Chalky

https://www.discogs.com/The-Velvelettes-Needle-In-A-Haystack-Should-I-Tell-Them/release/6013160 there will be many with a RCA matrix. The above has nashville matrix 10, 10 being ARP. There will probably be a midwest and a west coast press too.

Think we all know its ok to play, just Dylan being an arse. Its also not needed in the topic either.

Every nationally distributed release would be pressed at regional plants. I would imagine every plant would test press once a release reached the production stage, after all it would be bad practice to press 1000s and then find a flaw in the press.

Why would you need a test press left at the plant in case of another required run? It plays no part in production, its only for reference, quality etc. As for Motown policy, they wouldn’t require 6 test presses from the other plants in fact it doesn’t appear any from Southern Plastics Found their way to detroit so is it possibly it was solely for plant use?

Why is it? We simply don’t know unless they turn up

They would do a test press to test if it plays ok etc

Because they originally probably had plans to press and distribute so they would use the regional plants, saves the cost of shipping everything from Detroit. You never know we might see a monarch one for the West Coast one day As for how many, no one knows, just one as surfaced. But like I said Motown did the evaluation and quality checks with those from ARP. So the other plants wouldn't need to repeat all the processes just do a test press to check the quality of the press, so maybe just the one. Wasn't from RCA plant if memory serves, could've been Southern Plastics. RCA did the mastering etc. Just checked, the 5 in the matrix is for Southern Plastic Co. (SO).

Deadwax details for the test press out of Memphis A side - SK4M - 4916 1 A Nashville Matrix 5 ZQL 163317 B side - SK4M - 4915 1 A Nashville Matrix 5 ZAQQ 147105

We are keeping up It would be at other plants for distribution purposes probably. Easier and cheaper to press on other regions than to ship. The demos at ARP and the test oress are done for evaluation and usually 5 or 6 for any release. We know there was 6 at ARP and as I said earlier the other plant wouldn’t need as many as the evaluation was already done with the ARP copies. The test press would be to solely for quality purposes. It still bears the RCA matrix if memory serves, topic elsewhere about it from when it was found, not that many seem to take much notice.

Yes we know, he nicked it off Tom’s desk allegedly. But if you read what the manager of ARP says then Motown still have two more copies. The other copy we know of came via the ARP manager to Ron to Martin to Kenny via Tim Brown.

The UK acetates are about somehwere. If you are talking about a US Jobete acetate its all guess work. No one said the test press would fetch what it did but if you have enough money and you are a fool then that money is easily parted.

So going by what the plant manager says, Motown still have two file copies and just two copies at ARP are unaccounted for, presumed destroyed.

Did Berry get a copy. Owning the company he may have thought a company file copy was enough and it was his? It was rumoured Berry bought Reg Bartlett’s collection which was allegedly the most comprehensive collection of Motown. Its one of the hardest labels to collect because of all the various takes and mixes, represees etc, many only distinguishable by the matrix details in the run out.

This is what Ron Murphy wrote about Frank Wilson.... Here's the story on Soul 35019 by Frank Wilson The prime pressing plant for Motown was American Record Pressing (ARP) located in Owosso.Michigan now this plant was destroyed by a fire in 1971 but later in the early 80's I contacted some of the former employee's to see if they still had saved any of the records pressed there. Well I got lucky and found a few thousand records pressed at ARP starting from 1952 when the plant started right up to 1971, I visted and purchased records from about 25 former workers, one day I received a call from a former manager saying he had about 300 records to sell and this guy ended up having the best Motown items. Included in those boxes were the Frank Wilson (Soul 35019) and a test pressing of VIP 25034 a "MISSING" number which was the Chris Clark version of the same Frank Wilson song which had Clark overdubbing her lead vocal over Wilson's track. Now here is exactly what he told me when I asked him how he had all these mint records including the Frank Wilson on Soul, he said: "we would press 6 copies and send 3 to Motown for approval and keep the other 3 copies on file" then he said one day"the owner told him to get rid of all the older records on file because they were taking up a lot of space BUT instead of throwing away all 3 copies he saved ONE copy of each and took those home, and that's what I got. The other known copy in the UK was originally stolen by a Motown employee and then sold to that collector by Simon Soussan. So IF the former ARP manager that I got my copy from was correct and the other 2 copies the plant had were destroyed then besides the one copy stolen from Motown's files that would leave only 2 possible other copies to exist. My copy of Soul 35019 was near mint when I sold my entire Motown collection to Martin Koppel in 1994 at that time I placed a value of $4000. on that record based on offers I had for it up to that time. Martin Koppel had told me he would sell most of the collection by piece meal but since he loved northern soul he would keep the Frank Wilson in his collection BUt as it turned out someone else made him an offer he couldn't refuse.

Test presses you do what the company request but as you say usually 5 or 6. In this case test presses wouldn’t be needed for company evaluation as they were done by ARP. The mid west one would probably be done solely for quality control at the plant so could well be just the one. There could however be others but unless one turns up we will never know.

It is the test pressing from the mid west/Memphis that was found a couple of years ago. There was plenty of talk about it at the time, here and everywhere else.

Never seen a stocker. Tom Brown has the one Simon Soussan got from Tom, it’s a demo. The one Ron Murphy got from the plant worker is the one that went to Kenny Burrell and the one in the manship video. They are the only two in the wild that are known about plus the test press. There is an interview with the ARP manager somewhere detailing what happening to the 6 copies. One to Motown files, one to Jobete and one for ARP files. The rest were supposedly destroyed.

Think so reading the comments elsewhere regardless it is profit before safety at these events

Apparently a big scrap there this weekend and a death (fell mover or off the balcony), second one at Butlins this year apparently. This is what you get when you let the divs in and a corporate puts on an event with no knowledge of the scene.

Still with him in Scunny I believe. John Manship revisited it a while back, there is a video on line somewhere I think?

Do you seriously think anyone in that audience is prepared to splash out the sort of money soul collectors do? There isn't one I bet in that audience who is even remotely interested in owning a proper copy unless given to them so they can sell it. Why would it increase the value? I bet the adverts it has featured in has reached a bigger audience.

It had obviously been through all the processes as it had gone to the pressing plants. It was whilst going through the process that they decided he would no longer be an act but a writer, producer etc. The company pressed 6 copies for evaluation, file copies filed the rest ordered destroyed. There is a comprehensive write up somewhere on site. As for the exposure tonight, don't think it will make any difference in our world.

Wasn’t done without his knowledge though was it, only after the session was it decided he’d put his efforts into writing and producing. Regardless they weren’t all destroyed, along with file copies at least one found its way into the hands of a pressing plant employee.

It can't get anymore over exposed than KFC Adverts and that didn't stop someone shelling out £26k and £75k for the test press.