Between 1957 and 1967 HMV and RCA released 22 Elvis EPs. Fifteen years later RCA issued two Elvis EP sets (The Elvis Collection Volumes 1 and 2), each comprising 11 EP’s. In 1992 a single EP, 'Don’t Be Cruel', was released and in 2001 another 11 EP set, 'The International Elvis Presley Collection', was released by RCA and Castle Music. 'Elvis UK Extended - The Ultimate Guide to Elvis Presley’s British EPs 1957-2001' is their story.
Piers Beagley, Nigel Patterson (>>> Elvis Information Network) and Kees Mouwen read the book.
Can there really be anything new of particular interest in a book about Elvis’ vinyl UK EP releases? Many of us thought we knew they started with the ‘Love Me Tender’ EP and wrapped by 1967 with ‘Easy Come Easy Go’. That’s only 20 or so EP releases and surely some like ‘Elvis Sails’ or ‘Elvis Sings Christmas Songs’ would only get one original print run and then be deleted.
We thought that this smaller UK vinyl theme would be done and dusted in under 100 pages – “mah boy, mah boy” were we wrong!
Not only did the Elvis EP get revived in 1982, with Roger Semon’s cleverly marketed ‘The EP Collection’ but all of Elvis’ EPs have had multiple numbers of reprints over the decades and all with “collectable” slight differences. And even after the release of this book, the UK based Memphis Recording Service released various 7-inch vinyl / CD packages that fit the definition of an “Extended Play” (even with the addition of a silver disc), so Townson and Minto address a relevant and still growing part of the Elvis discography.
Looking through all the details in this softcover book can be exhausting when you realise just how comprehensive the authors have been in their investigations.
And this included the UK ‘Such A Night’ EP, ‘Kid Galahad’ EP and a ‘Loving You’ EP. The Rock ’n’ Blues that ripped out of that crackly ‘Such A Night’ vinyl truly changed my musical taste forever.
So despite not being an “EP” collector here were at least three EPs that I wanted to investigate. Upon discovering that there were seven different ‘Black RCA Victor’ pressings of ‘Such A Night’ along with another five ‘orange label’ re-pressings plus five cover variations, I was hooked.
It is a real surprise that there were so many reprints of each EP, did RCA not realise that Elvis’ 45 vinyls would sell and sell?
One of the weirdest revelations is that ‘Elvis Sails’ (do you really need to play it more than once?) had 15 reprints / variations. Surely fans who rediscovered Elvis via the 68 Special and ‘Suspicious Minds’ didn’t need a 1958 interview about Elvis going into the army, yet it was still being repressed in 1969 and again in 1970!
In the book, structurally, the main companies that released British Elvis EP’s, HMV and RCA, each has its own chapter/chapters. The RCA element is introduced with an informative overview of the company’s history.
Design
The page design of this 502-page softcover book is simple and consistent, and it works well with nice balance between the detailed text and glorious color visuals. Good use of white space and shaded boxes allow different aspects of each release to be easily identified. It matches the designs of the previous ‘Elvis UK’ books, and there was no need to change a winning design.
In addition to song titles and writers’ names, the authors included contextual background to, and a brief account of each recording session, plus ancillary information. Each variation is presented in the same way. For example, there are six variations of the “labels” for the Love Me Tender EP.
A good discography needs to include a wide range of information about each release, and Townson and Minto provide this in spades. Serious collectors will be more than satisfied with the level and range of detail recorded, the book contains all the information you need to know. This includes:
- Titles and variation details for each release;
- Photos of each release (covers, labels) for each variation of each release;
- Track listings including songwriters names;
- Cover and label identifiers including print colors and placement of logos and copyright info between different variations of each release;
- Physical differences in the vinyl and sleeves;
- Matrix numbers and other product details;
- Tax and pricing Codes;
- Some technical stuff, including fascinating information about the production process complete with instructive archival photos;
- EP Sales and EP charts;
- Archival material.
The visuals are clean and strong as can be seen in the accompanying page examples.
This often serves to heighten the reader’s interest and offer something different to the previously noted necessarily repetitive narrative and visual elements.
Given the necessarily repetitive nature in discographies of presenting countless cover and label images and routine record information, Townson and Minto have ensured that their ancillary discussion for each release is interesting and engaging:
"Both the sleeves for the two Elvis EPs - 'Love Me Tender' (EP 1) and 'Good Rockin’ Tonight' (EP 3) - had foldovers at the top and bottom on the back of the sleeve where part of the front had been folded over to create the envelope to hold the record.
From the outset of Elvis’s career, there was a marked difference between record release schedules in America and the UK, and so it was not surprising, even at this early stage, that the release of this EP lagged behind its US counterpart. Indeed, that was true for all aspects concerning the film."
Content
The more you delve into this fascinating volume the more you learn and, as you can see, one topic leads to another.
The level of detail the authors offer, and which distinguishes their books from others, can be found in the description of each EP sleeve which features often fascinating information, and at times obtuse facts such as:
"However, Good Rockin’ Tonight sleeves were made by a company called Mayfair as opposed to Wood, Rozelaar, Wilkes which had printed the Love Me Tender sleeves. Mayfair sleeves differed in that the cuts were sometimes more rounded and the same at both sides."
Another example is discussion about triangular centres for the EPs:
"Neither of the two HMV EPs, 'Love Me Tender' (EP 1) and 'Good Rockin’ Tonight' (EP 3) - or, for that matter any of the HMV label Elvis singles - were manufactured with a triangular centre. Producing records with triangular centres was not something that EMI, HMV’s owners, did, and neither did other major labels.
However, Decca did, and so all of Elvis’ UK singles and EPs released in the UK up to this point had been issued with a triangular centre. The question is when did Decca stop pressing triangular centres and switch to manufacturing knockout centres? Is there a simple answer? Of course not!
As with many aspects of record business, there is no ‘one’ specific date when changes such as this occurred. Undoubtedly, there was a change-over period but, based on when a particular record was issued, it is possible to narrow that date down somewhat."
At another point the reader learns that some British Elvis EPs were only repressed in order to incorporate the latest purchase tax code. The authors also expose the myth that there were no inner sleeves used for UK releases, while we also learn about many other aspects of EPs including “dinking” and the story behind “solid centres”.
Those interested in “behind the scenes” strategy / politics will appreciate the intriguing two-page discussion, Postscript to the E.P. Collections (about the two sets of 11 EPs released in 1992). It opens with:
"Without doubt, the two EP Collections were trail blazers in terms of their innovative nature and a feather in the cap of RCA UK which rightly earned a considerable degree of kudos, not to say a substantial financial return, from both industry personnel and of course the record-buying public, for supporting this venture. However, what cannot – nor should not – be underestimated was the determination of the person at the centre of all of this - Roger Semon - to make this happen.
Semon had worked for RCA UK for a number of years but had, over time, become RCA’s own in-house Elvis expert. In his own words, Semon stated, ‘The EP Collection was my project and I handled it from scratch,’ and when asked why he had used Bob Jones as the mastering engineer, rather than one for RCA’s own engineers, his reply was equally to the point: "I used Bob Jones as he was considered to be the best engineer for Elvis stuff. He also held a lot of RCA’s Elvis tapes at CTS in Wembley, including many of the original Decca releases."
It was as simple as that – though, in fact, it wasn’t."
For comparison purposes, the authors also provide a listing of and commentary about Elvis’ 36 American EP releases.
"Some believe that the photograph used one the front cover was one of the least attractive to grace an Elvis record cover as it appeared to portray someone not entirely happy with life. Perhaps, given the nature of what Elvis was asked to do in the film, that may have been true. Clearly, he wasn’t amused by the invitation in the film’s title – or perhaps he had just been shown the script for his next film role!"
The later 1980’s ‘EP Collections’ differed from the originals and are examined in full.
As usual the authors provide some interesting side-chapters on various related topics. For instance the chapter on The Jordanaires and their involvement with Elvis includes some great new information. The inclusion of RCA engineer Mike Walker’s memories on trying to track down Elvis original masters and also how Decca London held over 2000 RCA-tapes that they wanted “cleared-out” is both fascinating and very alarming.
Not only did I learn so much more about these foreign EPs, the original box-set disappointingly included no booklet, but I also gave them a spin for the first time in 20 years!
Using the book
Piers: Investigating the three early EPs that I have from my brother’s collection I was intrigued to discover some delicious facts.
My ‘Such A Night’ EP was not a unique UK compilation as is often thought but had been issued in lots of other countries except the USA. My copy was also an original 1960 print.
In the UK there were 10 different variation / pressings but all printed in 1962. I guess RCA UK did print huge numbers of this since there was no equivalent album.
My ‘Loving You’ EP – well I thought of it as such because it featured the album tracks - was in fact EP4 ‘Elvis Presley’ and that while it was similar to the USA EP ‘Just For You’ (it did have the same cover pic) it had the final track ‘Is It So Strange’ changed to ‘Don’t Leave me Now’ the reason for that is explained in the book.
It all gets weirder as ‘Is It So Strange’ (one of my personal favourites) was later released on the UK EP ‘Strictly Elvis’ in 1959 which had no similarities at all to the 1957 USA EP of the same name!
The way the UK RCA marketing team worked copying US cover photos and EP titles but then releasing the set with totally different tracklisting is bizarre.
And for some mind-numbingly stupid reason the same Elvis cover photo was used on EP4 ‘Elvis Presley’, EP12 ‘Strictly Elvis’ as well as the US ‘Just For You’.
My favorite, the classic HMV designed 'Good Rockin' Tonight', hangs on the wall, with Bill Monroe's signature as the author of 'Blue Moon of Kentucky', so I couldn't check that one. But looking at that 1957 cover always makes me glad to see it. Reading this book I learned quite a few new facts about this beauty.
Looking at the other EPs in my collection I was a little disappointed, no real gems … My 'Jailhouse Rock' EP was a variation 12 from 1960, easily identifiable thanks to the "E/T" tax code. This does show that the identification of records through "tax identifiers", John and Gordon discovered really works.
The copy of 'King Creole' volume 2 is a variation 2, identifiable by the "Belinda" on both sides of the disc. My 'Elvis Sails' is variation 11, from 1965 and 'Strictly Elvis' was variation 20, also from 1965. I did find a protective inner sleeve in the ‘Elvis Sails’ EP, but checking with Gordon Minto he confirmed that this probably slipped in somewhere the last 55 years. It makes me realize, once again, that many of my older records have had a life of their own before finding their way to my record player.
And finally, the last EPs in my collection are 'Tickle Me' volumes 1 and 2. The first volume is the only "variation 1" in my collection, volume 2 comes in close as a "variation 2". It is fun to to a closer look at some of the items in your collection, and learn more about the records you have, there is a story behind most of them.
Verdict
If a book supplies new stories and information as well as getting you to spin your old vinyl for the first time in decades that’s gotta’ be a great recommendation. Not surprisingly, given the voluminous size of the book, the contents section runs to a full four pages.
The fabulous EP cover and photos, thought-provoking side-chapters, insights from RCA’ staff plus newly discovered facts all contribute to an absorbing read. Plus it will make you want to spin your old vinyl!
Postscript comment on 'Elvis UK' and 'Elvis On Record' (by Paul Alner) books:
All collectors will be aware that there are two major series of books detailing Elvis Presley’s British record releases, ‘Elvis UK’ and ‘Elvis On Record’. This begs the question, is there room for two major series of books on Elvis’ British vinyl releases? In our opinion "yes". Both series certainly contain similar information and visuals, but there is also a reasonable amount of different narrative, image, and archival material between them. Together, the two series function well to satisfy the deep-seated need of serious collectors to acquire every variation of a record and every piece of information about it.
And if that is not enough, there are the two books by the late Trevor Simpson on ‘The Best of British’ providing even more background reading on the “HMV” and “RCA” years from 1956 to 1960.
Further reading
- Read our 2024 >>> new interview with authors, John Townson and Gordon Minto about Elvis UK Extended - The Ultimate Guide to Elvis Presley’s British EP’s 1957-2001.
- Read the EIN >>> 2021 interview with authors, John Townson and Gordon Minto about Elvis UK3: The Ultimate Guide to Elvis Presley British CD Releases 1983-2005.
- Read the Elvis Day By Day review of "Elvis UK - Beyond RCA" (Physical book).
- Read our review of "Elvis UK - Beyond RCA" (Digital Flipbook).
- Read the Elvis Day By Day review of "Elvis UK 1" (Digital Flipbook).
For more information on the Elvis UK book(s) please visit the authors' website at >>> www.elvisukbooks.co.uk or the >>> www.nowdigthismagazine.co.uk webshop, that exclusively sell this hardcopy book.