45’s and Under – UK – 7″ – Christmas picture sleeve

AMS 8269 UK 7″ Christmas picture sleeve
Ultra-rare Christmas single

Categories: 7" vinyl, Squeeze, UK Tag: Squabs On Forty Fab

Description

Description

AMS 8269 UK 7″ Christmas picture sleeve
A Squabs On Forty Fab / A Squabs On Forty Fab

A double A-sided promotional copy of the “Squabs On Forty Fab” b-side of Labelled With Love. It has a green and red picture sleeve with the drunken man from the front cover of the Singles LP, but subtly changed – he’s about to light a Christmas pudding. Released Christmas 1982. The matrix number (carved into the vinyl near the runoff groove) is AMS 8166 as the same pressing plates were used to make the b-side of “Labelled With Love”.

This picture sleeve appears to have been made in exceptionally small numbers and given to band members and immediate associates only. This double A sided single was pressed to promote the surprise radio hit of the b-side of Labelled With Love.

It was also more commonly available without a picture sleeve:

45’s and Under – UK – 7″ – promotional copy

packetofthree says:

14 February 2015 at 12:16 pm

I was incredibly lucky to get a copy of this Christmas Pudding picture sleeve single of the double-sided ‘Singles 45’s and Under.’ In the summer of 1982 I did work experience in the Squeeze management office in Putney with Chris Difford’s brother Lew (who went on to manage Elvis Costello) and David Enthoven (who went on to manage Bryan Ferry and Robbie Williams). I spent a week buying stamps, and doing the photocopying and looking in the filing cabinets and reading Chris Difford’s unpublished lyrics when it wasn’t busy. I researched and planned the simultaneous broadcast on BBC TV and Radio from Hitchin in Hertfordshire and wrote to all the Fan Club members to invite them there free of charge. It was great fun.

Lew and I have kept in touch sporadically ever since. When Lew told me later that year they had released a Christmas picture sleeve single with ‘Squabs on 45’ to a handful of friends and colleagues I was so desperate to get a copy. I was such a hard-core completist. He told me he’d have a look for me. I spent an age pacing up and down wondering where there’d be a spare one for me. And there was!

It wasn’t for another 20 years that I saw and bought another copy of it. I’ve since got another copy without the picture sleeve which is just in the standard red and black A&M company sleeve.
It’s a great item!

Years later I was able to pay back the favour when Lew lost his copy of the Jeremy Sandford and Ron Reid book ‘Tomorrow’s People’ which has lots of early photographs of Chris and Glenn and which Chris had written in with a dedication to him. I was able to find him a mint copy and send it to him as a present. Thank you Lew. Thank you so much.

45’s and Under – UK – 7″ – Christmas picture sleeve

Description

Related

Related

Leave a Reply Cancel reply