Hull concert recording offered up for auction again

Tour programme from the UK tour which ran from 9th October 1964 to 10th November 1964. 16 pages with Beatles ‘4 Aces’ front cover, measuring 8″ x 10.25″.

As we reported in June, in conjunction with a Christie’s auction, there exists a recording of a Beatles concert from Hull, waiting to be auctioned off, this time it is among the lots in the upcoming Tracks auction.

The reel-to-reel tape contains a rare and previously unheard recording of The Beatles in concert at the A.B.C. Theatre, Hull, 16 October, 1964. The recording has loud screaming throughout, recorded on 1/4 inch Emitape by John Hill from the orchestra pit at the theatre. The recording, over two tapes with an approximate total running time of 24 minutes, contains ten tracks, each introduced by either John Lennon, George Harrison or Paul McCartney, comprising:

1. Twist And Shout

2. Money (That’s What I Want)

3. Can’t Buy Me Love

4. Things We Said Today

5. I’m Happy Just To Dance With You

6. I Should Have Known Better

7. If I Fell

8. I Wanna Be Your Man

9. A Hard Day’s Night

10. Long Tall Sally

This appearance in Hull on 16 October, 1964, came as part of The Beatles’ 1964 British Tour. A Hard Day’s Night, the band’s third studio album, had been released earlier that year in July and this appearance saw them perform six songs from the LP, which formed part of their standard repertoire for the U.K. and later World Tour in 1964. By this time, Beatlemania was in full swing and, with much of the performance drowned out by the intense screaming of the fans, this recording gives the listener a real sense of the atmosphere in the theatre at that time. George Harrison, John Lennon and Paul McCartney all take turns to address the audience and make introductions to the songs, with McCartney in particular rallying the audience and scat singing in between songs.

The bidding at Christie’s reached £6,500, with the reserve not being met. The auction from Tracks is estimating a sale price of £2-4,000, but there’s a snag: This time the tape is offered without copyright, which of course reduces the value of the item. Perhaps Tracks is planning to release a CD of the contents themselves, once the recording becomes public domain in Europe on New Year’s Day? However, judging by the description, the quality of the recording may be such that commercial exploitation is out of the question.

Tracks auction.