One Million Pressing Reportedly the Largest Single Order in Business History
NEW YORK — An initial pressing of 1 million albums, reportedly the largest single order in the history of the business, is in the works for “Help!” the Beatles album scheduled to be released by Capitol Records when the United Artists film of the same name opens Wednesday (Aug. ll).
A previous Beatles album, “Beatles VI,” had an initial pressing order of 500,000. The film will be accompanied by a publicity barrage calculated to blast the American public out of its homes and into the movie houses.
In New York, Murray the K will introduce the British group on his hour-long Channel TV show Saturday (Aug. 14). The show will be televised in 40 major markets.
The evening after the telecast, the Beatles make their much-heralded appearance in New York’s Shea Stadium.
Gary Stevens, WMCA disk jockey, is conducting a “Beatles Stakes” contest, with tickets to the Shea Stadium concert as prizes. Here’s how it works: From 7-11 p.m., during Stevens’ show, fans telephone the jockey, guess which Beatle will be talking to them next.
Tapes of individual Beatles will be played on the program. Those who make the correct predictions get pairs of tickets to the concert. END
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Information, credit and news source: Billboard, August 14, 1965
The below featured Capitol Records ‘Help’ LP advertisement was digitally restored by Motor City Radio Flashbacks.
