Precision Tapes Ltd./Pye UK Q8's (info/catch all thread)

[steelydave]

The Pye label in the UK released quite a bit of quad in the early 70's, which seems to be pretty well documented. What I haven't seen mentioned is that Pye had a sister company called Precision Tapes Ltd. - sort of like the UK equivalent of GRT in the US (which did all the ABC and Arista Q8's amongst others)...basically a company that would manufacture and distribute tapes for companies that didn't have their own facilities. According to a Billboad ad from 1973 (which I'll reproduce below) aside from Pye they also manufactured and distributed for A&M and CTI in the UK along with lots of other stereo-only labels including DJM and others.

Over the years I've seen the occasional Precision Tapes Ltd. Q8 and you may have seen them yourself - they have a very distinctive red label with the album artwork inside a yellow circle surrounded by 4 small stylised 'Q's and the tape shells are olive green. These tapes seem to be very rare, so I thought I'd start a thread with a list of what I can verify exists so far - this is a combination of info from Mark Anderson's quad discography and my own research. It appears at the very least that Precision released Q8's of the majority of the titles in the Pye QUAD 1xxx LP series (and even some that weren't released on LP) and either some or all of the A&M US quad titles up until at least 1974. There are definitely more Precision-issued A&M Q8's because I recall seeing a couple of other Rick Wakeman and Carole King titles in the past but I can't find information or pictures of them now. I couldn't find another Precision Tapes advertisment in Billboard for 1974 (after one in 1972 and another in 1973) so they may have already been out of the quad business by then.

I've saved a load of pictures of all the Precision Q8's that I'll post in a follow-up message. If you have any pictures or info about other titles that I don't know about, feel free to share.

Pye

CATALOG NUMBER	ARTIST	TITLE
Y8QPB 2	Various Artists	A Quadraphonic Sampler
Y8QP 401	Vic Lewis Conducts the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus	My Friends The Stars
Y8QP 1003	Cyril Stapleton & His Orchestra	Great Film & Television Themes
Y8QP 1004	Ray Davies/Button Down Brass	Why Can't We All Get Together
Y8QP 1005	101 Strings	Soul of Spain Vol. 3
Y8QP 1006	101 Strings	Exciting Sounds of Les Baxter
Y8QP 1007	Les Thatcher	Multiple Guitars Of
Y8QP 1008	101 Strings	Audio Dimensional Excursion
Y8QP 1009	Ray Davies	The Real Sound Of...
Y8QP 1011	Bob Jackson	Boots The Sax With The Strange Ones
Y8QP 1013	101 Strings (Jack Dorsey Conducts)	Movie Themes & Other Tunes
Y8QP 1014	101 Strings (Nelson Riddle Conducts)	Swingin' Songs
Y8QP 1016	Acker Bilk	With Clarinet and Strings (also Y8QD 101?)
Y8QP 1017	Tony Hatch & His Orchestra	Hits Symphonic
Y8QP 1018	101 Strings (with Monty Kelly)	A Whiter Shade Of Pale
Y8QP 1019	Denis Lopez Liquid Latin	Cinnamon Rock
Y8QP 1020	Valentino	Contrasts
Y8QP 1021	Roy Budd	The Music Of Gilbert O'Sullivan
Y8QP 1022	The Harry Roche Constellation	Sometimes
Y8QP 1025	Acker Bilk	Some Of My Favourite Things
Y8QP 18390	Des O'Connor	Sing A Favourite Song
Y8QP 41001	Cyril Stapleton & His Orchestra	Theme from Ryan’s Daughter
Y8QP 41021	Ray Davies/Button Down Brass	I Believe In Music
Y8QP 41022	Acker Bilk	Some Of My Favourite Things
Y8QP 41036	Acker Bilk his Clarinet and Strings	That's My Desire
Y8QP ?????	Alan Haven	I'll Walk Beside You *

* - listed in Mark Anderson's discography - poss. 41040 based on vinyl cat #


The Y8QP 10xx series seems to match exactly the Pye vinyl QUAD 10xx series (except the 101 Strings albums weren't issued on vinyl) which means the missing titles are most likely (if they exist):

Y8QP 1001 - Various Artists 'Pye 4D Quadraphonic Sampler'
Y8QP 1002 - David Snell 'Harp Transplant'
Y8QP 1026 - Ray Davies Orchestra 'Benny And The Duke'
Y8QP 1027 - The Ragtimers 'Scott Joplin Played By'
Y8QP 1030 - The Alan Tew Orchestra 'Carnival'
Y8QP 1031 - Kenny Ball 'A Friend To You'

Precision Tapes

CATALOG NUMBER	ARTIST	TITLE
Y8QPT 101	The London Philharmonic Orchestra	Highlights From Handel's Messiah
Y8QPT 102	London Philharmonic & Band Of The Coldstream Guards	1812 Overture
Y8QPT 103	The London Philharmonic Orchestra	Space Odyssey
Y8QPT 104	The London Philharmonic Orchestra	Dvorak: Symphony No. 9
Y8QPT 1001	Synthesonic Sounds	Ye Old Moog
Y8QPT ????	Synthesonic Sounds	Moog At The Movies*

* - listed in Mark Anderson's discography, probably YQ8PT 1002 if it does exist.

A&M/Ode US Releases

CATALOG NUMBER	ARTIST	TITLE
Y8QAM 908	Burt Bacharach	Reach Out
Y8QAM 958	Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass	Whipped Cream & Other Delights
Y8QAM 961	Quincy Jones	Walking In Space
Y8QAM 985	Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66	Greatest Hits
Y8QAM 998	Carpenters	Close To You
Y8QAM 2025	Carole King	Tapestry
Y8QAM 63502	Carpenters	Carpenters (self-titled)
Y8QAM 63511	Carpenters	A Song For You
Y8QAM 64339	Joan Baez	Come In From The Shadows
Y8QAM 64361	Rick Wakeman	The Six Wives Of Henry VIII
Y8QAM 67013	Carole King	Music
Y8QO 77016	Carole King	Rhymes & Reasons

DJM Records Releases

CATALOG NUMBER	ARTIST	TITLE
Y8QDJ 430	Vic Lewis	Film Themes My Way

Vanguard US Releases

CATALOG NUMBER	ARTIST	TITLE
Y8QVS 6570	Joan Baez	Blessed Are... (Tape 1)
Y8QVS 6571	Joan Baez	Blessed Are... (Tape 2)
Y8QVS 71188	Mackerras / New Philharmonia orchestra	Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition / Prelude to Khovanshchina
Y8QVS 79330	Buffy Sainte-Marie	Quiet Places

Unicorn Records (UK) Releases

CATALOG NUMBER	ARTIST	TITLE
Y8QUN 304	Bellugi / Royal Philharmonic Orchestra	Paganini / Bottesini
Y8QUN 306	Horenstein / Royal Philharmonic Orchestra	Andrzej Panufnik

(Billboard advert from Nov. 10th 1973 issue - note the mention of quad in the text near the bottom right.)

 

[Simon A]

Great idea for a thread Dave!

I'd love to hear the Les Baxter/101 Strings and those Ray Davies/Button Down Brass titles in Quad. I really love those albums.

 

[steelydave]

Thanks for the kind words Simon - you should be able to find the 101 Strings albums a little closer to home as wel,l as I think nearly all of them were released on Q8 and 10 or so were released on quad reel as well in the US (and possibly Canada as well) by Audio Spectrum, the label that did the QS-encoded LP's.

These are the pictures of The Precision Tapes Q8's I have:

Y8QP 1005 - 101 Strings 'The Soul Of Spain, Vol. 3'


Y8QP 1006 - Les Baxter & 101 Strings 'Exciting Sounds'


Y8QP 1007 - Les Thatcher 'Multiple Guitars Of'


Y8QP 1008 - 101 Strings 'Audio Dimensional Excursion'


Y8QP 1009 - Ray Davies/Button Down Brass 'The Real Sound Of'


Y8QP 1019 - Denis Lopez Liquid Latin 'Cinnamon Rock'

 

[Mark Anderson]

Thanks for posting this. It will fill in some holes with catalog numbers and updates.

 

[rustyandi]

My list of Q8s
Des O’Connor Sings Favourite Songs 18390
Harry Roche Sometimes 1022
Highlights Handel’s Messiah
Aker Bilk & Strings 101
Valentino Contrasts 1020
Cyril Stapelton Film/TV Hits 1003
Real Sound Button Down Brass 1009
Joan Baez Come from Shadows 64339
Dennis Lopez Cinnamon Rock 1019
Les Thatcher Guitars 1007
101 Strings Jack Dorsey Movie Theme’s
Vic Lewis My Way 430
Roy Budd Gilbert O’Sullivan 1021
Carol King Rymes & Reason 77016
Carol King Music 67013
Quincy Jones Walking in Space 961
101 Strings Soul Of Spain 1005
101 Strings Nelson Riddle 1014
101 Strings Whiter Shade Of Pale 1018
Tony Hatch Hits Symphonic 1017
Space Odyssey London Phill. 103
Handel,s Messiah London Phill.
Paganini Bottesini Royal Phill.
Sergio Mendes Hits 985
101 Strings Audio Dimensional 1008
Herb Albert Hits 958

 

[steelydave]

My list of Q8s

Y8QP SERIES?
Cyril Stapelton Film/TV Hits 1003
101 Strings Soul Of Spain 1005
Les Thatcher Guitars 1007
101 Strings Audio Dimensional 1008
Real Sound Button Down Brass 1009
101 Strings Nelson Riddle 1014
Tony Hatch Hits Symphonic 1017
101 Strings Whiter Shade Of Pale 1018
Dennis Lopez Cinnamon Rock 1019
Valentino Contrasts 1020
Roy Budd Gilbert O’Sullivan 1021
Harry Roche Sometimes 1022
Des O’Connor Sings Favourite Songs 18390

Herb Albert Hits Y8QAM 958
Quincy Jones Walking in Space Y8QAM 961
Sergio Mendes Hits Y8QAM 985
Joan Baez Come from Shadows Y8QAM 64339
Carol King Music Y8QAM 67013
Carol King Rymes & Reason Y8QAM 77016

WHICH PREFIX DO THESE TWO HAVE?
Aker Bilk & Strings 101
Vic Lewis My Way 430

ANY CATALOG NUMBERS/INFO FOR THESE?
Handel,s Messiah London Phill.
Paganini Bottesini Royal Phill.
Highlights Handel’s Messiah
101 Strings Jack Dorsey Movie Theme’s

Hi Rustyandi - I've sorted your list (I think properly) by series, can you just verify if it's correct? Would love any further information you could provide and/or pictures as well.

 

[winopener]

Some addition from my collection:
Herb Alpert Whipped cream Y8QAM 958
Carpenters Close to you Y8QAM 998
Carole King Tapestry Y8QAM 2025
Rick Wakeman Six Wiwes Y8QAM 64361

and the rarest of them all:
Joan Baez Blessed are Y8QVS 6570-6571
Blessed are quad tapes were relaased in UK in 1972 on Vanguard-PRT; problem is, by 1973 Vanguard UK passed from PYE/PRT to RCA distribution, so these PRT tapes didn't stay in the catalogue for more than a year. Add to this that some of these double album were plagued by flutter on the duplication stage... it's no wonder there are very few surviving. BTW, it does include on the two carts all 22 songs (2lp + ep)

 

[steelydave]

Thanks for the info winopener, I've added all of that to the tables in my initial post. If you have the facility, please upload pictures of the tapes (front/back/spine) as it would be great to keep a record of all of these as they're super-rare.

 

[winopener]

I'm in a hurry now, but at least you can see them here:



One thing that i had always found strange: no UK Q8 of Cat Stevens. Never seen one, ever.

 

[rustyandi]

Aker Bilk Y8QD
Vic Lewis Y8QDJ

Highlights &
Handel's Messiah are the same tape Y8QPT
I made a mistake

Bottesini Y8QUN (Unicorn)

Jack Dorsey Movie Hits & other Tunes 101 Strings Y8QP

 

[steelydave]

Thanks for the further info rustyandi - I've added it to the list at the top...could you just clear up a few further things?

Acker Bilk & Strings YQ8D 101 - can you give me more info about this tape, which label its on, what songs etc? Trying to figure out which LP this is as many of his albums have similar titles

London Philharmonic Orchestra 'Highlights From Handel's Messiah' Y8QPT What is the full catalog number? Y8QPT something...

Jack Dorsey Movie Hits & other Tunes 101 Strings How is this album titled? Is it billed as a Jack Dorsey album or a 101 Strings album? Also what is the full catalog number? Y8QPT something...


Also really fascinating to see a DJM Q8, even if it is classical. It definitely lends creedence to those stories of Elton John's 'Madman Across The Water' possibly being mixed for quad, given he was a DJM artist up until about 1975 or 1976.

 

[winopener]

What really puzzled me has been the no-movement-at-all-on-quad by UK RCA, or to be fair, in the whole Europe. Italy got 4 Q8 and 1 CD4, and that's all for the european RCA releases. Depressing, especially beacuse the first batch of EMI Q8 were duplicated by RCA (black riveted carts!)

 

[rustyandi]

Acker Bilk His Clarinet And Strings

If you don't mind
Love story
Windmills of your mind
Fire & Rain
The loner
Until it,s time for you to go.
and so on



Highlight,s Messiah Y8QPT 101


MOVIE THEMES & OTHER TUNES

small print

Jack Dorsey Conducts 101 Strings Y8QP 1013

 

[steelydave]

Thanks again for that rustyandi, as you can see from the grid I did at the top it's filled in a lot of holes. I just noticed that you didn't list the catalog number for the Unicorn label tape (Y8QUN) Royal Philharmonic Orchestra 'Paganini / Bottesini'. Could you let me know what it is?

and just for my own records, because I can't edit the first post any longer (and will have to do a re-post later to update) the catalog number of the self-titled Carpenters tape is Y8QAM 63502.

 

[rustyandi]

The number for

(Y8QUN) 304 Royal Philharmonic Orchestra 'Paganini / Bottesini'

 

[steelydave]

One thing that i had always found strange: no UK Q8 of Cat Stevens. Never seen one, ever.

I think this is because Cat Stevens was signed to Island Records in the UK, and A&M distributed his stuff in the US and elsewhere. So presumably Island manufactured and distributed their own Cat Stevens records tapes in the UK, and they never got involved with quad.

That would explain why the first 2 or 3 of his quad albums are just fake upmixes, and then I guess A&M must have persuaded (paid?) Island to let them do real quad mixes of Foreigner and Buddha And The Chocolate Box at the same time as the stereo mixes were being done so they could be released at or around the same time.

 

[steelydave]

Y8QP 1025 - Acker Bilk 'Some Of My Favourite Things'


Y8QP 18390 - Des O'Connor 'Sing A Favourite Song'


Y8QPT 102 - Band Of The Coldstream Guards/London Symphony Orchestra '1812 Overture'


Y8QPT 103 - London Symphony Orchestra 'Space Odyssey'


Y8QAM 985 - Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66 'Greatest Hits'


Y8QAM 67013 - Carole King 'Music'

 

[steelydave]

Y8QAM 63502 - Carpenters 'Self Titled'



Just got this one in the mail today...interestingly (if you're in to dumb stuff like this as I am), the tracks are in a different order from both the original US LP and the US Q8, which was presumably rearranged to balance the playing time on the two programs.

The picture they've used for the front cover of this release is a cropped version of the artwork that's on the back of the original stereo LP (and is also on the back of the US Q8).

 

[winopener]

The same situation, re-shuffled tracks differently between USA and PRT UK Q8, happens on Joan Baez Come from the Shadows.

 

[steelydave]

Here's another Pye/Precision Tape, previously unknown as far as I can tell:

Pye Records 'A Quadraphonic Sampler' (Catalog Number: Y8QPB 2)


No date on it, but presumably 1973 or 1974 based on what's on it. The catalog number makes you wonder if another sampler with catalog number Y8QPB 1 exists as well.