Hey, Jude!

Pressing & Mastering

First Issued	Side 1	Side 2	Parts
23-Apr-70	YEEX 150-1	YEEX 151-1	UK
82	✎YEEX 150/ 2PX 750-2 749-2 AP	✎YEEX 151/ 2PX 750-2 AP	AU

Sleeve Information

Code	Circulated	Comments
AU1	Apr-70	Non-flipback sleeve. Initial sleeves were front AND back laminated

Overview
In April 1970, EMI (Australia) added the American-conceived Hey, Jude! compilation to its catalogue. Because it was outside the core British LP sequence, the Australian release received a local 7500-series number, PCSO 7560.

Its manufacture nevertheless had a British connection. Australian records used UK-export mothers, as did Britain’s CPCS-106 edition, making this the only UK-export album title issued locally by EMI (Australia). The shared origin is not mentioned on the sleeve and is consequently less widely recognised than it might be.

That connection matters when assessing early Australian copies. They derive from the same lacquer as the British export records and can offer equivalent sound without the premium attached to a UK pressing. The original page’s comparison—hundreds of dollars for a British copy against Australian examples found for as little as AU$20—illustrates the potential difference in collecting costs.

Identifying an original requires attention, however. A 1980 Apple pressing can superficially resemble one from 1970, a situation also encountered with Abbey Road and Let It Be. Early sleeves are glossier and laminated on both front and rear, whereas later sleeves appear matt. Original records are also thicker and heavier than the later thin “Harris” vinyl, sometimes likened to a wobbleboard. Early copies are particularly valued for their sound.

The World Record Club offered the album to members in mid-1983 under catalogue number (R) 91931. An example is illustrated below.