Matrix Numbers - Hidden Messages

Hidden Messages

Record collectors have often been amused to find hidden messages inscribed in the run-out area. The vast majority of these are the work of George Peckham, a disc cutting engineer in the UK who possibly cut hundreds of thousands of records for many record companies over several decades from the 1960s onward, and often signed his cuts "Porky" or marked them as "A Porky Prime Cut". While some of his cuts state only his nickname or motto, others contain a clever or cryptic reference to something mentioned in the lyrics, or something about the recording artist. Some of his inscriptions include a small drawing or cartoon. Most of his cuts can be found on records manufactured in the UK, but his use of messages has been imitated by others, and similar messages can be found in records from various countries. They can even be found on compact discs on occasion.

On the original UK edition of My Aim Is True (1977), the first album by Elvis Costello, Peckham inscribed a message stating that this is the winning copy of a contest, and anyone finding this message should call the phone number which follows to claim their prize. The prize was a pre-printed signature photo of Elvis Costello which was sent out in limited numbers.

Although hidden messages are usually the invention of the disc cutting engineer, there is an instance where a message is believed to have been inserted at the request of the recording artist, on Led Zeppelin's single, "Immigrant Song", which contains this message on copies made in more than one country: "Do What Thou Wilt Shall Be The Whole Of The Law". Not all copies contain this inscription, and copies that do have a higher collector's value.

Also on the Emitt Rhodes self-titled album, an ornate design surround a "Recorded at Home" inscription, as Emitt recorded the entire album by himself and at his home.