ELO 10" & 12" UK Singles Discography
Listed below are Electric lIght Orchestra 10" & 12" black and coloured vinyl singles issued in from 1977 to 1986. Click an image to see all the formats, variations, different mouldings & pressings of that issue.
ELO issued twelve 12" singles, one 12" picture disc and two 10" singles
The two 10" singles were both issued on coloured vinyl - Xanadu on Pink Vinyl and All Over The World on Blue Vinyl.
The 12" singles were issued on Black, Purple, Yellow and White vinyl, plus a 12" picture disc was released.
Only 1 ELO album had all its 7" singles issued as 12" singles, that was "Balance Of Power" in 1986.
All the JET Records 12" issues used LP style labels rather than the 7" style labels.
Click a 12" single on the right or use the menus above to see full details of that issue.
The Start Of 12" UK Singles
In 1977 to 1979 several artists wanted to boost their single sales with the attraction of a picture sleeve, coloured vinyl and a 12” single, some with coloured vinyl and/or picture sleeves.
Most of the 12” were made only to a limited edition of about 10,000 copies. (For a few smaller artists only 5,000)
The record companies sold them at a dumping price for about 99 pence, later increased to £1,19 etc. but often not for the full price they needed for their production costs. It was all summed up as “promotional items”.
Some dealers complained that they did not get the amount of 12”’s they ordered. The record industry replied that if a 12” single was limited to 10,000 copies, every dealer in the UK could only order 3 copies. If some dealers ordered more than 3 copies, the 12” copies are run out.
The “new market” for 12” collectors was seen as a gimmickry to boost the single sales. But there were many record buyers who loved to buy only the 12” singles. Hence in the 1980's the explosion of 12" single issues.
Credit: Patrik Guttenbacher / Music Week Magazine