A 30-minute tape of The Beatles, made during a recording session in 1964, is going up for auction next week in England. The tape recently surfaced, when a man clearing out his father’s attic in Northern England discovered it. Reports speculate that the father of the unidentified man making the discovery worked at Abbey Road studios where the Beatles recorded most of their albums.
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A 30-minute tape of The Beatles, made during a recording session in 1964, is going up for auction next week in England. The tape recently surfaced, when a man clearing out his father’s attic in Northern England discovered it. Reports speculate that the father of the unidentified man making the discovery worked at Abbey Road studios where the Beatles recorded most of their albums.
Among the 11 tracks on the tape, original Beatles compositions include “I Feel Fine,” “I’m a Loser” and “I’ll Follow the Sun.” Multiple false starts and the sound of giggling mark many of the tracks, including “I’ll Follow the Sun.” Bob Dylan introduced the band to marijuana on August 28, 1964, midway through the recording sessions for Beatles For Sale, the album featuring many of the tape’s tracks, and this new discovery could possibly be the source of the background chuckles.
In addition, and perhaps drawing the most attention, the tape also offers Beatle recordings of several cover versions of songs including Derek Martin’s “Don’t Put Me Down Like This.” Discussing the tape, auctioneer John King mentioned, “Our research shows that there is no other known recording of the Beatles playing that number.” For this reason, the auction house expects the tape to attract bids between $16,000 and $24,000 when the sale opens on Tuesday, although King speculated that the price could increase as worldwide interest in the tape grows.
According to Beatles expert Phil Coppell, fans of the Fab Four should not get too excited yet. Referring to the tape, he said, “If it is something which is missing from the Anthology then it is likely someone at Apple will step in and buy it up at auction.” According to Coppell, that someone might likely be Paul McCartney or Yoko Ono and could mean, “Beatles fans will never get to hear it [the tape].”
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