# Beatles tapes missing for 30 years recovered. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 10, 2003, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beatles-tapes-missing-for-30-years-recovered/147819 "2003-01-10T21:32:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Algernon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a183cd/32.png) [@Algernon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algernon)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2003, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beatles-tapes-missing-for-30-years-recovered/147819/1 "2003-01-10T21:32:31Z")
[Cops Recover Beatles Tapes](http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&ncid=799&e=2&cid=795&u=/eo/20030110/en_music_eo/11094) The news release goes on to say the McCartney is planning a DVD release of _Let It Be_\*, with “sparse” arrangements restored. Hmmm. I kind of like _Let It Be_ as originally released. ---
**Author:** ![Algernon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a183cd/32.png) [@Algernon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algernon)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2003, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beatles-tapes-missing-for-30-years-recovered/147819/2 "2003-01-10T21:34:25Z")
Bleh. Preview should be my friend. ---
**Author:** ![clayton\_e](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c57346/32.png) [@clayton\_e](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clayton_e)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2003, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beatles-tapes-missing-for-30-years-recovered/147819/3 "2003-01-10T22:18:59Z")
I’m looking forward to hearing anything that was lost. From a band that doesn’t exist anymore new stuff like this is gold. ---
**Author:** ![Gundy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Gundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gundy)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2003, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beatles-tapes-missing-for-30-years-recovered/147819/4 "2003-01-10T22:38:00Z")
YAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!! That was me running naked through the thread waving my hands over my head in glee. I’d have done that when I first read the story, but I was at work. ---
**Author:** ![Algernon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a183cd/32.png) [@Algernon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algernon)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2003, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beatles-tapes-missing-for-30-years-recovered/147819/5 "2003-01-10T22:43:23Z")
**Gundy** , I love your restraint. (grin) You made me laugh. (and after spending some time reading Pit threads today, I needed a laugh.) ---
**Author:** ![Gundy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Gundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gundy)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2003, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beatles-tapes-missing-for-30-years-recovered/147819/6 "2003-01-10T22:52:45Z")
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**Author:** ![JonScribe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3be4f8/32.png) [@JonScribe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JonScribe)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2003, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beatles-tapes-missing-for-30-years-recovered/147819/7 "2003-01-10T22:58:24Z")
About 15 years ago I bought a bootleg album (three vinyl records) that appeared to be tapes from the “Let it Be” sessions. Most of the songs were very rough and often incomplete and included extraneous noise (filmmaker’s edit sounds? and the like.) Still, it’s great stuff, and I’m hoping Paul can get this re-released in an unSpectored format. It’s great news. ---
**Author:** ![I\_can\_t\_believe\_that\_s\_butter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@I\_can\_t\_believe\_that\_s\_butter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_can_t_believe_that_s_butter)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2003, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beatles-tapes-missing-for-30-years-recovered/147819/8 "2003-01-10T23:55:26Z")
This is very good news. I can’t wait to rush out and see what this is all about. ---
**Author:** ![syncrolecyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f08c70/32.png) [@syncrolecyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/syncrolecyne)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2003, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beatles-tapes-missing-for-30-years-recovered/147819/9 "2003-01-11T01:35:22Z")
This may reignite or clear up an old controversy… Wasn’t “Get Back” originally a far more topical song. (Some titles I’ve seen include “Commonwealth Song”, “No Pakis”, and “WHite Power”). And there were other songs that were quite rough. All of these were **anti-racist** …but still out of context they could be embarassing to the Beatles’ image right? ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2003, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beatles-tapes-missing-for-30-years-recovered/147819/10 "2003-01-11T02:27:53Z")
Wonderful news! Thanks for posting it, **Algernon**! Can one of you mathematical geniuses correlate how much time The Beatles spent in the studio to the amount of time they needed to sleep and the amount of time they were actually together as a band? Hell, no **wonder** they got tired! PS: I was never a fan of bootlegs. (Probably I missed a lot of good stuff, didn’t I?) Quasi ---
**Author:** ![JonScribe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3be4f8/32.png) [@JonScribe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JonScribe)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2003, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beatles-tapes-missing-for-30-years-recovered/147819/11 "2003-01-11T05:30:30Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by cuate \* > \*\*This may reignite or clear up an old controversy… > > Wasn’t “Get Back” originally a far more topical song. (Some titles I’ve seen include “Commonwealth Song”, “No Pakis”, and “WHite Power”). And there were other songs that were quite rough. > > All of these were **anti-racist** …but still out of context they could be embarassing to the Beatles’ image right? \*\* It was meant as a jab at anti-immigrant feelings in Britain. And yeah, out of context, it might have not played well. On the bootleg I have, you can hear Paul or John (I’m not sure) singing, “Don’t dig no Pakistanis taking all the people’s jobs.” Then they launch into “Get Back.” Had they kept the political theme, I’m guessing the commentary would have pretty clear. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2003, 7:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beatles-tapes-missing-for-30-years-recovered/147819/12 "2003-01-11T07:50:58Z")
How did thieves manage to steal _500 reels_ of original master tapes from the Get Back sessions? Did they just back up a truck to EMI’s loading dock and fork-lift them in? Sheesh! ---
**Author:** ![clayton\_e](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c57346/32.png) [@clayton\_e](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clayton_e)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2003, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beatles-tapes-missing-for-30-years-recovered/147819/13 "2003-01-11T16:37:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by JonScribe \* > \*\*On the bootleg I have, you can hear Paul or John (I’m not sure) singing, “Don’t dig no Pakistanis taking all the people’s jobs.” Then they launch into “Get Back.” \*\* Do you think I could get a copy of that? (to the mods, it’s bootleg to begin with and it doesn’t look like they’d try to sell something that quality, if it’s unappropriate, sorry.) ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2003, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beatles-tapes-missing-for-30-years-recovered/147819/14 "2003-01-11T16:59:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Quasimodem \* > \*\*PS: I was never a fan of bootlegs. (Probably I missed a lot of good stuff, didn’t I?) > > Quasi \*\* Yes, you most certainly have. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2003, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beatles-tapes-missing-for-30-years-recovered/147819/15 "2003-01-18T05:54:59Z")
A story in the _New York Times_ clears up some of the initial confusion about the 500 to 550 reels of stolen audio tape recently seized: > [@](#): > > [T]hey are not the multitrack session masters from which the album [_Let It Be_] was made. Those are safely in EMI’s archives. Instead, they are monaural recordings made on a pair of Nagra tape recorders for reference purposes by a film crew that was documenting the sessions for a proposed television documentary. When the television plan was scuttled, the film was released theatrically as _Let It Be_. ---
**Author:** ![JonScribe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3be4f8/32.png) [@JonScribe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JonScribe)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2003, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beatles-tapes-missing-for-30-years-recovered/147819/16 "2003-01-18T06:20:12Z")
I read the same New York Times article. That squares with what I’m hearing on the bootleg I have. That being the case, I don’t think it’ll be very possible to clean them up enough to make “new” tracks of old songs. They’re interesting to listen to, but they’re low quality, interrupted by comments from the film crew and each tape was only 16 minutes long, meaning some songs start or end abruptly. **Clayton** , I wouldn’t have a problem with sending you a file, gratis. But, right now, I just have them on vinyl. I’m hoping to get the software, hardware to transfer them to my iMac, before I can do that. Well, and I’ve gotta get a needle for my turntable, too. Send me an e-mail and I’ll keep you posted. ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2003, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beatles-tapes-missing-for-30-years-recovered/147819/17 "2003-01-18T06:46:02Z")
Is the original **Let It Be** film on DVD? ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2003, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beatles-tapes-missing-for-30-years-recovered/147819/18 "2003-01-18T06:51:18Z")
[Not yet.](http://www.dvdjournal.com/mia/letitbe.m.shtml) ---
**Author:** ![jackelope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@jackelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackelope)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2003, 10:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beatles-tapes-missing-for-30-years-recovered/147819/19 "2003-01-18T10:35:26Z")
Minor hijack: Did anyone else listen to “The Lost Lennon Tapes,” a weekly radio show in the late 80s, hosted by Elliot Mintz and exploiting–er, “exploring” a gazillion hours of found tape of Lennon basically goofing off in the studio? Man, they had some great stuff; Lennon playing and singing Little Richard’s “Slippin’ and Slidin’” sticks in my mind especially. I used to tape it every week (I think it aired on Sundays, at least in Kansas City), but sadly those tapes are lost. Perhaps someone here knows the story behind those tapes? ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2003, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beatles-tapes-missing-for-30-years-recovered/147819/20 "2003-01-18T15:57:23Z")
The four-CD [_John Lennon Anthology_](http://www.8-arms.com/Lennon_Anthology/jlaintro.html) (1998) contains much material that was first heard on _The Lost Lennon Tapes_.