Gold disc 'Something New'
MOL LI 05/2010
Information
More than one million copies of The Beatles' single 'A Hard Day's Night' were sold. Sales for the album 'Something New' made more than one million dollars. To celebrate this The Beatles were presented with ten gold discs whilst on tour in America in 1964.
In November 1964 Capitol Records arranged transport of these discs to Britain by sea. However, it appears that no one was expecting them, and in London Docks they were not properly declared to Customs. They remained undeclared for 37 years, despite the efforts of Customs and Excise. When this was realised Apple Corps Limited (acting for The Beatles) completed the declaration forms, and the discs were finally released in May 2002.
To mark these unusual events, The Beatles agreed to donate two discs to 'Seized! The Border and Customs uncovered', the Border Force national museum. The gold disc for the album Something New is shown above.