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Original ‘Best LP (World)’ gold record award presented to the Beatles by the British music newspaper Disc and Music Echo at their Valentine’s Day Readers Poll awards ceremony, which was held at the Empire Rooms in Tottenham Court Road, London, England, on February 15, 1968. Presented in a hinged faux leather-bound presentation case, 6˝ x 8˝ x 1˝, the award consists of a gold-tone metal record, 4.75˝ in diameter, engraved “Disc and Music Echo, Valentine Pop Poll Awards, 1968,” and a gold-tone metal plaque, which reads: “Best 1967 LP (World), Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band by the Beatles.” In very good to fine condition, with general age wear. Accompanied by a certificate of authenticity from Tracks. As a contemporary award issued directly to the band for one of their most cherished albums, this ‘gold disc’ accolade exists as an attractive and coveted piece of Beatles history.
The Beatles won a total of four awards at the event, including ‘Best LP (World)’ and ‘Best LP (British)’ for their album Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band, as well as ‘Top Group (World)’ and ‘Top Group (British).’ Despite being the night’s big winners, none of the Beatles were in attendance at the ceremony. John Lennon and George Harrison had left for India to study Transcendental Meditation, with Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr joining them just a couple of days later. As the Beatles were not available to collect the awards directly, Apple employee Peter Brown was on hand to receive them on their behalf. The awards would have been given to the Beatles upon their return from India at their Apple offices in Wigmore Street, London, England.
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, the Beatles’ eighth studio album, was met with widespread critical acclaim upon its release on May 26, 1967. In 1968, the record won four Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year, which marked the first time a rock LP was awarded with that honor. In 2003, it was inducted into the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress for being ‘culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.’
Disc was a weekly British popular music magazine, published between 1958 and 1975. In 1966, it was incorporated with Music Echo magazine, which had itself previously taken over Mersey Beat, and then became known as Disc and Music Echo. In June 1966, it was the first magazine to feature, in color, the notorious ‘butcher’ cover for the Beatles' U.S. album Yesterday and Today, under the headline ‘Beatles: What a Carve-up!’ When the publication was incorporated into Record Mirror in 1975, musicians like Marc Bolan and Paul McCartney wrote them personal notes lamenting their closure.
