Syd Barrett
West German
Compact Disc Discography

by Vernon Fitch

© copyright Vernon Fitch / The Pink Floyd Archives

1. Bar Codes: Bar codes are a group of vertical lines found on the back cover of some CDs that are used for scanning purposes. By passing a CD with a bar code over a scanner, the scanner can read information about the CD instantly. The information in bar codes begins with the vendor code (first 4 digits), the catalog number, and a format code. In recent years, there has been a trend towards using the entire bar code number as the catalog number of the CD.

2. Label Codes: Label codes are the 4 digit numbers that are found on the labels of some CDs. These label codes are designated by the IFPI to indicate the company that owns the rights to the property on the CD. The label codes found on West German Pink Floyd CDs are "LC 0542" which is the registered label code of EMI Records, and "LC 1305" which is the registered label code of Harvest Records.

3. History:
   1. Polygram - The first CD pressing plant in West Germany was owned by Polygram Records. This plant, which opened in August 1982, was located in Hannover, West Germany. CDs that were pressed by Polygram had "Made in West Germany by Polygram" on the label, but there were no Pink Floyd CDs of this type. By 1984, the Polygram plant was the largest CD pressing plant in the world, pressing apx. 80,000 discs a day.

   2. BMG Sonopress - The earliest Pink Floyd CDs pressed in Europe were pressed in West Germany by BMG Sonopress in 1985-1986. These early West German CDs have distinctive black Harvest labels (Dark Side of the Moon, The Wall, Wish You Were Here, and Meddle).
      Although the black Harvest label issues are the earliest Sonopress pressings, Sonpress also pressed some of the very first copies of other Pink Floyd compact discs. For example, the West German Sonopress pressing of the Pink Floyd CD Obscured by Clouds is believed to be the first compact disc pressings of that particular Pink Floyd album anyhwere in the world.

   3. Philips DuPont Optical - Polygram transferred control of their West German pressing plant to a joint venture between Philips and DuPont Optical that was formed in October 1985 to manufacture compact discs. This company, Philips DuPont Optical or "PDO," was used to press CDs for a number of companies, one of which was EMI/Harvest Records, and in 1986, PDO began pressing the Pink Floyd CD Ummagumma. One distinguishing feature of these early PDO pressed discs is that there is no clear plastic hub around the center hole. The aluminium disc goes all the way to the center hole. Pink Floyd CDs that were pressed at the Hannover plant and have PDO in the matrix were made between 1986-1991.
      In the late 1980s, PDO opened additional CD pressing plants in the U.S. (Kings Mt., North Carolina), as well as in the U.K. (Blackburn, Lancashire), and in France. The PDO plant in North carolina pressed some copies of the Dark Side of the Moon CD in late 1986/early 1987.
      In the early 1990s, PDO was dissolved and control of the pressing plants was transferred back to Polygram, which then became Polygram Music Distribution Co. (PMDC). PMDC has since sold their German and U.S. plants.

   4. West German Compact Discs Made for Export - Because West German compact disc pressing plants were among the earliest CD pressing plants in operation, West German CDs were sold and distributed throughout Europe, as well as in the U.S.

1. Syd Barrett
   1. The Madcap Laughs
   2. Barrett

Syd Barrett
The Madcap Laughs CD

Title: The Madcap Laughs
Record Company: Harvest Records
Catalog Number: CDP 7 46607 2
Bar Code: 0 77774 66072 3
Matrix Information:
1) Bottom: SONOPRESS C-7282/CDP 7466072 B
Release Information: West German issue.
Total Time: 37:52
Track Peak Levels: 68.2 / 84.7 / 72.9 / 88.4 / 79.5 / 51.1 / 71.3 / 47.2 / 64.8 / 44.1 / 46.4 / 54.6 / 54.0
Description:
Front Cover: A picture of Syd Barrett in his apartment. Title in the upper right corner. 8-page booklet cover.
Back Cover: White with song titles, credits, and a bar code in the upper right corner.
Booklet: [front] [1-2] [3-4] [5-6] [back] 8-page booklet with pictures and credits.
Label: Silver label with text in black.
To the right of center is a rectangle divided into four areas. In each of these sections of the rectangle, clockwise from the top left, it says:

STEREO
CDP 7 46607 2
Made in W. Germany
BIEM / GEMA

There is nothing written around the edge of the label.

Syd Barrett
Barrett CD

Title: Barrett
Record Company: Harvest Records
Catalog Number: CDP 7 46606 2
Bar Code: 0 77774 66062 4
Matrix Information:
1) Bottom: SONOPRESS C-7114 / CDP 7466062 A
Release Information: West German issue.
Total Time: 38:34
Track Peak Levels: 81.4 / 74.9 / 80.7 / 57.9 / 92.9 / 97.8 / 79.5 / 81.1 / 73.3 / 55.0 / 72.0 / 62.1
Description:
Front Cover: Insects. Title at the top. Harvest logo in upper left corner.
Back Cover: White with song titles and credits. Bar code.
Booklet: [front] [1-2] [3-4] [5-6] [back] 8-page booklet with pictures and credits.
Label: Silver label with text in black.
To the right of center is a rectangle divided into four areas. In each of these sections of the rectangle, clockwise from the top left, it says:

STEREO
CDP 7 46606 2
Made in W. Germany
BIEM / GEMA

There is nothing written around the edge of the label.