# 1962 Beatles demo tape up for auction **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 23, 2012, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1962-beatles-demo-tape-up-for-auction/641949 "2012-11-23T23:53:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![deltasigma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e5b9ba/32.png) [@deltasigma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/deltasigma)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2012, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1962-beatles-demo-tape-up-for-auction/641949/1 "2012-11-23T23:53:25Z")
I thought [this](http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/rejected-beatles-demo-tape-up-for-auction-20121123) was interesting even though I’m not a Beatles fan. This was the demo tape they made for Decca as the Silver Beatles and were rejected by Dick Rowe. > [@](#): > > Though bootleg versions of the performances exist, the back-up master tape to be sold is unique. “The most important thing about this is the quality,” said Ted Owen of the Fame Bureau, an auction house focusing on pop memorabilia. “This quality we have never heard.” > > Bidding for the tape will start between $29,000 and $32,000. Because the Beatles own the copyright, a commercial release is highly unlikely. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2012, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1962-beatles-demo-tape-up-for-auction/641949/2 "2012-11-24T00:03:43Z")
A relic of the gods; I love the Beatles, but this is a collector’s geek out, not much more. It’ll go for much, much more than the estimate. They’re also auctioning the black Strat that Hendrix used at Monterey Pop but isn’t the one he set on fire (which tells me he liked this one more). Now that woud be an interesting artifact to own and play. ---
**Author:** ![deltasigma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e5b9ba/32.png) [@deltasigma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/deltasigma)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2012, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1962-beatles-demo-tape-up-for-auction/641949/3 "2012-11-24T00:14:21Z")
I don’t know about the geek out thing. On CNN they were interviewing someone who had heard it and said the quality was phenomenal. So if someone is a real fan and has the ‘dosh’, I think they’re going to go for it. Hell, I think some record label will bid millions for it and then sell an audio DVD or something high end like that. This is audiophile bait if I’ve ever see it. ---
**Author:** ![Stephe96](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Stephe96](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stephe96)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2012, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1962-beatles-demo-tape-up-for-auction/641949/4 "2012-11-24T00:18:39Z")
> [@deltasigma](#): > > On CNN they were interviewing someone who had heard it and said the quality was phenomenal. it. Oh, sure, NOW they say it sounds good! ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2012, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1962-beatles-demo-tape-up-for-auction/641949/5 "2012-11-24T18:20:36Z")
I think it will go for FAR more than the paltry $32,000 estimate. Geez, Yoko probably could find that much change in the back of her sofa and I would guess she might like to snatch that up before someone else tried to make money off it (despite copyright). If I were a millionaire, I can guarantee you I would bid that $32,000 in an instant…so I think there are probably lots of people who, unlike me, do have the money and will be calling in a bid or two. ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2012, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1962-beatles-demo-tape-up-for-auction/641949/6 "2012-11-24T18:31:57Z")
> [@DMark](#): > > If I were a millionaire, I can guarantee you I would bid that $32,000 in an instant…so I think there are probably lots of people who, unlike me, do have the money and will be calling in a bid or two. That was my thought as well. The most iconic band of all time, with a one-of-a-kind item? This goes for more than $32K, I would think. ---
**Author:** ![Mangosteen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Mangosteen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangosteen)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2012, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1962-beatles-demo-tape-up-for-auction/641949/7 "2012-11-24T19:58:59Z")
What would it sell for if it came with the copyright to sell the songs in an “album” form? ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2012, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1962-beatles-demo-tape-up-for-auction/641949/8 "2012-11-24T20:08:04Z")
> [@Mangosteen](#): > > What would it sell for if it came with the copyright to sell the songs in an “album” form? Considering it would be the first “new” Beatles songs, with all of them performing…well, I think there would be the possibility a few people might be interested in buying a copy. Like, maybe, topping Billboard charts for many weeks/months? If the rights came with this, my guess only the big boys would be bidding and we would be talking hundreds of millions in an auction? ---
**Author:** ![Weirofhermiston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e274bd/32.png) [@Weirofhermiston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weirofhermiston)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2012, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1962-beatles-demo-tape-up-for-auction/641949/9 "2012-11-24T20:19:48Z")
I’m wondering what a “back-up master tape” is. For a session like that they would have run a tape, it wasn’t for release or anything, it was a routine session. The tape would just have been for internal consumption and of no special value. I’m guessing a “back-up master” is a copy of this master tape, other copies can be made if the actual master still exists. There are already bootlegs. It’ll certainly go for lots of money, and I’m thinking the next “back-up” to appear will go for less. My recollection is hazy, but didn’t this particular beat combo make something of a name for themselves? ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2012, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1962-beatles-demo-tape-up-for-auction/641949/10 "2012-11-24T21:02:53Z")
> [@DMark](#): > > Considering it would be the first “new” Beatles songs, with all of them performing… Well, no Ringo. Pete Best was their drummer in January 1962. ---
**Author:** ![Harvey\_The\_Heavy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Harvey\_The\_Heavy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harvey_The_Heavy)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2012, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1962-beatles-demo-tape-up-for-auction/641949/11 "2012-11-24T21:34:47Z")
I’ve heard the bootleg versions of this, and quality aside, I really don’t think it would appeal to anyone outside of hardcore fans. Only three of the fifteen songs were written by Lennon-McCartney, and two of them are already available on Anthology 1; the rest are covers. It’s not surprising that they were rejected. It doesn’t really sound like what everyone expects the Beatles to sound like. ---
**Author:** ![Stephe96](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Stephe96](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stephe96)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2012, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1962-beatles-demo-tape-up-for-auction/641949/12 "2012-11-25T00:11:35Z")
My gut is telling me to pass on this auction and hold out for the audition tape from the Tremeoloes. That is a band that is going places. Guitar groups are on the way out, Mr. Epstein ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2012, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1962-beatles-demo-tape-up-for-auction/641949/13 "2012-11-25T01:19:40Z")
A “backup master” would imply that they were running two tape machines at the same time. Before Dolby, that was the best way to have a safety copy without the quality loss inherent in making a copy. Don’t know who is going to try to outbid Paul Allen. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2012, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1962-beatles-demo-tape-up-for-auction/641949/14 "2012-11-25T01:34:39Z")
> [@DMark](#): > > Considering it would be the first “new” Beatles songs, with all of them performing…well, I think there would be the possibility a few people might be interested in buying a copy. Like, maybe, topping Billboard charts for many weeks/months? > > If the rights came with this, my guess only the big boys would be bidding and we would be talking hundreds of millions in an auction? I sincerely doubt that album would top the billboard charts for weeks and months. I’ve no doubt with a push it would get some decent sales. If somebody found a hitherto unreleased set of nicely recorded Lennon/McCartney songs from '63-'69 then maybe I could see that getting the level of sales you imagine. There’s also no way the bidding would get into the 100s of millions even with the rights. Few, if any, albums have ever made 100s of millions for the bands/labels. Thriller might have but it is top of the heap in certified sales at over 42 million. ---
**Author:** ![Nunzio\_Tavulari](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Nunzio\_Tavulari](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nunzio_Tavulari)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2012, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1962-beatles-demo-tape-up-for-auction/641949/15 "2012-11-25T02:40:06Z")
The Decca audition session has been bootlegged at least twenty-five times and it is believed that there are no unreleased songs. The majority of the songs are middle-of-the-road early 60s pop. The only song that I find remotely interesting is Three Cool Cats. As Harvey the Heavy has said, there’s little of interest here. The bootleg industry is much more technically advanced than what you may have heard in the Sixties. CNN may say that the quality is phenomenal, but I’m fairly sure that Purple Chick or another bootlegger has come close enough that the difference isn’t worth $30,000. Like Dreamers Do Money (That’s What I Want) To Know Her Is To Love Her Memphis, Tennessee Till There Was You Sure To Fall (In Love With You) Besame Mucho Love Of The Loved Hello Little Girl Three Cool Cats September In The Rain Take Good Care Of My Baby Crying, Waiting, Hoping The Sheik Of Araby Searchin’