Record Shop Owner Finds Rare Piece Of Beatles History

A record shop owner from Vancouver, Canada, discovered a rare Beatles audition tape from the 60s in his collection.

Neptoon Records owner Rob Frith recently stumbled upon the rare piece of Beatles history in his small store, according to a report published by Billboard on March 26.

“I picked up this tape years ago that said Beatles Demos on it. I just figured it was a tape off a bootleg record,” Frith wrote on Instagram. “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?”

MALIBU, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 20: Ticket to Ride performs at Bob Eubanks’ Backstage With The Beatles, Featuring Ticket To Ride at Lisa Smith Wengler Center for the Arts at Pepperdine University on October 20, 2024 in Malibu, California. (Photo by Elyse Jankowski/Getty Images)

Frith has had the tape in his possession for years, but had no idea that it was The Beatles’ original 1962 Decca audition tape.

The tape is believed to be from the infamous Jan. 1, 1962 audition session The Beatles recorded at Decca Studios in London. The music label famously declined to sign The Beatles. The band went on to join Parlophone under George Martin, where they released their debut album “Please Please Me”  in 1963, according to Billboard.

“It seemed like the Beatles were in the room,” Frith said, describing the pristine sounds of the original music to CBC.

Music preservationist Larry Hennessey was able to identify that the tape was an original, not a fan-made compilation, according to Billboard.

Frith managed to track down former Vancouver label executive Jack Herschorn, the man who first brought the tape to Canada.

Herschorn said the tape was given to him by a producer in London during the 1970s, who suggested that copies be sold in North America.  He said he refused to proceed with the sale, noting that “it didn’t feel like the moral thing to do.”

circa 1960: Paul McCartney on stage at the Cavern nightclub in Liverpool during the early days of British beat group The Beatles. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)

“These guys are famous and they deserve to have the right royalties on it… it deserves to come out properly,” he said, according to Billboard.

The piece of music history is now available for fans to hear on Frith’s Instagram account, more than 60 years after the original recording session.

An early portrait of the British rock group The Beatles. Left to right: Paul McCartney, Pete Best, George Harrison (1943 – 2001) and John Lennon (1940 – 1980). (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

“Money (That’s What I Want)”  is on Frith’s page, along with other notes and videos about his incredible discovery.(RELATED: Country Music Hall Of Fame Announces Two Mega Stars, Legendary Producer As New Inductees)

The record shop owner insisted that he has no intention of selling the tape, but is happy to offer a copy to Decca. He jokingly noted he’d be willing to personally hand it to Sir Paul McCartney if the opportunity presented itself, according to Billboard.