The Beatles' lost 1962 audition tape discovered in Vancouver record store, owner says "the quality is unreal"

A rare demo tape of The Beatles from 1962 was found at Neptoon Records in Vancouver by the owner, Rob Frith. The store owner uploaded an Instagram post on March 12 with the caption:

"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?"

The post soon gained the attention of The Beatles fans, who showed excitement and requested Frith to digitalize the copy for them.

On popular request, the owner uploaded the recording of Money from The Beatles demo tape on his Instagram. The tape has 15 songs in all, and is reported to be a copy of The Beatles' audition at Decca Studios in London in January 1962.

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Rob Frith shares his reaction after finding The Beatles 1962 audition tape

The Beatles' tape that has just been found was recorded before Ringo Starr joined the band. In an interview with Global News, Frith described his reaction after finding The Beatles tape, saying:

"Jaws dropped, and I almost didn't play the tape, but I thought, Oh, let's just listen to it, so we stuck it on, and we couldn't believe it was like the room filled up with this sound never really quite heard before of the Beatles. So exciting. And we're like, we're just sort of laughing. We can't believe what we're listening to."

He shared his plans about the newly-found tape:

"They were there, like, playing live; that's how good it sounded. It was pretty exciting, I have to say. I have absolutely no idea what it's worth. I don't even know if I'd want to sell it, to tell you the truth. You know knowing what it is. If Paul McCartney comes to my store and wants it, I'll give it to him for free."

On January 1, 1962, The Beatles auditioned for Decca Records, recording 15 songs in the hope of getting a deal. However, a month later, Decca turned them down. Instead, they decided to sign Brian Poole and The Tremeloes.

The Beatles' manager Brian Epstein, meanwhile, tried his luck with three EMI producers (Norrie Paramor, Norman Newell, and Walter Ridley) but was rejected by them all. The band was later signed by George Martin from EMI’s Parlophone label.

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Given the curiosity and positive reactions of fans , Rob Frith might upload more songs from the The Beatles audition tape soon on his social media account.