Japan discography

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The Beatles' records in Japan were released on the Odeon label, owned by Toshiba. The LPs, singles and EPs were initially released on both red and black vinyl, with the red variants reportedly offering particularly good sound quality. They are particularly sought-after by audiophiles, and are considerably rarer than the black vinyl versions - red vinyl signifies first pressings of a release.

Interestingly, The Beatles' first two UK albums, Please Please Me and With The Beatles, weren't issued until the group toured in Japan in 1966, although songs from each were released there from 1964 onwards.

The Japanese LPs also came with a thin obi strip wrapped around the cover, which were often discarded by teenagers keen to hear the music as soon as possible. As such, the rarity offers collectors a challenge, as does the variety of different obi strips for individual pressings of each release.

Furthermore, the early 1960s Japanese LPs were adorned with half-obi strips. These, like the full ones which replaced them in the mid-1960s, are often faked by unscrupulous record sellers.

The LPs also came with a lyric sheet in both English and Japanese. The singles, meanwhile, were issued in picture sleeves. EP covers came with either liner notes in Japanese, or photographs of the group, and always came with a lyric sheet.

Odeon were slow to catch onto the Beatles phenomenon. However, they made up for lost time by issuing a total of nine singles within the first week of May 1964. A further six singles were released on the same day on 5 February 1965. Otherwise, it's worth noting a tendency to issue records on the 5th, 10th or 15th of the month.

Albums

Meet The Beatles
5 April 1964
Odeon OR 7041

I Want To Hold Your Hand
She Loves You
From Me To You
Twist And Shout
Love Me Do
Baby It's You
Don't Bother Me
Please Please Me
I Saw Her Standing There
PS I Love You
Little Child
All My Loving
Hold Me Tight
Please Mister Postman

The Beatles' Second Album
5 June 1964
Odeon OR 7058

Can't Buy Me Love
Do You Want To Know A Secret
Thank You Girl
A Taste Of Honey
It Won't Be Long
I Wanna Be Your Man
There's A Place
Roll Over Beethoven
Misery
Boys
Devil In Her Heart
Not A Second Time
Money (That's What I Want)
Till There Was You

The Beatles' Second Album artwork - Japan

A Hard Day's Night
5 September 1964
Odeon OP 7123

A Hard Day's Night
I Should Have Known Better
If I Fell
I'm Happy Just To Dance With You
And I Love Her
Tell Me Why
Can't Buy Be Love
Any Time At All
I'll Cry Instead
Things We Said Today
When I Get Home
You Can't Do That
I'll Be Back

A Hard Day's Night album artwork - Japan

Beatles For Sale
15 March 1965
Odeon OP 7179

No Reply
I'm A Loser
Baby's In Black
Rock And Roll Music
I'll Follow The Sun
Mr Moonlight
Kansas City/Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey!
Eight Days A Week
Words Of Love
Honey Don't
Every Little Thing
I Don't Want To Spoil The Party
What You're Doing
Everybody's Trying To Be My Baby

Beatles No. 5
5 May 1965
Odeon OR 7103

Long Tall Sally
Sie Liebt Dich
Anna (Go To Him)
Matchbox
You Really Got A Hold On Me
She's A Woman
Ask Me Why
I Feel Fine
Komm, Gib Mir Deine Hand
Chains
Slow Down
All I've Got To Do
I Call Your Name
This Boy

Help!
15 September 1965
Odeon OP 7387

Help!
The Night Before
You've Got To Hide Your Love Away
I Need You
Another Girl
You're Going To Lose That Girl
Ticket To Ride
Act Naturally
It's Only Love
You Like Me Too Much
Tell Me What You See
I've Just Seen A Face
Yesterday
Dizzy Miss Lizzy

Rubber Soul
15 March 1966
Odeon OP 7450

Drive My Car
Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)
You Won't See Me
Nowhere Man
Think For Yourself
The Word
Michelle
What Goes On
Girl
I'm Looking Through You
In My Life
Wait
If I Needed Someone
Run For Your Life

Please Please Me
25 May 1966
Odeon OP 7548

I Saw Her Standing There
Misery
Anna (Go To Him)
Chains
Boys
Ask Me Why
Please Please Me
Love Me Do
PS I Love You
Baby It's You
Do You Want To Know A Secret
A Taste Of Honey
There's A Place
Twist And Shout

With The Beatles
30 May 1966
Odeon OP 7549

It Won't Be Long
All I've Got To Do
All My Loving
Don't Bother Me
Little Child
Till There Was You
Please Mister Postman
Roll Over Beethoven
Hold Me Tight
You Really Got A Hold On Me
I Wanna Be Your Man
Devil In Her Heart
Not A Second Time
Money (That's What I Want)

The Beatles' Story
5 August 1966
Odeon OP 7553/4

On Stage With The Beatles
How Beatlemania Began
Beatlemania In Action
Man Behind The Beatles - Brian Epstein
John Lennon
Who's A Millionaire?
Beatles Will Be Beatles
Man Behind The Music - George Martin
George Harrison
A Hard Day's Night - Their First Movie
Paul McCartney
Sneaky Haircuts And More About Paul
The Beatles Look At Life
'Victims' Of Beatlemania
Beatle Medley
Ringo Starr
Liverpool And All the World!