Latest news with #NeptoonRecords
New York Times
02-04-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Rare Beatles Audition Tape Surfaces in a Vancouver Record Shop
The tape sat unremarkably on a shelf behind the counter, collecting dust for five, maybe 10 years — so much time that Rob Frith says he lost track. Frith, 69, could not seem to recall how it had found its way to Neptoon Records, his store in Vancouver, British Columbia, which in its 44 years has become a repository for tens of thousands of vinyl records and other musical relics. The label on the cardboard box said it was a Beatles demo tape, but, having heard enough bootleg recordings over the decades, Frith was skeptical until he enlisted a disc jockey friend, Larry Hennessey, to load it onto his vintage tape player a few weeks ago. It was just before midnight on March 11 when they pushed play on the mystery tape. From the opening guitar riff and the intonation of a 21-year-old John Lennon, Frith said he could not believe his ears as he listened to the Beatles performing a cover of the Motown hit 'Money (That's What I Want).' 'Right away, we're all kind of looking at each other,' Frith said. 'It seems like the Beatles are in the room. That's how clear it is.' Frith said the tape appeared to be a professionally edited recording of the Beatles' New Year's Day 1962 audition for Decca Records in London, a session that notably ended with the band's rejection. The 15 songs — all but three of them covers — matched the group's set list from the audition, according to Frith. 'I start Googling to see what it is,' said Doug Schober, 65, a friend and former record shop employee who listened to the tape with Frith and Hennessey. 'By the third song, I say, 'I think this is the Decca demo.'' No one in the group dared to to declare that they had a master copy of the audition, but it seemed pretty close. While the Beatles officially released five of the songs from the audition on the 'Anthology 1' compilation in 1995, and bootleg recordings of the session have circulated over the years, those familiar with the tape say that its pristine sound quality and appearance point to its uniqueness and potential value. 'The fidelity is astounding,' Hennessey said. The recording was on a reel-to-reel tape — not the kind that could be popped into a cassette player. To listen to it, Hennessey had to load it onto a Studer A810, a vintage tape player made in Switzerland that he said has a cultlike following among audiophiles. As he was getting it ready, he said, he noticed something distinct about it: Between each song was a buffer of white leader tape, which is used when tapes are spliced or to create space between songs. A bootlegger would not have gone to that trouble, he said. Nor would a bootleg be free of hiss and other noise distortions that usually occur each time a copy is made of a master recording, he said. Something else stood out. The song 'September in the Rain' had six different edits, said Mr. Hennessey, who made a digital and a CD copy of the tape. As the men began posting about their discovery on social media, clues about the provenance of the recording began to emerge. Jack Herschorn, the former president and founder of Can-Base Records, a Vancouver label, said that a producer at Decca gave him the tape in the early 1970s and suggested that he could use it to make bootleg recordings. But he said he had qualms about doing so. 'I adored the Beatles,' Herschorn said. 'I wasn't going to do anything that was not morally correct in my mind.' Herschorn, who now lives in Mexico, said that he put the tape into storage before leaving the record label, which later went bankrupt. 'Honestly, I hadn't thought about that tape in 40 years,' he said. 'I think there might be some unique things on it. Real fans may enjoy hearing it.' Universal Music Group, which owns Decca Records, did not respond to requests for comment about the tape. The record label's rejection of the Beatles has been widely chronicled — and mocked — over the decades, with its top executive telling the band's manager that 'guitar groups are on the way out,' as George Harrison recalled in 'The Beatles Anthology' book (2000). At the time, the Beatles were still largely unknown outside their hometown, Liverpool, having honed what would become their signature sound during marathon sets at clubs in Hamburg, Germany. The band, which paid 15 pounds to make the audition tape, had yet to cement its lineup. Pete Best was still on drums; Ringo Starr would not replace him until August 1962. Paul McCartney later said that the band's performance during the audition was underwhelming. 'Listening to the tapes I can understand why we failed the Decca audition,' he said in the 'Anthology' book. 'We weren't that good; though there were some quite interesting and original things.' A representative for McCartney did not respond to a request for comment about the tape. In 2012, a safety master tape of the Beatles' Decca audition was sold at auction to a Japanese collector for £35,000, or over $56,000 at the time, The Telegraph reported. But that recording contained only 10 songs, raising questions about its provenance. Frith said he would consider giving the tape to McCartney and was also thinking about holding a listening event for charity. Otherwise, he said, he planned to keep the tape. To think, just a month ago, he had minimal attachment to it. 'If someone had given me 20 bucks for that tape,' he said, 'I probably would have sold it.'
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Beatles Audition Tape Discovered in Vancouver Record Store
A rare piece of Beatles history has resurfaced in an unexpected place: a small record store in Vancouver. Rob Frith, owner of Neptoon Records, recently stumbled upon what he believed was a run-of-the-mill bootleg labeled Beatles 60s Demos. But after finally playing the reel-to-reel tape—years after acquiring it—Frith realized he may have uncovered a direct copy of the band's original 1962 Decca audition tape. More from Billboard For the 'Win': Tamela Mann Scores Record 12th No. 1 on Gospel Airplay Chart Lady Gaga Announces Dates For North American, International 2025 Mayhem Ball Tour Selena Gomez Hates Feeling a 'Tad Bitter' About Trolls Commenting on Her Weight While 'Nobody Cares' About Those Things With Men 'I just figured it was a tape off a bootleg record,' Frith posted 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 Jan. 1, 1962 audition session The Beatles recorded at Decca Studios in London. The label famously passed on signing the group—who would instead join Parlophone under George Martin and release their debut album Please Please Me in 1963. Frith, speaking to CBC, said the sound quality was so pristine 'it seemed like the Beatles were in the room.' The tape, wound in what's known as 'leader tape' (used to separate tracks on master recordings), was identified by music preservationist Larry Hennessey as something far more than just a fan-made compilation. Further intrigue came when Frith tracked down the man who brought the tape to Canada: Jack Herschorn, a former Vancouver label executive. According to Herschorn, the tape was given to him by a producer in London during the 1970s with the suggestion to sell copies in North America. But 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, more than 60 years after the original session, fans can hear a snippet of the first track—'Money (That's What I Want)'—via Frith's Instagram, where it's quickly gone viral among Beatles devotees. Frith says he has no intention of selling the tape but would gladly offer a copy to Decca or, as he joked, personally hand it to Sir Paul McCartney if he ever stopped by Neptoon Records. Best of Billboard Chart Rewind: In 1989, New Kids on the Block Were 'Hangin' Tough' at No. 1 Janet Jackson's Biggest Billboard Hot 100 Hits H.E.R. & Chris Brown 'Come Through' to No. 1 on Adult R&B Airplay Chart
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Beatles Audition Tape Discovered in Vancouver Record Store
A rare piece of Beatles history has resurfaced in an unexpected place: a small record store in Vancouver. Rob Frith, owner of Neptoon Records, recently stumbled upon what he believed was a run-of-the-mill bootleg labeled Beatles 60s Demos. But after finally playing the reel-to-reel tape—years after acquiring it—Frith realized he may have uncovered a direct copy of the band's original 1962 Decca audition tape. More from Billboard Kenny Chesney, June Carter Cash & Tony Brown Named to Country Music Hall of Fame Zach Bryan's 'Oklahoma Smokeshow' Rules Top TV Songs Chart With 'Tracker' Synch Metro Boomin, Machine Gun Kelly & More to Headline WWE's WrestleMania After Dark 'I just figured it was a tape off a bootleg record,' Frith posted 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 Jan. 1, 1962 audition session The Beatles recorded at Decca Studios in London. The label famously passed on signing the group—who would instead join Parlophone under George Martin and release their debut album Please Please Me in 1963. Frith, speaking to CBC, said the sound quality was so pristine 'it seemed like the Beatles were in the room.' The tape, wound in what's known as 'leader tape' (used to separate tracks on master recordings), was identified by music preservationist Larry Hennessey as something far more than just a fan-made compilation. Further intrigue came when Frith tracked down the man who brought the tape to Canada: Jack Herschorn, a former Vancouver label executive. According to Herschorn, the tape was given to him by a producer in London during the 1970s with the suggestion to sell copies in North America. But 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, more than 60 years after the original session, fans can hear a snippet of the first track—'Money (That's What I Want)'—via Frith's Instagram, where it's quickly gone viral among Beatles devotees. Frith says he has no intention of selling the tape but would gladly offer a copy to Decca or, as he joked, personally hand it to Sir Paul McCartney if he ever stopped by Neptoon Records. Best of Billboard Chart Rewind: In 1989, New Kids on the Block Were 'Hangin' Tough' at No. 1 Janet Jackson's Biggest Billboard Hot 100 Hits H.E.R. & Chris Brown 'Come Through' to No. 1 on Adult R&B Airplay Chart
Yahoo
22-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Vancouver's Neptoon Records discovers rare Beatles audition recording
Last week, late at night, when Rob Frith was wrapping up a work session at a friend's studio, he decided to throw on one last tape for a listen. It was labelled "Beatles 60s demos" and had been sitting around Neptoon Records, one of Vancouver's most well-known record shops, unplayed. Frith, who owns the shop, had never listened to it, but had brought the recording to his friend's studio that night, knowing he had the right player for the tape. "I thought it was just a reel-to-reel tape that somebody had put bootleg things on," Frith said. But when the tape played, the quality of the sound was clear and bright. "It seemed like the Beatles were in the room," he took a short video of the tape as it played and posted that clip on social media. Beatles fans were in awe, and messages started pouring in, Frith said. Based on his conversations and some research, Frith believes the tape is a rare, direct copy of a famous audition recording from the band's early days. Decca audition In the early 1960s, before the Beatles signed with Parlophone records and released Please Please Me, the band went searching for a label to sign with. Part of that search included recording an audition tape with Decca Studios in London, on Jan. 1, 1962. The owner of Neptoon Records, one of Vancouver's most well-known independent record shops, regularly acquires items from other peoples' music collections. (Rafferty Baker/CBC) Decca ultimately passed on signing the fledgling group, but the audition tape survived, and was eventually made available as a bootleg album starting in the late 70s. Finding one of those would be fairly unremarkable, but when Frith and his friend Larry Hennessey played the tape that night they knew they had something special. Hennessey, who is experienced in music preservation, said he got a hint that the recording may be rare as soon as they took it out of the box and he saw white tape, known as leader tape, physically separating each song. "The way that's wound on the tape, you can see that it separates the tracks … it's not a fast copy or a bootleg," he said. Frith, who acquires new tapes from collections on a regular basis, said he isn't certain who he got the tape from. Larry Hennessey says the white tape separating each song on this recording is called leader tape. Its presence, he says, indicates that it's not a bootleg tape. (Rafferty Baker/CBC ) Left behind After Frith's post online with the clip made the rounds on social media, someone from the local recording scene reached out and connected Frith with a man who knew all about the tape's origin: Jack Herschorn. Herschorn, a former owner of Mushroom Records in Vancouver, brought the tape across the Atlantic in the early 70s. During a work trip to London, a producer Herschorn knew handed him the tape and suggested he could put out copies of it in North America. "I took it back and I thought about it quite a bit … I didn't want to put it out because I felt — I didn't think it was a totally moral thing to do," he said. "These guys, they're famous and they deserve to have the right royalties on it … it deserves to come out properly," Herschorn said, adding that he didn't personally know the Beatles at that time. Jack Herschorn, a Canadian record company executive, bought Mushroom Studios in 1971. He eventually left the business, and now lives in Mexico. (Rafferty Baker/CBC) He remembers listening to the tape, enjoying it, and wishing the world-famous musicians had been signed with his label instead. Herschorn held onto the tape, but only for a while. When he eventually left the business, he forgot the tape. "I should have took it, but it didn't work out that way. You know, I had other things going on. I wasn't thinking about it." Treasure preserved Thinking ahead to the future of the tape, Herschorn said his hope is that Frith approaches Paul McCartney and suggests they release the tape. Larry Hennessey has a music studio in Vancouver that has the equipment to play a wide variety of old tapes. Recently, his friend Rob Frith brought an old Beatles tape to play at the studio, only for them to discover it was a rare recording. (Rafferty Baker/CBC) But Frith said he's not sure what's next. As a collector himself, he's not eager to sell it. He's also not about to release the recordings to the public on his own, but if Decca wanted a clean version of it, he'd give the label a copy, he said. Or if McCartney were to come to Neptoon Records in person, Frith said he would give it to him. Since there were bootlegs of the recording already out there, big Beatles fans have already heard the tracks, though not with this clarity, Frith said. "People say it could be really valuable. I don't know. I'm glad it's preserved," he said. Another option, Frith said, would be to host an event in Vancouver where people could come and listen to it, and then donate the proceeds to charity.
CBC
22-03-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
Vancouver's Neptoon Records discovers rare Beatles audition recording
'It seemed like the Beatles were in the room,' says shop owner Rob Frith Last week, late at night, when Rob Frith was wrapping up a work session at a friend's studio, he decided to throw on one last tape for a listen. It was labelled "Beatles 60s demos" and had been sitting around Neptoon Records, one of Vancouver's most well-known record shops, unplayed. Frith, who owns the shop, had never listened to it, but had brought the recording to his friend's studio that night, knowing he had the right player for the tape. "I thought it was just a reel-to-reel tape that somebody had put bootleg things on," Frith said. But when the tape played, the quality of the sound was clear and bright. "It seemed like the Beatles were in the room," he said. Frith took a short video of the tape as it played and posted that clip on social media. Beatles fans were in awe, and messages started pouring in, Frith said. Based on his conversations and some research, Frith believes the tape is a rare, direct copy of a famous audition recording from the band's early days. Decca audition In the early 1960s, before the Beatles signed with Parlophone records and released Please Please Me, the band went searching for a label to sign with. Part of that search included recording an audition tape with Decca Studios in London, on Jan. 1, 1962. Image | beatles recording Caption: The owner of Neptoon Records, one of Vancouver's most well-known independent record shops, regularly acquires items from other peoples' music collections. (Rafferty Baker/CBC) Open Image in New Tab Decca ultimately passed on signing the fledgling group, but the audition tape survived, and was eventually made available as a bootleg album starting in the late 70s. Finding one of those would be fairly unremarkable, but when Frith and his friend Larry Hennessey played the tape that night they knew they had something special. Hennessey, who is experienced in music preservation, said he got a hint that the recording may be rare as soon as they took it out of the box and he saw white tape, known as leader tape, physically separating each song. "The way that's wound on the tape, you can see that it separates the tracks … it's not a fast copy or a bootleg," he said. Frith, who acquires new tapes from collections on a regular basis, said he isn't certain who he got the tape from. Left behind After Frith's post online with the clip made the rounds on social media, someone from the local recording scene reached out and connected Frith with a man who knew all about the tape's origin: Jack Herschorn. Herschorn, a former owner of Mushroom Records in Vancouver, brought the tape across the Atlantic in the early 70s. During a work trip to London, a producer Herschorn knew handed him the tape and suggested he could put out copies of it in North America. "I took it back and I thought about it quite a bit … I didn't want to put it out because I felt — I didn't think it was a totally moral thing to do," he said. "These guys, they're famous and they deserve to have the right royalties on it … it deserves to come out properly," Herschorn said, adding that he didn't personally know the Beatles at that time. He remembers listening to the tape, enjoying it, and wishing the world-famous musicians had been signed with his label instead. Herschorn held onto the tape, but only for a while. When he eventually left the business, he forgot the tape. "I should have took it, but it didn't work out that way. You know, I had other things going on. I wasn't thinking about it." Treasure preserved Thinking ahead to the future of the tape, Herschorn said his hope is that Frith approaches Paul McCartney and suggests they release the tape. Image | Larry Hennessey Vancouver Caption: Larry Hennessey has a music studio in Vancouver that has the equipment to play a wide variety of old tapes. Recently, his friend Rob Frith brought an old Beatles tape to play at the studio, only for them to discover it was a rare recording. (Rafferty Baker/CBC) Open Image in New Tab But Frith said he's not sure what's next. As a collector himself, he's not eager to sell it. He's also not about to release the recordings to the public on his own, but if Decca wanted a clean version of it, he'd give the label a copy, he said. Or if McCartney were to come to Neptoon Records in person, Frith said he would give it to him. Since there were bootlegs of the recording already out there, big Beatles fans have already heard the tracks, though not with this clarity, Frith said. "People say it could be really valuable. I don't know. I'm glad it's preserved," he said. Another option, Frith said, would be to host an event in Vancouver where people could come and listen to it, and then donate the proceeds to charity.
