A significant piece of Beatles history has emerged in an unlikely location: Neptoon Records, a small record store in Vancouver. Rob Frith, the store’s owner, uncovered what he initially thought to be a standard bootleg tape labeled “Beatles 60s Demos.” However, upon listening to the tape for the first time, he realized it might be a rare direct copy of the band’s original 1962 Decca audition tape.

Discovery and Initial Impressions

Frith expressed his astonishment on social media, stating, “I just figured it was a tape off a bootleg record. After hearing it last night for the first time, it sounds like a master tape. The quality is unreal. How is this even possible to have what sounds like a Beatles 15-song Decca tapes master?”

Background on the Audition Tape

The tape is believed to originate from the infamous audition session that The Beatles recorded at Decca Studios in London on January 1, 1962. The Decca label famously declined to sign the band, which would soon go on to join Parlophone under producer George Martin and release their debut album, Please Please Me, in 1963.

Expert Validation

Further substantiating the tape’s importance, music preservationist Larry Hennessey described the sound quality as so pristine that it felt as if the band was performing live in the room. The tape itself is wound in “leader tape,” typically used to separate tracks on master recordings.

Connection to a Vancouver Music Executive

Frith also connected with Jack Herschorn, a former Vancouver label executive who originally brought the tape to Canada. Herschorn recounted that a producer in London had given him the tape during the 1970s, suggesting he sell copies in North America. However, Herschorn chose to refrain from doing so, stating, “It didn’t feel like the moral thing to do. These guys are famous and they deserve to have the right royalties on it… it deserves to come out properly.”

Sharing the Discovery

Now, more than six decades after the original session, fans of The Beatles can listen to a snippet of the first track, “Money (That’s What I Want),” shared on Frith’s Instagram account, which has rapidly gained attention among Beatles enthusiasts.

Future Plans for the Tape

Despite the growing interest, Frith has no intention of selling the tape. Instead, he would be pleased to share a copy with Decca or, as he humorously noted, personally deliver it to Sir Paul McCartney if he ever visits Neptoon Records.