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
5 April 1964
Odeon OR 7041
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
5 June 1964
Odeon OR 7058
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
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
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
5 May 1965
Odeon OR 7103
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
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
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
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
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)
5 August 1966
Odeon OP 7553/4
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!
Eleanor Rigby
I'm Only Sleeping
Love You To
Here, There And Everywhere
Yellow Submarine
She Said She Said
Good Day Sunshine
And Your Bird Can Sing
For No One
Doctor Robert
I Want To Tell You
Got To Get You Into My Life
Tomorrow Never Knows
5 February 1967
Odeon OP 8016
From Me to You
We Can Work It Out
Help!
Michelle
Yesterday
I Feel Fine
Yellow Submarine
Can't Buy Me Love
Bad Boy
Day Tripper
A Hard Day's Night
Ticket To Ride
Paperback Writer
Eleanor Rigby
I Want To Hold Your Hand
With A Little Help From My Friends
Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds
Getting Better
Fixing A Hole
She's Leaving Home
Being For The Benefit Of Mr Kite!
Within You Without You
When I'm Sixty-Four
Lovely Rita
Good Morning Good Morning
Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)
A Day In The Life
The Fool On The Hill
Flying
Blue Jay Way
Your Mother Should Know
I Am The Walrus
Hello, Goodbye
Strawberry Fields Forever
Penny Lane
Baby You're A Rich Man
All You Need Is Love
Dear Prudence
Glass Onion
Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da
Wild Honey Pie
The Continuing Story Of Bungalow Bill
While My Guitar Gently Weeps
Happiness Is A Warm Gun
Martha My Dear
I'm So Tired
Blackbird
Piggies
Rocky Raccoon
Don't Pass Me By
Why Don't We Do It In The Road?
I Will
Julia
Birthday
Yer Blues
Mother Nature's Son
Everybody's Got Something To Hide Except Me And My Monkey
Sexy Sadie
Helter Skelter
Long, Long, Long
Revolution 1
Honey Pie
Savoy Truffle
Cry Baby Cry
Revolution 9
Good Night
Only A Northern Song
All Together Now
Hey Bulldog
It's All Too Much
All You Need Is Love
Pepperland
Sea Of Time
Sea Of Holes
Sea Of Monsters
March Of The Meanies
Pepperland Laid Waste
Yellow Submarine In Pepperland
Something
Maxwell's Silver Hammer
Oh! Darling
Octopus's Garden
I Want You (She's So Heavy)
Here Comes The Sun
Because
You Never Give Me Your Money
Sun King
Mean Mr Mustard
Polythene Pam
She Came In Through The Bathroom Window
Golden Slumbers
Carry That Weight
The End
Her Majesty
21 April 1970
Apple AP 8940
I Should Have Known Better
Paperback Writer
Rain
Lady Madonna
Revolution
Hey Jude
Old Brown Shoe
Don't Let Me Down
The Ballad Of John And Yoko
Dig A Pony
Across The Universe
I Me Mine
Dig It
Let It Be
Maggie Mae
I've Got A Feeling
One After 909
The Long And Winding Road
For You Blue
Get Back
Did they just release every single song as a single? Please Mister Postman? Matchbox?