The owner of a record shop from Vancouver, Canada, discovered a rare Beatles audition tape from the 60s in his collection.
Neptoon Records owner Rob Frith recently stumbled upon an unusual part of Beatles history in his small store. According to This is a report published by Billboard on March 26th.
“I picked up this tape that said Beatles demos years ago. I thought it was a tape from a pirated record,” Fris wrote on Instagram. “After hearing it for the first time last night, it sounds like a master tape. The quality is unrealistic. How is this possible?
MALIBU, CA – October 20: Ride tickets will perform backstage at Bob Eubanks with the Beatles, who featured ride tickets at Pepperdine University’s Lisa Smith Wangler Center for the Arts in Malibu, CA on October 20, 2024. (Photo: Elyse Jankowski/Getty Images)
Fris had owned the tape for many years, but he didn’t know it was the original 1962 Decca Audition tape for the Beatles.
The tape is considered to be the infamous audition session on January 1, 1962, and the Beatles were recorded at Decca Studios in London. The music label is famous for refusing to sign the Beatles. According to Billboard, the band joined Parlophone under George Martin and released their debut album, “Preed Preed Me” in 1963.
“It felt like the Beatles were in the room,” Fris said.
Music preservationist Larry Hennessy was able to identify that the tape was original, not fanmade edits, according to Billboard.
Fris was able to track former Vancouver label executive Jack Harshaun, the man who first brought the tape to Canada.
Herschorn said that tapes were given to him in the 1970s by London producers. He said he refused to proceed with the sale, noting that he “didn’t feel like he was doing anything moral.”
circa 1960: Paul McCartney on stage at a liverpool cave nightclub in the early days of the British beat group The Beatles. (Photo: Keystone/Getty Images)
“These people are famous and they deserve to have the right royalty for it…it deserves to come out properly,” he said, Billboard.
A portion of the history of music is now available for fans to hear Frith’s Instagram accountsince the original recording sessions over 60 years.
Early portraits of the British rock group The Beatles. Left to right: Paul McCartney, Pete Best, George Harrison (1943-2001) and John Lennon (1940-1980). (Photo: Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
“Money (that’s what I want)” On the Frith pagealong with other notes and videos about his incredible discoveries.(Related: Country Music Hall of Fame announces two megastars, legendary producers as new members)
The record store owner claimed he had no intention of selling the tape, but he was happy to provide a copy to Decca. According to Billboard, he jokingly pointed out that if an opportunity arises, he would be willing to personally hand it over to Sir Paul McCartney.
