Discogs and Black Plastic Records will sell nearly 1,300 rare Beatles records from a private collection built over decades by one devoted fan. The sale begins Oct. 30 at 9 a.m. ET through Discogs Drops, a series of curated collections from the music platform. Black Plastic Records, an independent record store in Dortmund, Germany, acquired the collection from the collector’s estate.
Little is known about the original collector, who sought out original pressings, rare singles and unusual editions released in different countries. The collection centers on Beatles recordings from the United Kingdom and continental Europe. Black Plastic Records spent time identifying and cataloging the records ahead of the sale.
Among the highlights is a 1963 promotional pressing of Please Please Me, one of an estimated 250 copies produced for British radio stations. The collection also includes an early promotional copy of “From Me to You,” the group’s first No. 1 hit in the UK, and an original 1963 UK mono first pressing of Please Please Me with the black-and-gold Parlophone label. Another notable piece is a 1968 pressing of The Beatles (White Album) with the Parlophone label instead of the more familiar Apple Records design.
Photo via Black Plastic
A 1970 UK box set edition of Let It Be is also part of the sale, complete with its original slipcase, interior tray and book of photographs from the recording sessions. Few copies have survived with all of those components intact. Hundreds of international releases round out the collection, including singles and albums issued in countries such as France, Italy and Sweden with different artwork, song combinations and labels.
“You don’t end up with thirteen hundred Beatles records by accident,” said Russ Ryan, Discogs’ director of seller experience. He said the company’s job is to get the records into the right hands around the world. Valentin Gube, co-founder and co-owner of Black Plastic Records, said finding rare Beatles records in good condition gets harder every year, and called offering the collection in its entirety “a true honor.”
The records will be available exclusively through Discogs for the first ten days of the sale. In-store browsing and pickup will also be available at Black Plastic Records in Dortmund, Germany.
Discogs describes itself as the world’s largest music discovery and record collecting platform. Black Plastic Records is an independent record store based in Dortmund, Germany.
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