-1970
291-292 Red Rose Speedway
293-294 Living In The Material World
308-309 Ringo
315-316 Mind Games
317-318 Band On The Run
363-364 Walls And Bridges US tapes
379-380 Dark Horse
381-382 Rock 'N' Roll
386-387 Venus And Mars US tapes
392-393 Please Please Me
394-395 Goodnight Vienna
398-399 Extra Texture (Read All About It) UK and US sets with these numbers
403-404 Shaved Fish US tapes
407 Blast From Your Past US tapes - both sides
413-414 Wings At The Speed Of Sound UK and US sets with these numbers
419-422 Rock 'N' Roll Music UK and US sets with these numbers
427-428 The Best Of George Harrison US tapes
435-440 Wings Over America UK and US sets with these numbers
454-455 Hollywood Bowl UK and US sets with these numbers
468-469 Love Songs
476-477 London Town
506-507 Rarities (UK)
510-511 Beatles For Sale
512-513 Wings Greatest UK and US sets with these numbers
528 Rubber Soul Both sides
536-537 Back To The Egg
544-545 Rarities (US)
546-547 McCartney II
548-549 The Essential Beatles
552-553 EPs
557-572 The Beatles Box
573 Lennon/Ono singles From 1980
574 A Hard Day's Night Soundtrack Both sides
575-576 The Beatles Ballads
CAP
2028-2029 The Beatles Story
HMV
3531 Salute To British Rock
3728-3731 Made In Britain
COL
3327-3328 Thrillington
4554 Rock 'N' Roll Heaven