Beatles Record Releases in Germany 1961-1971


BEATLES RECORD RELEASES IN GERMANY 1961-1971

By Joseph Brennan, brennan@columbia.edu.  Copyright 1994.

Dates are partly conjectural.  For sources, see the end.  Includes original
releases and selected reissues and collections.

The catalog number changes of Odeon are shown up to 1981.  Note that Odeon
stopped issuing mono LPs and EPs in late 1964.  Some of the changes came
because of price codes changing, and in January 1969 the numbers change to
a long international code system.  During the 1960's, Odeon would keep some
variations available for only a few months, so I may have missed some 
catalog numbers here, although I have included all known numbers.

Thousands are written with a space in German instead of the comma used in
English, thus for example 24 673 German for 24,673 English.  I have followed
the German convention here since it appears on the records.

This data all refers to West Germany, the Federal Republic (BDR).


Date and Record
  Songs

1961 Oct.  Polydor 24 673
  My Bonnie (Mein Herz ist bei dir nur) [German intro]
  The saints

1962 Jan.  Polydor 24 673 [same number as the above]
  My Bonnie (Twist) [English intro]
  The saints

1962 Jun.  Polydor 46 612 and 237 112 (stereo)
My Bonnie / Tony Sheridan
includes:
  My Bonnie [(Twist)]
  The saints

1962 Oct.  Polydor 21 485
Ya Ya  [EP]
includes:
  Sweet Georgia Brown [original vocal]

1963 Feb.  Odeon O 22 396
  Love me do
  Please please me

1963 Apr.  Odeon O 22 416
  From me to you
  Thank you girl

1963 May.  Odeon O 41 560
The Beatles
  Twist and shout
  There's a place
  Boys
  I saw her standing there

1963 Jul.  Polydor 21 610
My Bonnie / Tony Sheridan and the Beatles
  My Bonnie
  Why
  Cry for a shadow
  The saints

1963 Aug.  Odeon O 22 554
  She loves you
  I'll get you

1963 Sep.  Odeon O 41 568
The Beatles' Hits
  From me to you
  Thank you girl
  Please please me
  Love me do

1963 Sep.  Odeon O 22 581
  Twist and shout
  Boys

1963 Nov.  Odeon O 83 568 and STO 83 568 (stereo)
1966. Odeon STO 73 568 (stereo)
1969. Odeon 1C 062-04 181 (stereo)
1976. Odeon 1C 072-04 181 (stereo)
1977. Apple 1C 072-04 181 (stereo)
1981. Odeon 1C 072-04 181 (stereo)
With the Beatles
  [same as the UK LP]

1963 Nov.  Odeon O 22 623
  I want to hold your hand
  Roll over Beethoven

1963 Dec.  Odeon O 22 638
  It won't be long
  Money

1964 Jan.  Odeon O 22 663
  Misery
  Ask me why

1964 Feb.  Odeon O 42 627
The Beatles Sound
  Roll over Beethoven
  I'll get you
  It won't be long
  I want to hold your hand

1964 Feb.  Odeon O 22 671
  Komm, gib mir deine Hand
  Sie liebt dich

1964 Feb.  Hor Zu 117 and Hor Zu SHZE 117 (stereo)
1964. Odeon OPX 5550 and ZTOX 5550 (stereo)
1977. Apple 1C 072-04 219 (stereo)
1981. Odeon 1C 072-04 219 (stereo)
Die Beatles 
  [same as the UK LP "Please Please Me"]  
  [OPX 5550, ZTOX 5550 as "Please Please Me"]

1964 Feb.  Odeon O 22 681
  All my loving
  I wanna be your man

1964 Mar.  Odeon O 22 697
  Can't buy me love
  You can't do that

1964 Mar.  Polydor 52 273
  My Bonnie
  The saints

1964 Mar.  Polydor 52 275
  Why
  Cry for a shadow

1964 Mar.  Electrola E 83 659 and STE 83 659 (stereo)
Komm, Gib Mir Deine Hand
includes:
  Komm, gib mir deine Hand
  She loves you

1964 Apr.  Odeon O 22 710
  Do you want to know a secret
  Little child

1964 Apr.  Polydor 52 317
  Ain't she sweet
  Take out some insurance on me

1964 Apr.  Polydor 52 324
[Skinny Minnie, single]
includes:
  Sweet Georgia Brown

1964 Apr.  Odeon O 83 692  [mono only in 1964]
1965. Odeon STO 83 692 (stereo)
1966. Odeon STO 73 692 (stereo)
1969. Odeon 1C 062-04 363 (stereo)
1976. Odeon 1C 072-04 363 (stereo)
1977. Apple 1C 072-04 363 (stereo)
1981. Odeon 1C 072-04 363 (stereo)
The Beatles Beat
  She loves you
  Thank you girl
  From me to you
  I'll get you
  I want to hold your hand
  Hold me tight
  Can't buy me love
  You can't do that
  Roll over Beethoven
  Till there was you
  Money 
  Please Mr Postman

1964 May.  Odeon O 22 741
  Please Mr Postman
  Hold me tight

1964 May.  Polydor 46 422 and 237 622 (stereo)
Let's do the Twist, Hully Gully, Slop, Surf, Locomotion, Monkey
includes:
  Cry for a shadow
  My Bonnie
  The saints
  Why

1964 Jun.  Odeon O 22 745
  Long tall Sally
  I call your name

1964 Jun.  Odeon O 22 760
  A hard day's night
  Things we said today

1964 Jun.  Polydor 52 906
  Sweet Georgia Brown
  [also: Nobody's child, not the Beatles version]

1964 Jun.  Polydor 46 432 and 237 632 (stereo)
The Beatles' First
includes:
  Ain't she sweet
  Cry for a shadow
  My Bonnie
  Take out some insurance on me
  Sweet Georgia Brown
  The saints
  Why
  Nobody's child

1964 Jul. Odeon O 83 739 and STO 83 739 (stereo)
1964. Odeon OPX 5564 and ZTOX 5564 (stereo)
1964. Odeon O 83 739 and SMO 83 739 (stereo)
1966. Odeon STO 73 739 (stereo)
1969. Odeon 1C 062-04 145 (stereo)
1976. Odeon 1C 072-04 145 (stereo)
1977. Apple 1C 072-04 145 (stereo)
1981. Odeon 1C 072-04 145 (stereo)
Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! / The Beatles
  [same as the UK LP "A Hard Day's Night"]
  [OPX 5564, ZTOX 5564 as "A Hard Day's Night"]

1964 Jul.  Odeon O 22 789
  I'll cry instead
  A taste of honey

1964 Aug.  Odeon O 41 638
Long Tall Sally
  Long tall Sally
  I call your name
  Slow down
  Matchbox

1964 Aug.  Odeon O 22 792
  And I love her
  I should have known better

1964 Sep.  Odeon O 41 641
The Beatles Song
  A hard day's night
  I should have known better
  If I fell
  Can't buy me love

1964 Sep.  Odeon O 22 797
  Tell me why
  If I fell

1964 Sep.  Odeon O 22 820
  Matchbox
  I saw her standing there

1964 Sep.  Odeon OPX 5558 and ZTOX 5558 (stereo)
The Beatles' Second Album
  [same as the US LP, but with cover like "Something New"]
  [5568 instead of 5558 in some sources; definitely 5558]

1964 Sep.  Odeon O 83 756 and STO 83 756 (stereo)
1964. Odeon OPX 5572 and ZTOX 5572 (stereo)
1964. Odeon O 83 756 and SMO 83 756 (stereo)
1966. Odeon SMO 73 756 (stereo)
1969. Odeon 1C 062-04 600 (stereo)
1976. Odeon 1C 072-04 600 (stereo)
1977. Apple 1C 072-04 600 (stereo)
1981. Odeon 1C 072-04 600 (stereo)
Something New / The Beatles
  [same as the US LP]

1964 Oct.  Odeon O 41 647
The Beatles Voice
  I'm happy just to dance with you
  And I love her
  Tell me why
  Any time at all

1964 Oct.  Odeon O 22 838
  Slow down
  I'm happy just to dance with you

1964 Nov.  Odeon O 22 851
  I feel fine
  She's a woman

1964 Nov.  Odeon SMO 83 790 (stereo)
1966. Odeon SMO 73 790 (stereo)
1969. Odeon 1C 062-04 200 (stereo)
1976. Odeon 1C 072-04 200 (stereo)
1977. Apple 1C 072-04 200 (stereo)
1981. Odeon 1C 072-04 200 (stereo)
Beatles For Sale
  [same as the UK LP]

1965 Jan.  Odeon O 22 893
  No reply
  Eight days a week

1965 Feb.  Odeon O 22 915
  Rock and roll music
  I'm a loser

1965 Feb.  Polydor J 73 557 and J 74 557 (stereo)
Meet the Beat  [10-inch LP]
includes:
  Sweet Georgia Brown
  Nobody's child
  Take out some insurance on me

1965 Mar.  Odeon SMO 41 668 (stereo)
The Beatles Music
  No reply
  I'm a loser
  Rock and roll music
  Eight days a week

1965 Apr.  Odeon O 22 950
  Ticket to ride
  Yes it is

1965 May.  Odeon SMO 83 917 (stereo)
1966. Odeon SMO 73 917 (stereo)
1969. Odeon 1C 062-04 201 (stereo)
1976. Odeon 1C 072-04 201 (stereo)
1977. Apple 1C 072-04 201 (stereo)
1981. Odeon 1C 072-04 201 (stereo)
Beatles '65
  [same as the US LP]

1965 Jun.  Odeon O 22 999
  Kansas City
  I don't want to spoil the party

1965 Jun.  Odeon SMO 83 991 (stereo)
1966. Odeon SMO 73 991 (stereo)
1969. Odeon 1C 062-04 207 (stereo)
1976. Odeon 1C 072-04 207 (stereo)
1977. Apple 1C 072-04 207 (stereo)
1981. Crystal 038 CRY 04 207 (stereo)
Beatles' Greatest
  I want to hold your hand
  Twist and shout
  A hard day's night
  Eight days a week
  I should have known better
  Long tall Sally
  She loves you
  Please Mr Postman
  I feel fine
  Rock and roll music
  Ticket to ride
  Please please me
  It won't be long
  From me to you
  Can't buy me love
  All my loving

1965 Jul.  Odeon O 23 023
  Help!
  I'm down

1965 Aug.  Odeon SMO 84 008 (stereo)
1965. Hor Zu SHZE 162 (stereo)
1969. Odeon 1C 062-04 257 (stereo)
1976. Odeon 1C 072-04 257 (stereo)
1977. Apple 1C 072-04 257 (stereo)
1981. Odeon 1C 072-04 257 (stereo)
Help! / The Beatles
  [same as the UK LP]

1965 Sep.  Odeon O 23 031
  Act naturally
  Yesterday

1965 Sep.  Odeon SMO 41 680 (stereo)
The Beatles Forever
  Dizzy Miss Lizzie
  You like me too much
  Bad boy
  Tell me what you see

1965 Dec.  Odeon O 23 122
  We can work it out
  Day tripper

1965 Dec.  Odeon SMO 84 066 (stereo)
1966. Odeon SMO 74 066 (stereo)
1969. Odeon 1C 062-04 115 (stereo)
1976. Odeon 1C 072-04 115 (stereo)
1977. Apple 1C 072-04 115 (stereo)
1981. Odeon 1C 072-04 115 (stereo)
Rubber Soul / The Beatles
  [same as the UK LP]

1966 Jan.  Odeon O 23 152
  Michelle
  Girl

1966 Feb.  Odeon SMO 41 681 (stereo)
The Beatles Sound
  Michelle
  Run for your life
  Drive my car
  Girl

1966 Mar.  Odeon O 23 171
  Nowhere man
  What goes on

1966 May.  Odeon O 23 210
  Paperback writer
  Rain

1966 Aug.  Odeon O 23 280
  Yellow submarine
  Eleanor Rigby

1966 Aug.  Odeon SMO 84 161 (stereo)
1966. Odeon SMO 74 161 (stereo)
1967. Hor Zu SHZE 186 (stereo)
1969. Odeon 1C 062-04 017 (stereo)
1976. Odeon 1C 072-04 017 (stereo)
1977. Apple 1C 072-04 017 (stereo)
1981. Odeon 1C 072-04 017 (stereo)
Revolver / The Beatles
  [same as the UK LP]

1967 Feb.  Odeon O 23 436
  Strawberry Fields forever
  Penny Lane

1967 Jun.  Odeon SMO 81 045 (stereo)
1967. Hor Zu SHZE 401 (stereo)
1969. Odeon 1C 062-04 177 (stereo)
1976. Odeon 1C 072-04 177 (stereo)
1977. Apple 1C 072-04 177 (stereo)
1981. Odeon 1C 072-04 177 (stereo)
Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band / The Beatles
  [same as the UK LP]

1967 Jul.  Odeon O 23 560
  All you need is love
  Baby, you're a rich man

1967 Nov.  Odeon O 23 660
  Hello goodbye
  I am the walrus

1967 Dec.  Odeon SMO 39 501/ SMO 39 502 (stereo) [2 EPs]
Magical Mystery Tour
  [same as the UK set of 2 EPs]

1968 Feb.  Tip 634 022 (stereo)
1968 Jun.  Karussell 635 056 (stereo)
The Beatles in Hamburg
  [same as "The Beatles' First", 1964]

1968 Mar.  Odeon O 23 733
  Lady Madonna
  The inner light

1968 Aug.  Odeon O 23 880
1968 Sep.  Apple O 23 880
  Hey Jude
  Revolution

1968 Nov.  Apple 2 051/ 2 052 (stereo)
1969. Apple 1C 062-04 173/ 174 (stereo)
1977. Apple 1C 072-04 173/ 174 (stereo)
1981. Odeon 1C 072-04 173/ 174 (stereo)
The Beatles
  [same as the UK set of 2 LPs]

1969 Jan.  Apple O 24 004
  Ob-la-di, ob-la-da
  While my guitar gently weeps

1969 Jan.  Apple SMO 74 585 (stereo)
1969. Apple 1C 062-04 002 (stereo)
1977. Apple 1C 072-04 002 (stereo)
1981. Odeon 1C 072-04 002 (stereo)
Yellow Submarine / The Beatles
  [same as the UK LP]

1969 Apr.  Apple 1C 006-04 084
  Get back
  Don't let me down

1969 May.  Apple 1C 006-04 108
  The ballad of John and Yoko
  Old brown shoe

1969 Aug.  Apple 1C 006-04 204
  Komm, gib mir deine Hand
  Sie liebt dich

1969 Sep.  Apple 1C 062-04 243 (stereo)
1977. Apple 1C 072-04 243 (stereo)
1981. Odeon 1C 072-04 243 (stereo)
Abbey Road / The Beatles
  [same as the UK LP]

1969 Oct.  Apple 1C 006-04 266
  Something
  Come together

1970 Feb.  Apple 1C 062-04 348 (stereo)
1977. Apple 1C 072-04 348 (stereo)
1981. Odeon 1C 072-04 348 (stereo)
Hey Jude / The Beatles
  [same as the US LP]

1970 Feb.  Apple 1C 006-04 353
  Let it be
  You know my name (look up the number)

1970 Feb.  Polydor 237 1051 (stereo)
The Beatles featuring Tony Sheridan
  [same as "The Beatles' First", 1964]

1970 May.  Apple 1C 062-04 433 (stereo) [LP in box with book]
1970. Apple 1C 062-04 433 (stereo)
1977. Apple 1C 072-04 348 (stereo)
1981. Odeon 1C 072-04 348 (stereo)
Let It Be / The Beatles
  [same as the UK LP]

1970 Jul.  Apple 1C 006-04 514
  The long and winding road
  For you blue

1971 Feb.  Apple 1C 062-04 258 (stereo)
A Collection of Beatles Oldies
  [same as the UK LP]

1971 Sep.  Hor Zu SHZE 327 (stereo)
1976. Odeon 1C 062-04 449 (stereo)
1977. Apple 1C 072-04 449 (stereo)
1981. Odeon 1C 072-04 449 (stereo)
Magical Mystery Tour
  [same as the CD]

---

Sources:

Rainer Moers, Wolfgang Neumann, Hans Rombeck, "Die Beatles: ihre Karriere,
ihre Musik, ihre Erfolge" (Bastei-Lubbe-Taschenbuch).  Gustav Lubbe Verlag,
Bergisch-Gladbach, Germany, 1988.  The main section is a chronology of 
recording and release dates.  Although it is based in part on Moers's own
"Archiv" of records, the authors are guilty of supplying a few phantom
catalog numbers based on later releases, and their release dates look
wrong in places (see below).

"Der Grosse Deutsche Schallplatten Katalog" 1965-1971, Carl v.d. Linnepe,
Ludenscheid, Germany.  This is an annual catalog of LP and EP records in
print.  See below for a discussion of the effective date.

I thank Frank Daniels for filling in some gaps here from his collection,
his research and his questions to dealers.

---

Here are some of the unresolved problems of German Beatles discography:

Problem: The OPX/ZTOX series of four releases in 1963-1964.  These are not
well documented; only "Second Album" appears in Moers and this is the one
that has no other German release.  The other three are known only from dealer
ads; we believe there are no more by the Beatles.  They do not appear in the
Katalogs.  Two German dealers say the ZTOX releases were out for about 2
months in 1964, so I've listed them as 1964 here.  Another dealer calls them
made for export, and perhaps that is what they are.

Problem: The dates in Moers.  Many of the dates given by Moers are from a
week to a month early compared to the UK release dates.  He actually lists
them side by side with the Uk dates, so he was aware of what he is saying.
These dates have been corrected here to match UK dates and a few other
adjustments made.  I speculate he may have had a list of dates Odeon received
the masters from England and used it as release dates.

Problem: The effective date of the Katalog.  It claims to list records as of
August of the year before the cover date-- that is, the first one, called
1965, is what was available in August 1964.  In fact I find it has nothing
after April in the main listings and nothing after June in the supplementary
listings, if I have the dates of the records right.  The Katalog is useful as
an annual snapshot of records in print but it would be even better to know
what the date is.  (Note also that records going in and out of print within
the year are missed; short availability seems to be more common in Germany,
at least at this time, than it was in the USA.)

Problem: The single "Komm, gib mir deine Hand"/"Sie liebt dich".  Moers dates
this as February 4 1964, which may be a bit early as usual, but the catalog
numbers support putting it well ahead of "Can't buy me love", which probably
is from March like the UK release, which Odeon was mirroring by this time.
This forces me to propose the songs were mixed for mono before the March date
given by Mark Lewisohn in his books, probably in Paris where they were
recorded, since the mixes escaped EMI Abbey Road's logs.