Collecting The Red Target Label 6000 Series LPs From 1971
By Piers A. Hemmingsen.
The Canadian "target" label
In the summer of 1969, Capitol of Canada followed the lead from their US parent and migrated to the "target logo" from the iconic "dome logo" that had been used on Capitol records from inception in the late 1940s. In Canada, Capitol began reissuing product using the "green target" label format for long playing albums and the "red and orange" target label format for the 45 RPM singles.
Capitol had "tested the waters" for re-issued product for the Canadian market in 1967 and 1968 when they re-issued much of The Beatles back catalogue (including the early USA Capitol LPs) on the "rainbow brackets" dome logo label, and then again in late 1969 with The Beatles back catalogue … they were amazed to see the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band LP entering the RPM LP charts in December of that year.
| DT-6229 | The Yardbirds | The Hits Of The Yardbirds |
|---|---|---|
| Duophonic stereo LP only | ||
| ST-6242 | The Pink Floyd | The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn |
| ST-6279 | The Pink Floyd | A Saucerful Of Secrets |
| Stereo only | ||
Arrival of the red target LPs in Canada
Possibly as early as January 1971, Capitol of Canada issued LPs on the red target label. An early example is ST-6357 "Impressions" by excellent French orchestrator Franck Pourcel. And by early 1971, Capitol of Canada was seeing increased demand for its re-issued product for their back catalogue. Perhaps as a direct result of the advancement in the technology for playing vinyl LPs. Baby boomers were off to college or university and one of their key requirements was a brand new hi-fi with headphones !
The most significant red target reissues from 1971 include:
| T-6000 | Freddy Gardner | The Unforgettable |
|---|---|---|
 | ||
| T-6002 | George Formby | When I’m Cleaning Windows |
| T-6051 | The Beatles | Beatlemania! With The Beatles |
| Mono only | ||
 | ||
| T-6054 | The Beatles | Twist And Shout |
| Mono only | ||
 | ||
| T-6063 | The Beatles | Long Tall Sally |
| Mono only - some covers mistakenly pasted a stereo front slick. Here we have an RCA pressing and what seems to be a Columbia pressing. | ||
 | ||
| ST-6153 | The Dave Clark Five | The Hits Of The Dave Clark Five |
| Stereo only | ||
| DT-6228 | The Hollies | The Hits Of The Hollies |
| Duophonic stereo only | ||
| ST-6242 | The Pink Floyd | The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn |
| Stereo only | ||
| ST-6279 | The Pink Floyd | A Saucerful Of Secrets |
| Stereo only | ||
 | ||
The red target label in Canada was short lived and was replaced in 1972 by the orange label. Because of the limited numbers produced during that time, the red target pressings from 1971 are now very rare.
Flat labels came out no earlier than 1972 because in early 1972, all RCA Victor 45 labels went from glossy to
flat.
Expect to pay over $100 for any of The Beatles titles on this rare Canadian label for example if they are in excellent condition.
Good luck finding these cool red target LP records!
Here is a promotional sleeve used to send new releases to radio stations.
BB means Billboard, CB means Cashbox and RPM is of course the Canadian mag from the 1970s
Appendix
Beatles red target Capitol singles in Canada
| Capitol 72144 | The Beatles | All My Loving / This Boy |
|---|---|---|
| Target label. RCA press, flat not glossy label. | ||
 | ||
| Capitol 72144 | The Beatles | All My Loving / This Boy |
| Although not a Canadian pressing, it is worth underlining; Capitol USA mistakenly pressed a few copies of the Canadian single 72144 on their american label, this is now hard to find! | ||
| Capitol 72146 | The Beatles | Twist And Shout / There's A Place |
| Target label. RCA press, flat not glossy label | ||
| Capitol 5112 | The Beatles | I Want To Hold Your Hand / I Saw her Standing There |
| Red target label. RCA press, glossy label. Some copies are also found with flat labels. | ||
| Capitol 5150 | The Beatles | Can't Buy Me Love / You Can't Do That |
| Red target. RCA press, flat not glossy label | ||
| Capitol 5222 | The Beatles | A Hard Day's Night / I SHould Have Known Better |
 | ||
| Capitol 5235 | The Beatles | And I Love Her / If I Fell |
 | ||
| Capitol 5371 | The Beatles | Eight Days A Week / I Don't Want To Spoil The Party |
 | ||
| Capitol 5476 | The Beatles | Help / I'm Down |
| Rare dome logo on red and orange label. Compo press, glossy label | ||
 | ||
| Capitol 5498 | The Beatles | Yesterday / Act Naturally |
| Target label. Compo press, glossy label | ||
 | ||
| Capitol 2138 | The Beatles | Lady Madonna / The Inner Light |
| Rare dome logo on red and orange label. Compo press, glossy label | ||
 | ||
| Capitol 2138 | The Beatles | Lady Madonna / The Inner Light |
| Target label. Compo press, glossy label | ||
 | ||
