A rare piece of Beatles history has unexpectedly resurfaced at a small record store in Vancouver.
Rob Frith, the owner of Neptoon Records, initially believed he had come across a common bootleg labeled Beatles 60s Demos.
But after finally playing the reel-to-reel tape—years after acquiring it—he realized it might actually be a direct copy of the band’s original 1962 Decca audition tape.
A Stunning Discovery
“I just figured it was a tape off a bootleg record,” Frith wrote on social media. “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?”
The tape is believed to be a copy of the infamous January 1, 1962, audition session The Beatles recorded at Decca Studios in London.
This was the session where Decca famously rejected the group—who would later sign with Parlophone under George Martin and release their debut album, Please Please Me, in 1963.
Speaking to CBC, Frith described the sound quality as so crisp that “it seemed like the Beatles were in the room.”
The tape was wound in leader tape, a material used to separate tracks on master recordings. Music preservationist Larry Hennessey confirmed that this was far more than just a fan-made compilation.
Original Beatles Audition TapeTracing the Tape’s History
Frith eventually tracked down the man responsible for bringing the tape to Canada: Jack Herschorn, a former Vancouver label executive.
According to Herschorn, he received the tape from a producer in London during the 1970s, who suggested selling copies in North America. However, he refused, saying:
“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.”
Now, over 60 years after the original session, fans can hear a snippet of the first track—“Money (That’s What I Want)”—on Frith’s Instagram, where the clip has quickly gone viral among Beatles enthusiasts.
What Happens Next?
Despite the historical significance, Frith says he has no plans to sell the tape. However, he would gladly provide a copy to Decca—or, as he joked, personally hand it to Sir Paul McCartney if he ever stops by Neptoon Records.
