You have to admire the audacity.
The Beatles in Mono, arguably the definitive document of the most important discography in popular music history, is finally back in print after over a decade in the wilderness. It’s a moment fans have begged for — and now, inevitably, they’re being made to pay for it.
Originally released in 2014 and mastered with painstaking, all-analogue care from the original quarter-inch tapes, The Beatles in Mono was never cheap — but it wasn’t unreasonable either. The original RRP hovered around £260 for 14 records, pressed at 180g, housed in a premium box, with absolutely no digital interference whatsoever. It was, by audiophile standards, a fair trade.
Fast forward to 2025, and the set is back. Same AAA mastering, same heavyweight vinyl, same elegant packaging. The difference? A new price point that feels like a personal insult: £429.99. That’s not a typo. That’s nearly £40 per record, for albums that many fans already own — in some cases, several times over.
But of course, if you’re a true devotee, you’ll likely tell yourself it’s worth it. These are, after all, the mono mixes — the real Beatles albums, as they were originally conceived and released to the public between 1963 and 1968. The stereo mixes may have been remastered to death and beamed into the cloud for convenience, but this is the Beatles in their purest form.
Still, the reality remains: this isn’t a lovingly accessible reissue for new fans. It’s a trophy set. And the price only confirms it. While the 2014 edition skyrocketed on the resale market, fetching sums close to £1,000, this repress seems designed not to democratise the listening experience — but to cash in on the mythology.
It’s already sold out on pre-order, naturally. But if you do happen to spot one back in stock before the July 18th release date, just ask yourself: are you buying the music, or the feeling of owning something “definitive”?
In the end, that might be the most Beatles thing about it.
