Lost McCartney demo for Cilla Black found

The demo disc

A mystery that has caused confusion to Beatles fans worldwide for fifty two years has now been solved and will be a major attraction at the 25th Liverpool Beatles Memorabilia Auction on Saturday, August 27th, at the Paul McCartney Auditorium in the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts.

Cilla Black, who died after falling at her Spanish holiday home on August 1st last year, wrote in her book ‘What’s It All About’ “John and Paul wrote my next single ‘It’s For You’ and Paul introduced me to the song by sending a demo disc that he had made of it round to The Palladium. Although Paul had sung it as a waltz, George Martin took a big hand in my recording of it and asked Johnny Spence to arrange it”.

The record shot up to No 7 in the charts. It was written especially for Cilla by Lennon and McCartney and sung by Paul for just under two minutes on a 7 inch Dick James demo disc.

The demo disc was delivered to The Palladium where Cilla was performing in 1964. The disc vanished and people have been trying to locate it for fifty two years. It was thought that it had been lost or destroyed.

A member of Cilla’s family came across a brown envelope which had the words “It’s For You” hand written on the front and Cilla Black’s name underneath. They assumed that it was a copy of her hit record.

The family member took the disc along with other items for a valuation into The Beatles Shop in Mathew Street, Liverpool and handed it to Stephen Bailey who has managed the shop for thirty one years and is a world authority on The Beatles.

Stephen said “We played each of the various demo discs that we had been asked to value. The ‘It’s For You’ Cilla copy was not there but was a recording by Paul McCartney!!  I was shaking with excitement and speechless!! I realised that this was the long lost Beatles demo disc from 1964 and I was probably one of the few people to have seen and heard it in over 50 years. What I had in my hand was probably the only copy in existence and this is going into The Beatles Auction in Liverpool.”

Beatles fans from all over the world can go to the website  – www.beatlesauction.co.uk _ to hear Paul McCartney sing an extract from  “It’s For You” that he recorded fifty two years ago.

Last word from Stephen, “I urge all Beatles fans to search their bottom drawers and attics where they could have put Beatles memorabilia years ago and forgotten all about them – you just never know what you may find or what it is worth”.

It is thought that the long lost Paul McCartney recording is estimated to realise £15.000  to £ 20.000 at The Beatles Liverpool Auction on Saturday, August27th.

The demo of “It’s For You” was probably recorded by McCartney at home in March or early April, 1964. Cilla first taped “It’s For You” at EMI April 10th, according to Mark Lewisohn.