Decca used several label designs during the roughly 20 years time that they produced Rolling Stones LP’s. It is not easy to go through all the details and try to put them into “main types” but I feel that there is a need to try to do it. A few other persons have tried and I decided to follow the same logic in my definition of “main label types”

The years they were in use is hard to confirm. The timeframe I am indicating here is only a rough estimate. Many times they just printed new labels with an old design whenever there was a need of a new batch of LP’s. There was not either any “use up old stock” process at the plant and when a new batch of labels was received, they just put them on top of of the remaining set of the same label. This is why you can find labels used in 1965 and again the same label on a nongrooved LP from 1968 or 1969. So the last used date cannot be confirmed. The beginning of a new label type is mostly possible to confirm.

I have included all nonboxed, boxed, mono and stereo labels in the numbering system presented below. I have not separated the blue and green TXL/TXS series as they basically follow the same pattern in label design. This numbering system is then used on the main LP presentation pages. I have not either taken the non grooved and grooved labels into consideration because that is not a label version but a pressing version. I have found several LP’s that use the identical label on both grooved and non grooved LP’s. The groove disappeared from production during mid 1968. Most of the non boxed LP’s before Beggars Banquet can be found in Mono as well as in Stereo with grooved and non grooved pressings.

The main change took place in the end of 1969 when they dropped the non boxed label and started to use the boxed label. This change had already been done on the singles in 1966. The first Decca LP to be using the new design was RSM-1 The Promotional Album from October of 1969. The use of nonboxed labels continued until they run out of stock and there was an overlapping in use of the two designs. There are even LP’s existing that have a non boxed label on one side and a boxed label on the other side.
Decca stopped to produce Mono LP’s in mid 1970. The only exception is if the LP was only existing in Mono, then the production continued. Only the first and the second LP can be found with Mono boxed labels.

Label design no 1

Main label type: Nonboxed

Mono label

Top text: “MADE IN ENGLAND . THE DECCA RECORD CO.LTD.”

Publishing year: “Recording First Published 1964”.

This label design was used up to the end of 1964. This label with the long text at the top is considered by many collectors as the “second” design and the short version would be the “first”. I am listing this long version “Made In England By Decca Record Co” as the first one used on a Rolling Stones LP as all known copies of “Short Tell Me” are with this label. No “Short Tell Me” LP’s have been found with “Made In England” at the top of the label. The text “Recording First Published 1964” is on the label only if the LP is made that same year as it was issued. Labels on the first LP LK4605 has P1965 if they are made in 1965 or later.

Label design no 2

Main label type: Nonboxed Mono label

Top text: “MADE IN ENGLAND”

Publishing year: “Recording First Published 1964”

Main difference to the previous label is that the top text is the short version “Made In England”. This label design was used up to the end of 1964.

Label design no 3

Main label type: Nonboxed Mono label

Top text: “MADE IN ENGLAND”

Publishing year: P 1964 on the left side of the label.

Main difference to the previous label is that the “Recording First Published” text has been replaced with a P together with the year it was first published. This label design was used 1965. It did surface again in 1968-69 on Rolling Stones No2 LK4661, but most likely an old stock was used.

Label design no 4

Main label type: Nonboxed Mono label

Top text: “MADE IN ENGLAND . THE DECCA RECORD CO.LTD.”

Publishing year: P 1964 on the left side of the label.

Main difference to the previous label is that the long top text is taken into use again. This label design was mainly in use from 1965 to 1967.

Label design no 5

Main label type: Nonboxed Mono label

Top text: “MADE IN ENGLAND . THE DECCA RECORD CO.LTD.”

Publishing year: P1967 on the bottom of the label.

Main difference to the previous label is that the publishing year has been moved to the lower part of the label. This label design was taken into use in 1967 and remained in production until the boxed logo became the standard label in the beginning of 1970.

Label design no 6

Main label type: Boxed Mono label

Publishing year: P1965 on the bottom of the label.

This is the first boxed mono label. This label design was used from 1970 to June 1972.

Label design no 7

Main label type: Boxed Mono label

Publishing year: Year of Publishing is above the catalogue number on the right side of the label.

Main difference to the previous label is that the publishing year has been moved next to the catalogue number. This label design was used in between June 1972 and to c. 1982.

Label design no 8

Main label type: Nonboxed Stereo label

Publishing year: P1965 on the left side of the label, usually next to the BIEM / NCB box.

This label design was used from beginning of 1965 and up to summer of 1966.

Label design no 9

Main label type: Nonboxed Stereo label

Publishing year: P1966 at the bottom of the label.

Main difference to the previous label is that the publishing year has been moved to the lower part of the label. This label design was used from summer of 1966 and up to the change to the boxed design in late 1969.

Label design no 10

Main label type: Boxed Stereo label

Publishing year: P1967 at the bottom of the label.

This label design was used in between October 1969 and June 1972.

Label design no 11

Main label type: Boxed Stereo label

Publishing year: Year off Publishing is next to the catalogue number on the right side of the label.

Main difference to the previous label is that the publishing year has been moved next to the catalogue number. This label design was used in between June 1972 and c.1982.

Label design no 12

Main label type: Boxed Mono and Stereo label

Very thin vinyl with an edge around the label. There are two version of this label, one with an almost flat center and another that has a ring pressed in the center. Used in between 1982 and 1984.

Label design no 13

80’s white label with full circle red and blue lines.

Label design no 14

80’s silver label with half circle red and blue lines. New catalogue numbers.

Label numbering logic

The numbers I have given to the labels includes four different number. The number is broken down as follows:

LP catalogue number. The number will always have the original catalogue number in the beginning, for example LK4605.

Side number. Side one of the LP will be S1 and side two will be S2.

The label design will be the next code, for example D5. That means that the label in question belongs to the fifth design type.

The version. There will be several different version under one main design. Font style, location of side number to the left or to the right of the spindle hole and the location of the BIEM box are examples on minor differences. Combinations of such details will make up different version.

A full number on a label will then look like this:

LK4605/S2/D5/V1

LP catalogue number / Side number / Label design number / version number of minor details under the same design.