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What's the real release date of Dark Side of the Moon?

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    What's the real release date of Dark Side of the Moon?

    Just as t the title says.


    Nick Mason's book lists the release date as March 24.

    The same March 24 date is given in the Shine On book.

    And I distinctly remember the social media channels of the band (Facebook, Instagram) have posted celebration images/videos in or around March 16th in previous years.

    Since I grew up with the Shine On boxset and book, I've always regarded March 24 as the correct date.

    I've seen recently that people follow Wikipedia's information of the album having been released on March 1st, 1973. However, no links or sources are given to support such claim. And you know people tend to look at Wikipedia as holy gospel even without valid sources.

    Also, "March 1st" has been commonly used only in recent years, and can't actually find it used anywhere (book, article or archived page) in the years pre-2015. It could be someone making a mistake on Wikipedia that spread like wildfire (as it usually does), or a placeholder date that was never changed.

    In some places I do see the distinction being made as March 1st being the USA release date, while keeping March 24th as the UK release date.

    In any case, today March 1st the web is flooded with birthday messages and news celebrating Dark Side's of the Moon release. Not that it's something bad: having lots of media coverage is great for the album, the band, and will probably attract many new fans.

    What really irks me is the fact that in recent years the real release date has been somehow lost in the sea of misinformation that the current world lives in.


    So, what day do you celebrate Dark Side of the Moon's birthday, and why?

    #2
    I don't celebrate album birthdays, but I always consider a "release date" the date it was first released, regardless of where. For DSOTM that was March 1st in the US.
    www.bigmuffpage.com

    David Gilmour Tone Building - gear and tone guide
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      #3
      Originally posted by Kit Rae View Post
      I don't celebrate album birthdays, but I always consider a "release date" the date it was first released, regardless of where. For DSOTM that was March 1st in the US.
      I'm trying to find something like a Capitol Records press release of that time to confirm the March 1 date. I know several USA releases were launched days (or weeks) before their UK counterparts. But I haven't been able to locate any such document.

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        #4
        The ad for DSOTM on the front page of Billboard for February 24th, 1973 says "Album available March 1. Tour begins March 5.", so March 1st sounds correct for the US.

        Comment


          #5
          Chorale beat me to it. The March 1st date I have seen comes from advertisements and that seems to have become the accepted date now. Of course that could be a typo in the ad, or the actual release date could have changed after the ad was put together. You can also find the Capital/Harvest March 1st release date on Discogs, but those can be no more or less accurate than Wikipedia.
          https://www.discogs.com/release/3671...de-Of-The-Moon

          Vernon Fitch has it as March 10th on his LP discography, but no cite for the source. Glen Povey lists the same March 10th date in his Echoes book.
          http://pinkfloydarchives.com/DUSLPPF.htm#DSOTM1
          Last edited by Kit Rae; 03-01-2023, 04:08 PM.
          www.bigmuffpage.com

          David Gilmour Tone Building - gear and tone guide
          http://www.kitrae.net/music/David_Gi..._Building.html

          Comment


            #6
            Yes March 1st also sounds like a good kickoff for marketing. New month, new thing to celebrate.

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              #7
              I have tracked this as 3/1 for years, absolute years...
              Off surfing with Linda, of course...

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                #8
                According to the 'Certificate of Authenticity' that accompanies the Abbey Road Studios Session Sheet, you can just make out at the end that it says:

                The Dark Side of The Moon released

                US: Saturday 1 March 1973
                UK: Friday 16 March 1973

                The Session Sheet itself is also set for release 16 March 2023.

                Click image for larger version

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                  #9
                  Added fuel to the March 1 argument: Dark Side Of The Moon entered the Billboard album chart for the week ending March 17, 1973. As there is generally a two-week or so delay between an album being released and its first appearance in Billboard (The Division Bell, for instance, released on April 4 and didn't chart until the April 23 issue), it certainly makes the March 24 date (not to mention March 10) impossible.

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                    #10
                    Originally posted by aybesea View Post
                    I have tracked this as 3/1 for years, absolute years...
                    3rd of January?

                    Comment


                    • MGoBlue1989
                      MGoBlue1989 commented
                      Editing a comment
                      That made me chuckle. Date and spelling format wars usually do.
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