Released in UK on April 17th 1964. This one exists only in Mono version. The first Rolling Stones LP took Decca by surprise as it hit number one spot in the British charts already on the second week after it was released. It spent 12 weeks at number one and the following 25 weeks it was mostly on second position with a few third positions the odd weeks. This became a bit of a challenge for Decca to keep up the production to fulfil the demand. This resulted in the factory constantly re-ordering material for the production. There are a lot of versions on the backside of the sleeve, on the labels as well as in the grooves with the famous two versions of Tell Me. The demand was so high that Decca did not manage to produce all pressing plates needed so they had to commission an external supplier to make plates for them.

Updated Jul 17, 2022

Released in UK on January 15th 1965. This one exists only in Mono version. The second album is also highly interesting from a collectors point of view, even though it do not have as much of versions as the first one. But still it is possible to do a lot of findings on this one as well. The LP sold in large quantities throughout the 60’s and new pressings were ordered regularly. This album is mostly famous for the back cover Blind Man Text that even opened up discussions in the UK parliament.

Updated Dec 8, 2022

Released in England in September of 1965 Out Of Our Heads was the third LP for the domestic market in UK. The highest position in the charts was second place which was reached in November of 1965. The album spent in total 24 weeks in the Top 20. This LP was not sold in other European countries. Decca opted for releasing the US version of OOOH for export to the rest of Europe, and still pressing it in UK. The catalogue number was LK4725 for the export version. Both the cover and the songs are different on the two LP’s. The main reason for pressing two different OOOH records in England was that the megahit from summer of -65, “Satisfaction” should be available in Europe on a LP. Decca’s policy in UK was not to issue any tracks on a LP that already could be found on a single. Satisfaction had been released in UK on a single so therefore they released another version of OOOH for the UK domestic market.

Updated Oct 9, 2023

Released in Europe in September of 1965 This LP was not released in England even though it was made there. It went on export to Europe mainland. It sold as new in at least The Netherlands and the Nordic countries. There are two different albums having the same title name as “Out Of Or Heads” and pressed by Decca in UK. The UK domestic OOOH LK4733 had a different set of song as well as a different cover. This record was the US version that Decca pressed for export only. Reason why Decca also released the American version of OOOH was that it had the megahit Satisfaction on it which was missing from the domestic version. DECCA in UK did not put songs released on singles on albums, but that was done in US. So, to get the big hit of 1965 on a LP in Europe, they opted to release the US version instead of the UK version. This LP was pressed in rather small quantities so there are not that many variations to look for.

Updated Jun 21, 2022

Released in UK on April 15th 1966 Aftermath, the fourth album released in UK, went into first place on the UK charts during its second week of sale and it spent eight straight weeks at number one, April 30th until June 24th. The next four weeks it spent at number two. Musically this was a special LP as it was the first release that had only original Jagger – Richards songs on it, no covers at all. The record was released both in mono and stereo version. Aftermath sold in large quantities as well and lots of versions are existing, both on the cover and on the labels. One version being the legendary so called “Shadow Cover”. This is the UK version of the album and is not to be mixed with the US Aftermath as that one had a different cover and the song list was partly different. The UK version was also sold in the rest of Europe.

Updated Dec 3, 2022

Released in UK on November 4th 1966. This was their first compilation LP released in UK and it was to be the best one available in the shops up to 1975 when Rolled Gold was put out. Through The Past Darkly had come out 1969 but that had a lot of weak songs on it so Big Hits remained a big seller for nine years. This one is interesting to collect because of the large quantities that were manufactured over the years. A detail to be noticed with Big Hits is that this was the first LP in the Decca family that got the new catalogue numbering TXL for Mono instead of the usual LK. The colour of the label was also different, light blue instead of red. The stereo LP got TXS instead of the usual SKL and the label colour was green instead of blue. This blue / green colour combination on the label denotes that it is a record pressed with so called “virgin vinyl”. The standard red / blue combination records used partly re-used vinyl.

Updated Oct 1, 2023

Released in Europe in the end of 1966 or possibly in January of 1967. No exact issue date has been found. The US "Got Live If You Want It" was released on December 10th 1966. This is an UK made LP but it was never sold in UK during the 60’s. It was mostly sold in Scandinavia and possibly also in Germany. It became available in UK in the mid 70’s with the boxed logo. Part of the record was also put out in UK officially in 1971 on the LP Gimme Shelter. The B side on Shelter was a mixture of songs taken from Have You Seen. The LP naturally sold in very small quantities and is one of the most difficult Stones LP’s from the 60’s to find today, especially the mono version. This was the first Rolling Stones live album on DECCA. Well, was it LIVE? Some sources say that is was all studio recordings with added audience noise. Some are of the opinion that it partly is studio material and mostly live. The following information has come my way as of when and where the recordings may have taken place, if they were live… Under My Thumb – City Hall, Newcastle, October 1, 1966 Get Off My Cloud – City Hall, Newcastle, October 1, 1966 The Last Time – City Hall, Newcastle, October 1, 1966 19th Nervous Breakdown – City Hall, Newcastle, October 1, 1966 Lady Jane – Colston Hall, Bristol, October 7, 1966 Not Fade Away – Colston Hall, Bristol, October 7, 1966 Time Is On My Side – Colston Hall, Bristol, October 7, 1966 I´m Alright – Colston Hall, Bristol, October 7, 1966 Have You Seen Your Mother.. – Colston Hall, Bristol, October 7, 1966 (I Can Get No) Satisfaction – Colston Hall, Bristol, October 7, 1966 At least 2 tracks would be studio takes. I´ve Been Loving You Too Long was recorded at RCA Studios in Los Angeles in May of 1965. Fortune Teller was recorded At ICB Studios in London in 1963. Another interesting opining has also been given to me by Stones collector Roy-Erik Andersen: “The master used for the UK LP is a different one than the master used for the US version. In fact they differ so much in production and performance that they could almost be listed as two different albums. And the most crucial fact is that NONE of the albums ever were recorded live. It’s all studio outtakes with overdubbed audience”

Updated Jul 26, 2022

Released in the UK on January 29th 1967. This one exists in both Mono and Stereo versions. The fifth DECCA UK album did not sell as much as previous albums. Buttons is from a collectors point of view not a very exciting LP as there are not many differences existing. The only variations to look for would be on the labels.

Updated Jul 17, 2022

Released on July 15th 1967 in Europe but not in the UK Flowers is again one of the odd birds in the UK catalogue. The LP was actually not sold in UK until mid 70’s and then with a boxed label. It was initially made in UK for export to Europe. The LP had a rather strange set of songs on it, some already issued and some new. Lady Jane came from Aftermath, Back Street Girl came from Buttons but then Sitting On A Fence had not appeared anywhere at the time. So it was a mixture of old and new stuff. It did not really sell that good either.

Updated Jul 16, 2023

Released in UK on December 8th 1967 This one exists in both Mono and Stereo versions. The sixth album on DECCA in UK is musically totally different from anything they had done before, or after. It really stands out from the rest of their production, either you like it or you don’t. But it is an interesting LP from a collecting point of view. It is mostly famous for the 3D picture on the cover. The manufacturing of the 3D picture is said to have been a very costly matter, even more costly than the actual retail price of the record. Decca and London actually lost money for every copy sold. It sold pretty well in the beginning, so the 3D cover is not that rare. This LP has the same LP numbering and label colour system as Big Hits. TXL is a mono LP with a blue label and TXS is a stereo LP with a green label. This blue / green color combination on the label denotes that it is a record pressed with so called “virgin vinyl”. The standard red / blue combination records used partly re-used vinyl.

Updated Jul 31, 2023

Released in UK on December 6th 1968 This one exists in both Mono and Stereo versions. Beggars Banquet was musically a return back to the roots for Rolling Stones. It sold in big numbers and became one of their all time classics. But it was a struggle to get the LP to the public. The LP had been recorded during March and April 1968 and on June 1st Stones informed that their new LP will be named Beggars Banquet and that it will be released on July 26th. The cover design however created a problem for Decca. They refused to issue the LP with the design suggested by the band, the famous Toilet cover. The dispute drags out and only in the beginning of December they finally put it out with the blank white cover. From a collector’s pint of view, Beggars has quite a few interesting things to look out for so, on with the show.

Updated Nov 26, 2022

Released in UK on September 12th 1969 This one exists in both Mono and Stereo versions. The second compilation album on DECCA in UK was again a high sale volume LP. All the songs on Darkly was not hits, like Sitting on A Fence for example, but together with Big Hits from 1966 it made the perfect set of hits Greatest Hits of the Stones up to 1969. Darkly was also issued on London Records in USA but the songs featured were different. This LP is mostly known for its octagonal shaped sleeve.

Updated Oct 1, 2023

Released for promotional use approximately on October 30th 1969 We are located in London around September of 1969. The Rolling Stones is about to go out on tour again after a long break, the last tour had taken place in 1967. There is a new face in the band, Mick Taylor. There is a decision taken that the upcoming tour of USA is to be promoted in a professional way through radio stations all over US. At this point of time there are two compilation albums on the market, Big Hits from 1966 and Through The Past Darkly that had been released a few days earlier. It is decided that a third compilation album needs to be put together with “the rest of the best” songs that had not been on the two previous hits albums. The album is put together of old songs and one new previously unreleased track, Love In Vain, and it is named The Rolling Stones. The vinyl label has also the text Promotional Album printed on it and this is the name by which this legendary LP is known today. The London version of the record is pressed in USA for distribution to local radio stations all over US. It is also decided that a few copies are to be made in UK under the Decca label. The covers for both US and UK pressed vinyls are made in USA. The US LP on London gets the catalogue number RSD-1 and the UK made Decca album is named RSM.1. However the empty cover sent from US to UK has the US catalogue number RSD-1. This is sometimes causing some confusion, is the UK album a RSD or a RSM? For me it is quite clear, the vinyl has the catalogue number RSM.1 on the label and that is the correct number to be used for Decca album. The LP is being distributed in the end of October both in USA and in UK. How many did they press? I have seen so many times the information of only 200 US copies being made but this is just a wrong interpretation of the situation. As the Decca letter states that 200 were made, people just think that 200 is the correct figure for all Promotional albums. Most collectors do not see a difference in between a London pressing and a Decca pressing. Some sources also claims that there were 100 copies on Decca and 100 copies on London. That is not correct either. The Decca version is extremely rare and during the past few years, 2016 – 2019 only about one LP every second year has been on the market. The Decca letter that came together with the LP states that 200 copies were made. This has to be correct as the LP is not available anywhere. A much larger quantity was pressed in USA on London Records. It is not known how many they actually pressed but an estimation of 2000-2500 copies would not be far from that actual quantity. The US LP is also quite common, you can find one or more on sale on e-bay on any given day of the year.

Updated Feb 9, 2024

Released on December 5th of 1969 LIB was released on December 5th of 1969, the day before Altamont was bleeding. Musically this is one of the best Stones LP’s ever made. It has a lot of strong titles on it and as a matter of fact all songs has at some point been included in the concert set lists during the “modern touring era” of the band, being the last twenty five years or so. It also features two musicians that never met in person, Brian Jones and Mick Taylor. I did personally ask Taylor about this a few years back and he confirmed it to be so. Let It Bleed is also a wonderful LP to collect as there are lots of versions existing. The LP sold in large quantities for a number of years, resulting in lots of reprints. Another contributing factor is that it came out just around the time when lots of production changes were taking place at Decca. Label change from non-boxed to boxed and mono production was about to be dropped. This is also the first LP where you can say that the boxed logo is an original. You could probably have found four different LIBs in the shops at the same time in the beginning of 1970, Mono non boxed and boxed, Stereo non boxed and boxed. By having a look on matrix, mother and stamper numbers together with label type it also gives an indication that non-boxed and boxed logos were in production on the same time. I have a boxed with -1W matrix and a non boxed with a -5W matrix in my collection. In addition to the label versions there are a number of other things to look out for. The cover has lots of differences, so has the inner bag. You also have the famous poster, the poster stickers and the poster text on the cover. Taking into consideration all differences found on LIB, you may easily end up with a collection with something like 25-30 different LP’s.

Updated Mar 17, 2024

Released in The UK on September 4th 1970. This is the first real live record released by the band. It was recorded during their 1969 tour of the USA. There was another live record released in 1966 but that one is mostly studio recordings with added audiens sound. Get Yer Ya Ya’s Out is the first record released only with boxed logo and only in stereo in The UK.

Updated Mar 17, 2024