8T.2228.4.2 is the second Lear Jet incarnation of Beatles'65 in Canada on the 8-Track format, on the same black Lear Jet shell as 8T.2228.4.1 but with a USA-artwork slick. The American layout is easy to tell from the Canadian one: "BEATLES '65" and "JOHN, PAUL, GEORGE AND RINGO" set in yellow on black, the Capitol dome logo boxed at the top right, the umbrella photograph alone (no boxed stage shots), the catalogue number 8XT-2228 at the lower left, and the four programmes across the bottom. This variation was issued in stereo.
Availability
This variation was available around 1974, after the Canadian-artwork Lear Jet copies (8T.2228.4.1) and until 1976, when Capitol moved 8-Track production in house (see variation 5 on other titles; none has been documented for Beatles'65 to date).
General Information
Around mid-1973, Capitol decided to subcontract Lear Jet to produce its 8-track tape shells, replacing Ampex. In practice, these new shells were manufactured by a Toronto-based company, Hardman Industries, which produced 8-tracks for Capitol (and other clients) under license for Lear Jet, the company widely credited with standardizing the 8-track format as we know it today.
These shells can be identified by a shorter gripper cavity, shorter slot lines on the top of the shell, and the presence of a larger recessed area on the back marked “LearJet”. They are found with both Canadian (8T.2228.4.1) and U.S. artwork slicks (this variation: 8T.2228.4.2) and were used until approximately 1976. U.S. slicks from this period continued to feature the earlier dome logo and different font in a yellow rectangle, rather than the “target” logo normally used at that time.
As with the other variations, the song You Can't Do That (the B side of the Can't Buy Me Love single, and an album track on The Beatles' Second Album) was added to the 8-track to bring programme 4 up to the length of the other three, a common practice on the format. Every Canadian 8-track of Beatles'65 carries it.
Pressing Information
Capitol of Canada subcontracted Hardman Industries Limited, under license from Lear Jet, to manufacture the next series of Canadian Beatles 8-track tapes. Bill Lear (best known for the Learjet aircraft) also played a key role in the development of the 8-track format. Building on earlier cartridge systems (such as the Muntz cartridge), Lear, in collaboration with companies like Ampex, helped refine the design into the standardized 8-track format we know today. This evolution notably involved integrating key mechanical components directly into the cartridge shell, improving both stability and playback efficiency.
Lear Jet licensed tapes were used by Capitol from approximately mid-1973 until 1976, when the company transitioned to in-house manufacturing. Tapes with Canadian slicks seem to have come first, with later tapes using the US artwork.
8T.2228.4.2 has markings as follows:
• Black plastic shell
• Short gripper cavity
• A wide shaped slot with Lear Jet markings
• 5 clip holes holding the two halves of the shell together
• Black paper slick, USA artwork with the dome logo
• Black title label on the bottom edge, white text, "BEATLES '65" and "8XT 2228"
Cover and packaging
The Lear Jet tapes were packaged in the standardized generic slipcase featuring "Capitol" text and logos. The sealed copy shown above sits in the Capitol version, with the target logo and the Malton warranty on the back. Earlier models appear to have been made from a thicker, darker cardboard, whereas later versions used a thinner, almost white type of cardboard.
