A Hard Day's Night: The L.P.

 Canada Dry poster "A Hard Day's Night" free tickets contest 

As Beatlemania gained strength in early 1964 it was no surprise that a Beatles movie was in the works.  Elvis set the standard starring in 14 movies which by 1964 had generated millions of dollars in ticket and record sales.  A Beatles' movie was quickly planned to cash in before the band's popularity waned. 

The soundtrack L.P. was released in July, 1964, and the movie was released in Canada in August, 1964.

The 1964 Canadian LP was initially released in mono and came with a red, blue or black label.  The red and blue labels are more common while the black label which was only used when the red and blue ran out, is harder to find.

Original blue label mono.

In 1965 the LP was released in stereo with a black label.  Of all the early issues the stereo black label is the hardest to find.

Harder to find stereo issue

Between 1971 and 1978 the L.P. was released by United artists on a tan label and for one year only, 1978, it was issued by United artists on what is called the "sunrise" label. 

In 1971-1972 the L.P. was issued on the tan label by the Record Club of Canada and noted so on the back cover: "FOR SALE THROUGH THE RECORD CLUB OF CANADA ONLY" 

From 1978 through the last pressing in 1987 the L.P. was issued by Capitol with a purple Capitol label and then on the retro rainbow label.

Values for original 1964/65 issues in excellent or better condition vary greatly.  In 2019 a rare sealed original mono issue sold for $600.  The scarcer original stereo issue sold for $90. Original mono issues with a red, blue or black label sell in the $60 to $140 range. The "Record Club Only" pressing sells for around $50.  The short lived 1978 re-issue on the "sunrise" label has a value of around $30.  Sealed 1979 - 1987 re-issues on Capitol labels fetch around $40.