What was the VERY FIRST Queen CD?

Here is a question for you.  I'll be intrigued to see what the majority opinion is on this out there...

[/QUOTE]What was the VERY FIRST Queen CD - to be issued anywhere in the world, and I don't mean promos?[/QUOTE]
[/QUOTE]
[/QUOTE]1. The very first CD album? When, where, what?[/QUOTE]
[/QUOTE]
[/QUOTE]2. The very first CD single? When, where, what?[/QUOTE]
[/QUOTE]
[/QUOTE]We feel about 95% certain that we know what the first CD album was (a clue is that is wasn't a UK release), and 100% certain what the first CD single was. But let's see what you think.[/QUOTE]
[/QUOTE]
[/QUOTE]Ta muchly[/QUOTE]
[/QUOTE] [/QUOTE][/QUOTE]

[QUOTE]

[b]Queen Archivist wrote: [/b]

Here is a question for you.  I'll be intrigued to see what the majority opinion is on this out there...

 



 

[/QUOTE] What was the VERY FIRST Queen CD - to be issued anywhere in the world, and I don't mean promos? [/QUOTE]
[/QUOTE]
[/QUOTE] 1. The very first CD album? When, where, what? [/QUOTE]
[/QUOTE]
[/QUOTE] 2. The very first CD single? When, where, what? [/QUOTE]
[/QUOTE]
[/QUOTE] We feel about 95% certain that we know what the first CD album was (a clue is that is wasn't a UK release), and 100% certain what the first CD single was. But let's see what you think. [/QUOTE]
[/QUOTE]
[/QUOTE] Ta muchly [/QUOTE]
[/QUOTE] [/QUOTE] [/QUOTE] [/QUOTE] Hi Greg,

I think that The Game was the first Queen CD released, USA, September 1983. The disc itself was made in West-Germany though. It came in a longbox.

The first cd-single? Hmm, could it be the first batch of the 3" series (Seven Seas of Rhye (QUECD 1), Killer Queen (QUECD2) and Bohemian Rhapsody (QUECD3), UK, October 1988?

Cheers.

Depends on what you think of as a cd-single. I believe the various CD-video promos that were released in 1984/1986 of Break Free/Highlander also included an audio portion...? Otherwise I'd have to go with one of the 3" cd-singles too.

I have to question that THE GAME release.  If it were a 1983 release on a West German label, that would not be considered a US release but an import.  Also, what was the catalog number on that West German CD?  The 1st issue EMI CD for the game had a catalog number of 46213.  Which is close to the numbers on all the other CDs prior to.  Flash had 46214, Hot Space had 46215.  The First album had 46204, but Greatest Hits had 46[b]0[/b]33, almost 200 lower than those previously mentioned.  Even lower was 46016... The Works.  I believe that to be the first US released Queen CD.  Whether or not it was released in the rest of the world prior to releasing the Queen catalog on CD, I don't know. 

The Works was issued in Japan on Toshiba in 1984, CAT. NO: CP35-3117

There were no CD Single releases off of The Works, as Capitol had not ventured into the CD Single market yet and never did with Queen until their contract ended with The Miracle.

Before EMI records released CDS, some ELEKTRA pressings were produced in West Germany and/or Japan. These are the so-called Target cds.

Target CDs are a class of pressings released by WEA (Warner-Elektra-Atlantic) in the early-to-mid 1980s. Most were manufactured in either West Germany or Japan for distribution in the U.S. before domestic pressing facilities went online. Target CDs were also distributed in other markets.

The catalogue number for the West German Target CD of The Game is ELEKTRA 64513-2. There are also Target CDS for News of the World and Greatest Hits.


* edit *
A West German ELEKTRA pressing for the Japanese market of The Game could also be the first CD release...Catalogue number 38XP-15, (released end of 1983?). This one has a gold sticker OBI.

A few words if I may, Walter?
[/QUOTE]They are known as "Target" CD's because of the target-like shape in the front of the disc:[/QUOTE]
[/QUOTE]"News of the World"[/QUOTE]http://www.keithhirsch.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/queen-news-error.jpg
[/QUOTE]
[/QUOTE]"The Game"[/QUOTE]http://www.keithhirsch.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/queen-the-game-64513.jpg
[/QUOTE]
[/QUOTE]"Greatest Hits"[/QUOTE]http://www.keithhirsch.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/queen-greatest-hits.jpg
[/QUOTE]
[/QUOTE]I do believe that one of these three, possibly NOTW is the first Queen CD. [/QUOTE]
[/QUOTE]V.[/QUOTE]
[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE]

[b]bigV wrote: [/b]

A few words if I may, Walter?
[/QUOTE] They are known as "Target" CD's because of the target-like shape in the front of the disc: [/QUOTE]
[/QUOTE] [/QUOTE] [...]

Sorry bigV, my mistake. I know what they are. Bad use of syntax from me there...
[/QUOTE] [/QUOTE]

Great thread, by the way guys.

So where were these Target CD's available?  Were they available at nationwide chain stores or did you have to hunt them down?  I remember specificallly searching for a Queen CD of older material and was unsuccessful until I managed to get the standard Elektra imports around 1986 or 1987.

You could get albums and tapes no problem, but Queen CDs were tricky back then.  I always wondered why.

Hi Walter (great to hear from you)

yes, we too thought The Game CD from 1983 was the first CD. But now it seems that an Elektra Hits 1 CD I found at Brian's, predates that. The CD has 1981 on it, but CDs weren't available til 1982, so the 81 must only relate to the original release year. But.... although we thought (Gary Taylor and I) that the Game 83 disc was Capitol Records, it seems that a small handful of Elektra discs came first.

We are greatly intrigued by this. Much more digging is required. Also, I see that someone else has offered a great reply to this, on this thread, which I'll get to next.

We need to get this stuff right, since I have, after all, made a bit of a thing of spotlighting the VERY FIRST example of each format.

I'll dig further. Thanks for your info Walter.

By the way.... the entire subject of Long Boxes is VERY interesting. I've never seen any CD other than HR in such packaging.... not a Capitol disc, nor an Elektra one. But they do exist, evidently.

CD singles.... we think the 3" first was the EMI series you mention, and the first 5" is I WANT IT ALL, 1989. But again we are checking our facts.

Microwave.... BIG thanks for a greatly useful response...

What you say is really interesting.

I have to say here that I'm not bothered by the first Queen CD just in certain countries... USA, Germany, UK... that's not the issue. I just want to find out where the FIRST cd ANYWHERE in the world was.

Microwave... I think you have concluded the following things, which I have put in numerical order....

Greatest Hits had 46033 (almost 200 lower than those previously mentioned)

(Queen) The First album had 46204

The 1st issue EMI CD for the game had a catalog number of 46213.

Flash had 46214

Hot Space had 46215.

Even lower was 46016... The Works


So... can you just clarify what precisely you are concluding was the first Queen CD, and why. Make sure we're on the same page.

Many thanks.

Walter.... this info is also great...

Before EMI records released CDS, some ELEKTRA pressings were produced in West Germany and/or Japan. These are the so-called Target cds.

Target CDs are a class of pressings released by WEA (Warner-Elektra-Atlantic) in the early-to-mid 1980s. Most were manufactured in either West Germany or Japan for distribution in the U.S. before domestic pressing facilities went online. Target CDs were also distributed in other markets.

The catalogue number for the West German Target CD of The Game is ELEKTRA 64513-2. There are also Target CDS for News of the World and Greatest Hits.




Same question... just to be sure, what are you concluding was the first CD then????


BigV.... the scans are very useful too. Thank you.

Hi Greg,

Some answers:

The USA had longoxes for the ELEKTRA pressings of News of the World, The Game and Greatest Hits. There were also longboxes for the CAPITOL releases of The Works, A Kind of Magic (2 versions) and The Miracle.

Target cds:
News of the World (West Germany, Elektra, catalog number 112-2)
News of the World (West Germany, Elektra, catalog number 112-2, odd pressing error with second row of target squares running between 10 o’clock and 4 o’clock) (bigV posted a picture of this one)

The Game (West Germany, Elektra, catalog number 64513-2, catalog number is shown on disc and inserts as 64513-2)
The Game (West Germany, Elektra, catalog number 513-2/64513-2, catalog number is shown on disc as 513-2 and on inserts as 64513-2)

Greatest Hits (West Germany, Elektra, catalog number 5E-564-2).

The seems to be no logic in the ELEKTRA catalogue numbering, so I don't know which one came first...


The EMI cds were released November/December 1986. But...The Greatest Hits album (CDP 7460332) was released in September 1984 or September 1985. Hence the lower catalogue number. The Works album precedes the number (CDP 7460162) because that album (cd version) was released May 1984. You can quite easily distinguish them from the 1986-versions, because they don't have a barcode on the back and the discs are Made in Japan. The 1986 versions have barcodes and are made in the UK, Holland or West Germany.

I hope this helps?

Queen I (1973), obviously.
[/QUOTE]
[/QUOTE]Fucking hell, some people ...[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE]

[b]Micrówave wrote: [/b]

Great thread, by the way guys.

So where were these Target CD's available?  Were they available at nationwide chain stores or did you have to hunt them down?  I remember specificallly searching for a Queen CD of older material and was unsuccessful until I managed to get the standard Elektra imports around 1986 or 1987.

You could get albums and tapes no problem, but Queen CDs were tricky back then.  I always wondered why.[/QUOTE] The Game is on eBay right now: [url=http://cgi.ebay.com/Queen-The-Game-Elektra-513-2-West-Germany-Target_W0QQitemZ180459699111QQcmdZViewItemQQptZMusic_CDs?hash=item2a043c7ba7]http://cgi.ebay.com/Queen-The-Game-Elektra-513-2-West-Germany-Target_W0QQitemZ180459699111QQcmdZViewItemQQptZMusic_CDs?hash=item2a043c7ba7[/url]

Walter-  Nice spot.  I was actually wondering where you could get these Target CDs at the time of release.  Could I have gone to my local Wherehouse music and found it right along with The Thompson Twins and Men At Work or would this have to have been ordered from overseas somehow.

-----------------------------------------

Greg-  About The Works CD...  it has the lowest catalog number from Capitol out of all their CD releases.  This has always kind of confused me.  But then, I was just a teenager at the time.  I first got all my Queen CDs in the late 80s, but The Works was the first I got on CD.  The liner says Capitol, 1984, CDP 46016... Made in JAPAN.   My A Kind Of Magic CDs, and subsequent ones are Capitol and were made in the USA until the Hollywood contract took over for the release of Innuendo.  But what's wierd is (1) my Hot Space and all prior to are all EMI and made in the UK but the discs themselves look identical (format wise) to my Works CD right down to the font and layout.  (2) Also, the spine of the CD jacket is identical.... location of album title / record label / catalog number all line up. 

Now I had to pay about twice as much for the "import" CDs (Hot Space and before) but I paid regular price for The Works, Magic, and so forth.  Why wouldn't The Works have cost me double?  Did it have something to do with the distribution deal in The States because of the new deal with Capitol and why would it not be made in USA?  Why would their CDs look the same as the EMI "import" discs?  Even my A Kind Of Magic spine and CD are very similar in format but it clearly states "Made In USA". 

By the way, my Works, Magic, Miracle, and Innuendo CDs all came in full-artwork cardboard longboxes when I bought them from Musicland/Sam Goody in the 80s.  The import CDs came in clear plastic longboxes with no kind of artwork.