Master Tapes from 1962 Beatles Gigs Head to Auction

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Master Tapes from 1962 Beatles Gigs Head to Auction
By Alex Hudson
Published Feb 16, 2015



There seems to be no shortage of wealthy rock fans willing to drop a few hundred grand on a piece of history. The latest item to go under the gavel is a live recording of the Beatles performing way back in December of 1962.

This original master recording was captured at the Club-Star strip joint in Hamburg, Germany, and it has served as the basis for the concert album Live! at the Star-Club in Hamburg, Germany; 1962. It will be auctioned online via Ted Owen & Co., the same auction house that previously offered a heap of exclusive rock'n'roll items back in the summer (including some unheard Nick Drake recordings).

The reserve price will be between £100,000 ($191,534 Canadian) and £150,000 ($287,301 Canadian), but the tapes are apparently expected to go for more than that. The auction will take place on March 26, and more historical items will be announced later this month.

There are 33 tracks, which were recorded during sessions between Christmas Day of 1962 and New Year's Day in 1963. This was a few months after Ringo Starr joined the band, and shortly after the single "Love Me Do" was released.

The tapes will be sold with a history of their ownership. They currently belong to Larry Grossberg; he was the one who remixed and released them as an album back in 1977.

"I'm 74 and it's time to sell," he told the Guardian. "I don't want my family to have the burden of going through my things and liquidating everything.