STARLINE - The Beach Boys on 45
South Africa | ||
Radio Record Company (RRC) | Warner Brothers / Reprise | Solo |
Capitol | CBS / Caribou / Epic | Related |
Stateside | Promo (Capitol) | |
Testpressing |
An introduction
Collecting South African vinyl isn't an easy hobby. One has to take into mind that:
- the number of pressings is relatively low, as the market was mainly aimed at the "white" audience;
- several pressing plants were responsible for printing these 45's, causing a variety in label variations. Especially on Capitol there's a lot of variety to be found;
- South African 45's aren't well-known for it's good quality;
- whereas in many European countries and the U.S. there are plenty of vinyl stores to be found, in South Africa they can be counted on one hand. Most vinyl is dropped in so called swop shops (or pawn shops) where they usually end up on a big pile, catching a lot of dust and scratches.
- on many 45's the (first) owner, or the record company would usually write his/her name or attach stickers on it, causing damage on labels.
So chances of finding a more than decent copy of a Beach Boys (or any RSA single at all) ain't easy. And the list of variations seems neverending. So know in advance what you're thinking of starting a collection of South African 45's.
Fortunately there are a few South African dealers around that have their contacts and somehow are always able to find something interesting. The collection of 45's you'll see overhere is the result of many years of collecting by two collectors, with a lot of help from several dealers.