This month saw the official vinyl release of Lemonade, Beyoncé’s massive 2016 album. Some of those who received their orders, however, may have been taken aback when they dropped the needle on Side A of the lemon-yellow vinyl record. According to a Facebook post from Canadian punk band Zex, the A-Side of their recent album Uphill Battle (featuring songs such as “Burn the Flag,” “Child Soldier,” and “No Sanctuary”) appears on the opening side of Lemonade, where tracks like “Hold Up” should be. Watch videos of the mispressed record playing below. A representative for Magic Bullet Records, which released Uphill Battle, confirmed the legitimacy of the mispressed LP. Columbia Records sent Pitchfork the following statement:
Due to human error at the Celebrate Records plant in Germany, which Sony uses to manufacture vinyl, a small amount of the European run of the Beyoncé Lemonade vinyl included music from Canadian punk band, ZEX, on Side A. Beyoncé and ZEX were not aware of or responsible for the mispress. Fans who purchased the vinyl will be refunded and given a replacement copy. We apologize for the inconvenience this has caused.
The accidental Zex/Beyoncé split LP follows a recent mispress where Queens of the Stone Age songs appeared on a new album by Gordi. “I anticipate either people won’t notice or they’ll appreciate the dynamic shift,” Gordi joked about the incident.
