I have no idea what exactly is the deal with this UK issue of Love You Live on cassette, dating from 1989. You can find it with the cover in the original colours, but also in  a version where the cover has a different colour scheme. All same colours are present, but in a reversed order. The two cassettes in the pictures both have the same bar code number, and same serial number 450208 4. It’s not like it’s part 1 and part 2 of a set. They are exactly the same cassettes, each containing the full album.

Was it a mistake? Was the printer colour blind? Was it an art director who desperately wanted to get fired? I absolutely have no idea. If someone knows the story behind this, please share!

Anyway, the version with red letters on yellow background and blue hand only exists on this cassette. Would Andy Warhol have liked it? Jagger’s handwriting is still there, so probably the answer would have been: Uh… No.

A while ago I found pictures of a lay out maquette for this cassette (450208 4), that had been for sale (see below). Unfortunately I don’t remember on which website I found the pictures. The colour instructions written on the maquette are the colours for the original scheme: magenta background, yellow lettering, green hand, blue beneath Mick’s chin. So the question is: is there a second, alternative maquette, or did the printer who made the version with yellow background decide to do something crazy?