German Odeon Beatles Extended Play Releases

First Style Green Odeon

The Odeon green label EP's appear in two different styles. The first of these styles, shown above, features the following print around the rim of the label:

ALLE HERSTELLER. UND URHEBERRECHTE VORBEHALTEN
ÜBERSPIELUNG
ÖFFENTLICHE AUFFÜHRUNG UND RUNDFUNKSENDUNG UNTERSAGT

For the benefit of non-German-speaking people, I refer to these as the "Alle" issues. Records with "Alle" as the first word of the rim print were issued by German Odeon until mid-1966. EP's from 1964-1967 normally feature an LP-size label. Since this label is "too large" for the space alloted to it on a 45, the label is glued over the top of the EP's "ridges". Earlier EP's are found in mono. Later EP's appear in stereo, with "STEREO" in black on a white rectangle. Those EP's which were originally issued on the "Alle" label are as follows:

Catalog Number Title Value
O 41-560 The Beatles (Twist and Shout + 3; 06/63) $200
O 41-598 The Beatles Hits (Love Me Do + 3; 09/63) $200
O 41-627 Beatles' Sound (Roll Over Beethoven + 3; 02/64) $200
O 41-638 Long Tall Sally (08/64) $200
O 41-641 Beatles' Songs (Hard Day's Night + 3; 09/64) $200
O 41-647 Beatles' Voice (I'm Happy Just to Dance... + 3; 10/64) $200
SMO 41-668 Beatles' Music (No Reply + 3; 04/65) $150
SMO 41-680 Beatles Forever (Dizzy Miss Lizzie + 3; 10/65) $150
SMO 41-681 Beatles' Soul (Michelle + 3; 03/66) $150

Second Style Green Odeon

In mid-1966, the rim print was changed on all Odeon releases to read:

URHEBER. UND LEISTUNGSSCHUTZRECHTE, BESONDERS VERVIELFÄLTIGUNG
(AUSSER ZUM PERSONLICHEN GEBRAUCH),
VERMIETUNG.
AUFF&220;HRUNG, SENDUNG, VORBEHALTEN

Again for the benefit of those who do not read German, I will call this the "Urheber" issue. EP's made from 1967 to 1969 are of the "Urheber" variety. The only EP to have come out originally in the Urheber style is Magical Mystery Tour. The word "stereo" on this EP is not found on a white rectangle.

Catalog Number Title Value
SMO 31-501/2 Magical Mystery Tour $75

As the reader will notice, Germany issued several EP's which have neither a British nor an American counterpart. As EP's proved to be unpopular, most of them did not sell extremely well, although they were (basically) reissued when Germany adopted the EEC numbering system in 1969. At that time, Magical Mystery Tour was renumbered as 1C029-615/6, but by 1972 Magical Mystery Tour was removed from the catalog and was replaced with the American-lineup LP.

German Polydor EP's

German Polydor was the Beatles' first label. As such, the Beatles released one EP in Germany before they were signed with Parlophone in England (or Odeon in Germany). German Polydor EP's released before early/mid-1964 were on an orange label with a scroll at the top. Later EP's appeared on a red Polydor label.

Catalog Number Title Value
EPH 21-485 Ya Ya + 3 (orange label; 09/62) $750
EPH 21-485 Ya Ya + 3 (red label) $750
EPH 21-610 My Bonnie + 3 (orange label; 07/63) $400
EPH 21-610 My Bonnie + 3 (red label) $200

NOTE: The Ya-Ya EP features only one song by the Beatles, the "first" version (or "original lyrics" version) of "Sweet Georgia Brown." That EP is one of the few places where the original Beatles-backed version of the song was released in the 1960's.

Back to Across the Universe

© 2001 Frank Daniels