"Introducing the Beatles" -- The Never-Ending Counterfeits

I'm amazed at just how many times this LP was counterfeited throughout the '70s. I mainly picked up a copy because it was the only place to get "Misery" and "There's A Place" on a piece of vinyl in the US. Do you think that was the major cause of its popularity at the time? Do you think if Capitol had, say, fit those two tracks onto "The Early Beatles" LP, there would have been no demand by the '70s?

 

I think the main reasons for all the Beatlegs of "Introducing The Beatles" was because of all the label/cover variations plus the fact that VeeJay went bankrupt in the mid-1960s. It was popular because people thought they were buying a collectible record when they were actually buying poor quality counterfeits. Having those 2 tracks on the album probably helped sell product too.

 

No I think it would have sold anyway. You couldn't go in a grocery store back in the 70s without seeing these boots. They were cheap and easily accessible.

 

I think it was just an easy one to duplicate because VeeJay had basically gone out of business and the collectors market was just starting. It was an easy sleeve to copy and there were enough variations in the original release that it was hard to detect a real copy from a counterfeit. Remember this was before all the books etc. about pressings and all the little details that are common knowledge today. I bought a few copies that I knew were non-legit because they were done either very nicely or in 2 cases extremely bad. The ones I got were very cheap but I'm glad I still have them.

 

I have a counterfeit ITB. It falls in the "extremely bad" category. It was free though.

 

When I was 12, a friend's mom had a copy of "ITB" that I think he let me borrow for a few days. I tried to convince him to get his mom to sell it to me, but that didn't fly.

Ever since I found out about the album's history, I've wondered if she had a legit copy or a boot. Given her age - I figure she was probably born in the 1940s - I'd assume she got her album in the 60s, but we'll never know!

 

My first copy of this Lp skipped in places,Like on "Misery", "Anna"and "Boys",leading me to believe Woolworth's,who'd sold it to me,had no idea this was a Boot! And,it was on the "Rainbow" label..That alone should have tipped me off it was NOT Legal!

 

The counterfeiting began in 1964.
As you should know, Capitol passed on releasing their first album "Please Please Me", so Epstein and Martin found an American label that would, Vee-Jay. It bombed. Then came their second album, which Capitol was finally convinced to give it a try, and with their big publicity machine, and the Ed Sullivan show, it shot to number one. Smelling more money, Capitol searched for back-catalog material they could also release, and notified Vee-Jay they were exercising their legal right to the first LP, and VJ was pressing new copies of "Introducing..." as fast as Capitol was pressing "Meet...". The short version is that VJ had to turn over the master tapes, stampers and cover art slicks, but they could sell everything in their warehouse. Well, the warehouse never ran out of copies (and copies may be the operative word here). Does your obviously un-original copy of "Introducing..." sound like it was made from another copy? VJ never admitted to doing such a thing, but this duck sure quacked a lot.

 

i had a copy of this i picked up a second hand in the eraly 90's beause at that time it wasn't common in these parts. I sold it 10 or so years later to a dealer who after going over it several times thought the cover was definately legit but the vinyl inside not!

 

There were fakes back then too!

 

Then I guess we'll REALLY never know!

 

Actually "Introducing...." was NOT released at all until January 1964. The album was indeed ready for a mid-1963 release, but then Vee-Jay ran into some "creative accounting" problems and shelved the album.

 

Listen for skips...That's a Dead Giveaway that it's a Boot,since those came from Lp dubs,not from Mastertapes! Also listen to hear if it has a tinny sound,as most "Beatlegs",as they'd called them then had..That's also a Tell-Tale sign,too!

 

Since I've not had contact with the friend whose mother owned the album in 33 years, I think it'd be hard for me to play it...

 

It was cheaper

I got my copy in late 1976. It was in the budget section for $1.99 while the regular priced lps were about $5.99. My cover says Stereo but it's mono and pretty lo-fi. Got my copy of Let It Be around the same time for $3.99 I think. Had the gatefold cover but the cover was very dark and grainy. It was in stereo but sounded muddy.

 

ITB

I have a few real ones, a few fakes, and one sealed one. The sealed one is a counterfeit for sure, but I can't bring myself to open it. Weird, as I know it's not of any huge value!

 

Here are mine:



I'm too lazy to sit down and figure out if any are legit. Obviously, the brown border and stereophonics are fakes. One of them belonged to my (much older) brother and purchased in 1964, so there's a chance...

 

You should take the time - some of the legit ones are extremely valuable! The site below is a great resource:

http://www.eskimo.com/~bpentium/beatles/intro/intro.html

 

My mom has a counterfeit.

The only noticeable thing is that the dropshadow behind George isn't there. Still sounds okay though, albeit with lots of pops and crackles. She must have worn that sucker out

Yeah, they weren't on Vee-Jay's priority list since their singles had flopped. But again, there wasn't any huge promotion from them at all. As soon as Capitol was making a profit, they decided to pump out Introducing The Beatles at lightning speed. And of course ... when the Vee-Jay's rights expired in Oct '64, Capitol was looking into a rehash reissue of their own. Typical, isn't it?

 

Basically on the real ones the patterns on the collars are clear.

 

I have a friend at work who claims she bought a copy of ITB in 1964.
I told her it could have some value (or be worthless).
She said she would check it out.
There's always this site...

http://www.eskimo.com/~bpentium/beatles/intro/intro.html

Darryl

 

According to Mark Lewison's Liners on "The Capitol Albums,Vol. 2" It was issued the day before Capitol issued "Meet the Beatles!",and they (EMI) weren't real thrilled about Vee-Jay's timing,so,they sued them for license...they were told Vee-Jay could issue it until 1965,in the agreement/Settlement..So,Vee-Jay might have,in that time period,pressed more Lps during that grace period.

 

got an original MONO for a dime at a local thrift shop...album was VG and I have the cover on the wall...my favorite Beatles cover.

 

I had the VJ album before MTB...but, I could swear it was much earlier than a day?

 

I have this version: VJ 1062 (2).MC1C "Please, Please Me" with comma / number "2" on back cover $100