'Elvis UK 33⅓ r.p.m. Volume 1'
"The Ultimate Guide to Elvis Presley’s British LPs 1956 - 1962"
- Book Review by Nigel Patterson -
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'Elvis UK 33 1/3 r.p.m. Volume 1 - The Ultimate Guide To Elvis Presley’s British LPs'
This first LP volume, of five, covers the period between March 1956 up to mid-1962 and runs for 462 pages.
This is the definitive guide to Elvis’s UK album releases. It includes:
• Every individual album release (including the three HMV albums) dealt with separately in forensic detail
• Details of all the tracks included (titles, writers’ names) plus a swathe of background information, memorabilia and illustrations
• Every album is carefully cross-referenced to later re-issues
• A full song index, including modes, recording venues, take numbers and writers’ information
• Many high-quality illustrations, photographs, plus a fascinating range of relevant memorabilia drawn from a host of sources, including record companies, along with material drawn from contemporaneous newspapers and magazines
• Images of both sides of all known label and sleeve variations and a detailed explanation of the rationale behind each of them, along with key feature to aid identification.
• Details of label combinations, production errors, and other fascinating oddities that delight collectors!
EIN's Nigel Patterson checks out the Volume 1 soft-covered print version of this massive work ...
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'Elvis UK 33⅓ r.p.m. Volume 1: The Ultimate Guide to Elvis Presley’s British LPs 1956-1962.
by John Townson & Gordon Minto
elvisukbooks, 2026, Softcover (8.25 x 11.75 inches),
462 pages, Illustrated (color/b&w), ISBN: none
Reviewed by Nigel Patterson, September 2026
The Elvis UK Team of John Townson and Gordon Minto are back with another striking reference book!
Their latest volume, the 10th (physical book) in the “Elvis UK” series, details in text and photos, Elvis’ UK LP releases from 1956 to 1962. While the authors’ initial releases Elvis UK and Elvis UK2 included information about Elvis’ UK LP releases, this latest volume offers greater detail than those volumes.
Those who already have one or more volumes of the “Elvis UK” series in their collection know what to expect in this book. At 462 pages and covering only seven-year period, there is a mountain of text and visual information for readers and collectors to savor. And that is 462 pages devoted to only 16 albums, from Elvis' 1956 HMV debut through to 'Pot Luck'!
The vast array of information in the book includes (and my list is far from exhaustive):
- Modes and Variations
- Tax and Price Codes
- Re-releases and Re-issues
- Matrix Numbers and Other Production Details
- Label and Sleeve Errors
- Inner Sleeves
- Recording Studios
- Songwriters
- LP Charts
- Outtakes and Oddities
- HMV Labels
- HMV Sleeves
- The Decca Record Company
- Publicity/News
- LPs listed Chronologically
- RCA Sleeves
- Recording First Published
- Retrospectives for each year
- The Fallow Years
- Song Title Index
- Newspaper Roundup
- Detailed examination of each album supported by quality visuals of primary and alternate covers (front and back), inner sleeves and labels
The book also includes an interesting chapter on Elvis' German 'Home Recordings' as well as the authors trying to discover where the album title '50,000,000 Elvis Fans Can't Be Wrong' actually originated.
Many readers will be thinking, why buy another volume in the Elvis UK series? The answer is an easy one ….. because this volume includes far more information than earlier volumes! Collectors, in particular, will welcome the new details/information the authors have uncovered.
'Elvis' Golden Records Volume 2' had an incredible 31 label variations and 9 sleeve variations
The Text:
Townson and Minto have an easy-going writing style and the level of detail from their research is, as always, impressive:
“Incidentally, out of keeping with most other RCA albums, no vocal accompaniment was credited on either Elvis or A Date With Elvis though The Jordanaires had featured on ‘Is It So Strange: on the latter LP. Further, the only vocal accompaniment evident on Elvis was on the track ‘Shake, Rattle And Roll’ which, uniquely, featured the vocal overdubs of Scotty Moore, Bill Black and DJ Fontana – though none were ever credited for this.”
About a variation for the “G.I. Blues” album:
“Variation 7. Are you sitting comfortably? We hope so! With good reason, you may wonder why this variation, identified and marked as a 1968 pressing, features a label design which dated back to 1960.”
Various recordings are highlighted in nicely colored boxes. For instance, “Dirty, Dirty Feeling” from the “Elvis Is Back” album receives five paragraphs, including:
“The Leiber and Stoller song, ‘Dirty, Dirty Feeling’, which appeared on Elvis’s first post-army album, Elvis Is Back, has always been rumoured to have been under consideration for inclusion in King Creole though never corroborated officially. Recently, however, it has come to light that the song was definitely submitted but was rejected at an early stage – though by whom – and for what reason – is unknown.”
The authors’ “A Retrospective View” of each year is a great synopsis/analysis of how Elvis’ recordings were being managed, packaged and scheduled. I found it especially rewarding to read the comparison between how Elvis’ music was released in the UK and USA.
The “1956 Retrospective View” helps demonstrate the incredible pressure on Elvis at the time...
... And so, as the year 1956 drew to a close, Elvis - the young man who a mere year earlier had been little known outside of Memphis and its surrounding area - was, without doubt, the most talked about (and controversial) entertainer in the US and beyond. With four hit US singles and innumerable best-selling EPs under his belt... not to mention two best-selling full length LP albums - he had appeared on national television in the US on eleven different occasions (perhaps most notoriously on The Milton Berle Show in June 1956), had a screen test in early April 1956, and within days had signed a seven motion picture contract with Hal Wallis at Paramount, made his first feature film (Love Me Tender) in September and, in the meantime, had undertaken no fewer than 236 live appearances up to 15 December.
.... By way of comparison, between July 1954 and November 1955, a span of sixteen months, Sun had only released five Elvis singles, which RCA promptly re-issued in December 1955 / early January 1956 after Elvis had signed for the label. No one artist had ever done anything quite so extraordinary - and on such a scale, much less in such a confined timeframe. Unsurprisingly, by the end of the year, Elvis was a millionaire - and one of the most well-known names around the world. The only question being asked was: could this level of success be sustained?
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The chapter 'The Secret World of Publishing' is very illuminating and helps clarify how the publishers and Elvis got their cut of composers' profits via Hill & Range, Elvis Presley Music or Gladys Music. It explains how Julian & Jean Aberbach - along with their cousin Freddy Bienstock - controlled the supply of material to Elvis from 1956 onwards.
..'Songwriters were 'encouraged' under the Hill & Range system to give Elvis a share if they wanted him to record one of their songs. This could be done in various ways: by giving Elvis a co-writing credit; by signing over a third part of publishing rights to Elvis Presley Music (if the rights were held elsewhere); or, by accepting reduced royalties.
... Whatever the case, quite obviously, most songwriters acceded to these conditions for, in truth, they had little choice. The prospect of Elvis recording one of their songs (which was likely to sell very well) was irresistible and guaranteed a certain level of income. However, not everyone gave in to this pressure. For example, Don Robertson, who had written and submitted various songs to Elvis, eventually baulked at the practice of giving up a third share of the royalties of his songs and, by the mid-1960s, stopped submitting specific material to Elvis on a point of principle. Result? Elvis did not record another Robertson song for seven years."
The book neatly points out that some songs, recorded during the lame 'soundtrack-years', were not part of any publishing deal - and guess what, they are all quality material! - It Hurts Me, Big Boss Man, Guitar Man, Suspicious Minds.
The Visuals:
The visuals are high quality and being in full color enhances their appeal. While the album covers and labels dominate the visual element there are also many other pictorial delights to enjoy in the book. The highlights include:
- A photo of Elvis sensing someone was trying to get their hands on a copy of “Elvis UK
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- A great 1957 photograph of the Smith’s home entertainment store van with giant gramophone and Nipper models balanced precariously on the roof
- An interesting garage shot (actually 2 images) from “Wild in the Country”
- An unusual cover image of “Something for Everybody”
- Photo of Elvis with Thorne Nogar (engineer at Radio Recorders) and RCA’s Steve Sholes.
You may wonder if looking at up to 20 similar (but many varying in a small way) covers or labels for 16 albums, becomes monotonous, but it doesn’t.
Two pages on HMV's neat 'The Best Of Elvis' released in October 1957. RCA's first compilation of 'Elvis Golden Records' wouldn't be released until October 1958.
The accompanying details of how each variation is different to the next makes for interesting reading and adds to our knowledge of how complex the Elvis Presley music catalog is.
Some visuals are quite small and would have worked better being larger and having text aligned beside them rather than before and after the photo (non-aligned text tends to work best with larger images).
Archival Content:
I am a fan of archival material as it is “primary” evidence of how Elvis was perceived and reported at the time. It acts as a “time capsule” often revealing fascinating and previously unknown information. “Elvis UK 33 ⅓” features a host of rare and interesting archival items from press snippets and magazine covers to publicity stills, music charts and record reviews.
The section devoted to “Blue Hawaii” includes a “Decca List of Best Sellers Over Past 12 Months” and it shows Elvis’ domination of both the singles and LP charts. Other fascinating items are:
- Cashbox advertisement from Elvis and the Colonel wishing everyone “a Cool Yule and a Frantic First”
- Full page pr for “A Date with Elvis”
- Trade advert for “Blue Hawaii”
- A Different Presley (great advert for “Charro” with striking orange background)
Many of the press snippets include intriguing titles such as:
- Elvis Gags His Rock ‘n’ Roll Pelvis
- This hillbilly drives a pink and black sedan
- Elvis Presley to Holiday in Britain
- Presley row over White Christmas
As always, the Elvis UK authors sprinkle the book with some cool British humour
Concluding remarks
My only issue with this release, and it also applies to earlier volumes, is that, as a reference tool, “Elvis UK 33 ⅓” will justifiably be regularly consulted. This isn’t great for softcover books, as over time the cover creases and becomes edgeworn, while internal pages more easily exhibit that “thumbed” (regularly turned) look. While using a hardcover increases the price it does make the book more durable, and going by the continuing number of large, “coffee table”, hardcover Elvis books released, this market seems to be a strong one.
It would be remiss on me not to mention “the elephant in the room”, Paul Alner’s “Elvis on Record” series. I expect most fans realise both series exist and are competing for the same market. Both series are excellent and symbolise what has long been a constant in the Elvis world ….. “competition”. Even in 2026 there can be several fan clubs in local areas competing for members; various online and physical Elvis outlets selling the latest releases; while less of them today, there are well-presented, glossy magazines in competition with each other; and of course, the Elvis “grey market” has always had numerous labels offering similar and dissimilar, single and multi-media product.
In our 2023 review of “Elvis UK Extended”, Piers Beagley, Kees Mouwen and I, commented:
... “All collectors will be aware that there are two major series of books detailing Elvis Presley’s British record releases, ‘Elvis UK’ and ‘Elvis On Record’. This begs the question, is there room for two major series of books on Elvis’ British vinyl releases? In our opinion YES. Both series certainly contain similar information and visuals, but there is also a reasonable amount of different narrative, image, and archival material between them. Together, the two series function well to satisfy the deep-seated need of serious collectors to acquire every variation of a record and every piece of information about it.”
The Elvis world has clearly “Something for Everybody”.
Incredibly this was Elvis' fourth new album to be released within an 18-month time frame.
Overall Verdict: “Elvis UK 33 ⅓” is another outstanding release in the Elvis UK series. John Townson and Gordon Minto are to be congratulated on their exhaustive research and carefully presented findings. This book is a ‘treasure’ trove’ of important and interesting information which will more than satisfy general fans and have serious collectors in raptures.
BTW, John Townson & Gordon Minto have scheduled a further four volumes to complete their examination of Elvis’ RCA and HMV UK album releases (so start saving now!).
Go here to 'ELVIS UK' website to Purchase
Please note that the low-res p/c screen grabs used do not show the true clarity of the images or text.
Summary Ratings
Score: A to F (“A”: Excellent; “B”: Above Average; “C”: Average; “D”: Poor; “F”: Very Poor)
| Element: |
Rating |
Additional comments |
| Narrative (text) |
A |
Well written and exhaustively researched text |
| Illustrations (visual) |
A- |
Some images would have benefited from being larger |
| Book Binding |
B+ |
As noted in the review |
| Book/page design |
A |
Clean design; text pages are two columns based |
| Paper Stock |
A |
Quality photo grade stock |
| Language |
n.a. |
English |
| Target audience |
n.a. |
Elvis collectors and general fans |
Comment on this review
Read EIN’s reviews of previous Elvis UK releases:
Elvis UK: Compact Volume 1
Elvis UK: 78 r.p.m.
Elvis UK Extended
Elvis UK: Beyond RCA
Elvis UK: Cover Story
Elvis UK 3
Read EIN’s interviews with John Townson and Gordon Minto:
May 2024
March 2021
Book Review by Nigel Patterson (additional notes Piers Beagley).
-Copyright EIN September 2026
EIN Website content © Copyright the Elvis Information Network.
One of the 16 pages dedicated to the UK release of Elvis' Christmas Album.
With a completely different cover to the well-known US version, over the years it has had 17 label variations and five different sleeve variations. |
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Interview: 'ELVIS UK3' authors John Townson & Gordon Minto: Recently published 'ELVIS UK3' The Ultimate Guide to Elvis Presley's British CD Releases 1983-2005' by co-authors John Townson and Gordon Minto comprises 1400 pages with over a million words plus 4,000 plus high quality black and white and colour illustrations.
It is a massive undertaking that provides the definitive guide to Elvis's UK compact disc releases from the ' The Legend' - the world's first ever Elvis compact disc in 1983 - in meticulous and unprecedented detail.
Every single, RCA, FTD and third party album (all 450 of them!) issued up to 2005 are written about individually in fascinating detail, arranged in chronological order, carefully cross-referenced, while charting and describing company and industry developments along the way.
With such a massive book EIN readers have asked questions such as..
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EIN's Piers Beagley interviewed authors John Townson and Gordon Minto to find out more about this amazing work ...
Go here to their fascinating and detailed interview
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Go here as EIN's Nigel Patterson & Piers Beagley provide an in-depth review of this new MRS release
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Go here to see his very detailed review - plus more new preview pages - EIN thanks Mike Lodge for the review
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'Ultimate Elvis' Book Review: 'Ultimate Elvis – The Complete And Definitive Recording Sessions' is a this three-volume, deluxe set that not only comprises all the session information available to date, based on Keith Flynn's incomparable website and includes comprehensive notes on each session, discographies, letters, original sheet music covers plus huge index all included in its 1,800 pages.
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The promotional publicity for this three-volume set was very impressive with the original publishing date of August 2014 missed as more photographs were discovered and the content expanded. Finally published in December 2014, Elvis enthusiast Brian Quinn checks out this astounding deluxe package to discover if it is as good as promised.
Go HERE to check out Brian Quinn's review - Now updated
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