Beatles fans and rare records collectors are expected to be bidding for “an absolutely magical” find in a sale at Wiltshire’s Wessex Auction Rooms later this week.
For among the 748 lots in the sale of vinyl records, CDs and memorabilia on Friday, April 22 is an unreleased 1964 demo of 'A Hard Day’s Night' which has four words on it that distinguishes it from the millions of copies of the single that were sold.
For decades, The Beatles hit, which was the band’s third number one, has been instantly recognisable for George Harrison’s distinctive opening chord.
But the demo, which is expected to reach up to £1,000 at the auction at Draycot Cerne, near Chippenham, begins with John Lennon counting the group in with a “1,2,3,4”.
And that makes the disc, which is on the label of The Beatles music publisher Dick James instead of on that of their record company, Parlophone, a keenly-sought collectors’ item.
“This is a big one, it’s just amazing,” said Martin Hughes, vinyl record specialist at Wessex Auction Rooms.
Martin, who has become famed as one of the UK’s leading experts in rare records, added: “We have been very fortunate to uncover some real gems from this publishing archive over the last few years, but this one really surprised us.
“When you are flicking through a collection of tens of thousands of previously-unheard demos and you want a globally appealing, culturally significant, big news item in your vinyl records auction, then there’s one name you really want to see on the label of one of those records - The Beatles!”
He explained: “This isn’t your typical ‘demo’ of A Hard Days Night that was sent to record stations to play. What is so fantastic about this particular record is that it is a publishing demo recorded in the studio for the band and producer to listen back to and make changes - then it was placed in the publishing archive and this version was never heard again - until now!”
“Hearing the '1,2,3,4' count at the start is absolutely magical. I’m sure a mega Beatles fan will be delighted to get their hands on this piece of music history.”
To hear the historic count-in, go to: https://youtu.be/CPAXqNTYXWs
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