ELO 7" Large Hole / Jukebox UK Singles Discography
Listed below are all the known to have been issued Electric Light Orchestra large hole / jukebox 7" UK singles from 1972 to 1986. A large hole/jukebox issue is where a solid centre record has had it's centre punched out or "Dinking" by design. NOT where a 4 prong push out centre has simply been punched out.
All 45's start off as solid centres. UK copies would then have the perforations for 3 or 4 prong push out centres punched out or left as solid centres. If at the factory a large hole / jukebox version was required, this would be done a heavy duty die cutter with a clean cut and not much chance or breaking the vinyl record.
If Jukebox operators themselves needed to cut the large hole (if only solid centres were available, particularly common from the early 80s). There are a number of different tools for doing this, some better than others, but they would usually be hand held and would have an expected fail rate (i.e. they would expect a certain percentage to break in the process).
Download HERE a PDF list of all known issues of ELO UK Large Hole Singles - April 2024
History of UK Large Hole Issued Singles
In the U.S.A there was a slightly different system to the UK when it came to playing vinyl.
The large hole was designed around the RCA 45 RPM record changers which launched the 45 RPM format.
The large hole is important in jukeboxes as many post 1959 machines also played the 33 1/3 RPM singles/EP discs and the spindle hole changed the speed.
UK Pressed 7” Singles
EMI used the large hole version when they first launched 45 RPM in the UK.
"Dinking" is the process of enlarging the hole in the middle of the record so that it can be played in a Jukebox.
Why is this necessary? As above, originally when the first 45rpm records were produced in the USA they had a large hole made in the centre to designate the speed as 45.
All the 45rpm Jukeboxes were designed to work with the large hole, so it became the standard in America as most systems were made in America by the likes of Wurlitzer, Rock-ola and Seeburg to name just a few.
A small number of Jukeboxes had the option to play both 7 inch 45rpm vinyl and the 7 inch 33-1/3rd rpm EP (extended play), although the same diameter as the "45" the EP centre hole would always be small.
The twin speed machines used the different holes sizes to choose at which speed the record should be played, large hole at 45 rpm, small at 33 1/3rd.
However and for reasons which are unclear, in the UK we had a system with all solid centres so that we could play any speed on our multi speed, often portable, record decks.
So, as per the top of the page, Jukebox operators would either dink their own or have them supplied ready dinked or have 4 prong push-out centres supplied making dinking redundant.
Another UK oddity is that for some pressings between at least 1971 and 1974, Phonodisc pressed some of their singles pre-dinked, and which came supplied with a three-pronged 'spider'.
Phonodisc were what later became known as Polygram, and pressed records for Polydor, Philips and associated labels. This applies both to singles produced with paper labels and the injection moulded ones that appeared from 1972.
ELO were distributed in 1975 by Phonodisc/Polydor… See link https://www.discogs.com/label/327018-Phonodisc-Ltd?sort=artist&sort_order=&page=10
Plus in Jukeboxes there was a more scientific reason for the larger hole. When a new 45 dropped from the spindle onto the turntable, it was required to spin up from a dead stop to 45 RPM very quickly.
This torque tended to cause the small holes to go out-of-round very quickly, causing record to wobble as it spun.
The larger hole allowed the sudden rotational force to be distributed over a longer path—pi x 1.5 = about 4.712 inches—reducing wear and allowing the hole to stay round longer.