When discussing early CDs, we often refer to discs pressed in Japan or West Germany. However, as demand grew in the mid-1980s, CD pressing plants opened all over the world, and record labels scrambled to have their titles pressed wherever they could. This led to some unusual rare pressings. Consider the 1985 smash album by Phil Collins, No Jacket Required.

Back in ’85, you couldn’t turn on MTV without seeing the video for “Sussudio” seemingly three times every hour. That was just one of several hits from Collins’ third solo album. With the immense popularity of the album, demand was high in all formats, including the CD. The earliest CDs of No Jacket Required to hit the shelves were pressed in West Germany (Target pressings) and Japan, but pressings from other countries surfaced in the mid-’80s.

Here, we consider a rare Swiss pressing of No Jacket Required. The Swiss ICM plant came online in 1985 with support from PolyGram. While many ICM discs were distributed in Europe, they are occasionally found in the U.S. Back in 2013, we reviewed a Swiss-for-U.S. pressing of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young Déjà Vu (go here). The No Jacket Required disc featured here is similar. As a U.S. release, the No Jacket Required disc and inserts bear the U.S. Atlantic catalog number 81240-2.

Swiss ICM pressings have aluminum to the center hole (no clear plastic ring) with a unique machined hub. While early West German and Japanese pressings commonly offered noteworthy label designs, the Swiss No Jacket Required disc is stark — just black text with no paint coating. The disc has “Made by ICM/Switzerland” printed at 6 o’clock. The inserts were printed in the U.S. and are identical to inserts found with early U.S. pressings.

Shown below are the inserts for No Jacket Required, along with the Swiss ICM pressing. With early copies of No Jacket Required being rather common, you should have no difficulty locating copies with the original U.S. inserts shown here. With some luck, one will have the rare Swiss pressing inside.

The cover for the Swiss-for-U.S. pressing of Phil Collins No Jacket Required (Atlantic, catalog number 81240-2). This is the standard cover artwork for this album.

The back insert for the Swiss-for-U.S. pressing of Phil Collins No Jacket Required (Atlantic, catalog number 81240-2). This insert was printed in the U.S.

The Swiss-for-U.S. pressing of Phil Collins No Jacket Required (Atlantic, catalog number 81240-2). Note “Made by ICM/Switzerland” printed at 6 o’clock. The matrix code is “7567 81240-2 2895 421 02 *” Early Target pressings bear the same matrix code, indicating that the Swiss pressing was produced from the same glass master.