Listen to never-before-heard demo of The Beatles’ ‘Hard Days Night’ that’s up for auction

The studio demo was record for the sole purpose of the band and producer to listen back and then make changes.
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A unique and never-before-heard demo of The Beatles’ ‘Hard Days Night’ is to be sold at auction.

The demo is unlike the single as it features John Lennon saying ‘1,2,3,4’ as he counts in the band.

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It has come from the library of one of the largest music publishing companies in the world - EMI.

Auctioneers say it has been sat in the archives for almost 60 years. It will be sold on Friday April 22 at 10am.

The demo recording features John Lennon counting in the band. Photo: Wessex Auction Rooms / SWNSThe demo recording features John Lennon counting in the band. Photo: Wessex Auction Rooms / SWNS
The demo recording features John Lennon counting in the band. Photo: Wessex Auction Rooms / SWNS

A spokesman said: “Beatles demos are highly sought after by fans around the world.

“But what makes this so special is that it isn’t a demo in the traditional sense where a load of demo singles were pressed and sent to radio stations and tastemakers.

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“This is a studio demo acetate record used for the sole purpose of the band and producer to listen back and then make changes.

“So, you not only get a unique version of the song that hasn’t been heard before, you also hear the John Lennon 1,2,3,4 as he counts in the band for the opening chord. It is a true collectors dream.

“This archive that we have been sifting through includes tens of thousands of records, many of which have no identifiers whatsoever.

“So when I came across this one so clearly labelled with The Beatles and the track name my eyes lit because I knew I had something special. Hearing the 1,2,3,4 count at the start had my heart racing!

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“As a specialist vinyl auctioneer I am lucky enough to be the temporary custodian of many rare and collectable records, but to have a demo version of such a famous song by the worlds biggest ever band is truly exciting and I am expecting bidders from around the world to battle it out for this one”

The full catalogue can be viewed on the EasyLiveAuction website.

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