Rare Beatles record owned by Gerry And The Pacemakers member sells for £77,500

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Rare Beatles record owned by Gerry And The Pacemakers member sells for £77,500 at UK auction
Disc was the first to be cut before the Fab Four broke into the UK singles chart
DAMIAN JONES
22ND MARCH 2016



A rare record by The Beatles found in the loft of Gerry And The Pacemakers keyboardist Les Maguire has been auctioned off for £77,500.

The 10-inch acetate of 'Till There Was You' and 'Hello Little Girl' from 1962 was the first Beatles disc to be cut before the band broke into the national charts and featured the writing of their manager Brian Epstein.

The 78 RPM record - mislabelled by Epstein as 'Til There Was You' and described as being the work of "Paul McCartney & The Beatles" - was made at the former HMV store in Oxford Street, London.

'Hello Little Girl', on the other side, was again mislabelled as 'Hullo Little Girl' and was described as being the work of "John Lennon & The Beatles".

In a bid to secure the band a recording contract, it was presented to future Beatles producer George Martin - who died earlier this month - at the EMI record label.



Maguire was given the disc by Epstein in 1963, after it had been returned to him by Martin, reports BBC News.

It was sold by Omega Auctions, in Warrington, having been locked away in Maguire's loft - where it was kept wrapped in paper for more than 50 years. 

Meanwhile, the trailer for the 8-part George Martin series was recently released. 'Soundbreaking: Stories From the Cutting Edge of Recorded Music,' was five years in the making with Martin and his son Giles calling upon 150 artists to share behind-the-scenes stories about the art of recording.

The first two episodes premiered at SXSW, with a PBS premiere scheduled in for November. No exact date has been released. 

Directed and produced by Jeff Dupre and Maro Chermayeff, the series features exclusive and original interviews with both artists and producers including Paul McCartney, Tom Petty, Dave Grohl, Questlove, Bon Iver, Beck, BB King and more. Joni Mitchell and Debbie Harry are also set to feature. Producers Brian Eno, Nile Rodgers, Quincy Jones and further producers will be interviewed throughout.


The 78 RPM record was the first Beatles disc to be cut and bears the writing of their manager Brian Epstein