A Canadian record shop owner has found an audition tape that The Beatles recorded in 1962 for Decca Records, which the record label famously decided didn't show enough promise for them to sign the band.
Rob Frith, the owner of Neptoon Records in Vancouver, discovered the reel-to-reel tape labelled ‘Beatles 60s Demos’ last week, but originally believed that the recording was merely a bootleg. He subsequently learned, however, that he had in his possession a rare, direct copy of an audition tape The Beatles recorded for Decca on January 1, 1962, eight months before Ringo Starr joined the band, replacing original drummer Pete Best.
Posting on his Instagram account, Frith wrote: “I picked up this tape years ago that said Beatles Demos on it. 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?”
Frith was subsequently put in touch with Jack Herschorn, the former owner of Vancouver's Mushroom Records, who originally brought the priceless recording to Canada.
