Rare Beatles record: 10-inch acetate disc recorded in 1962 sells for $110K at London auction

By Steve Pak / 1458801900
(Photo : Facebook) A rare Beatles record on an acetate disc has sold at a London auction for $110,000

A rare Beatles record that is part of the British band's most valuable memorabilia has sold at a London auction on March 22, Tuesday for $110,000. The "Holy Grail" album was recorded in 1962 in West London and includes the first-ever song John Lennon wrote. Such acetate discs could be more easily played on record players than standard vinyl records.   

An anonymous British collector purchased the rare Beatles record that includes Lennon's tune "Hello Little Girl."

Les Maguire was the keyboard player for the British band Gerry and the Pacemakers. He had stored the famous record in his attic after receiving it in 1963, according to BBC.

The auction was held near the Beatles' hometown of Liverpool and received telephone bidders from countries including the United States, China, and Germany.   

This disc was one of the most important ones of the Beatles' recording history. It was the first one that includes the Beatles name on the cover, which was written by manager Brian Epstein.  

In fact, the historical record could be responsible for the British band signing its first recording contract with producer George Martin. He passed away this month at the age of 90.

The vinyl record was recorded on New Year's Day at Decca Records in London, according to KEYT. It is interesting Decca rejected the 15 songs the Beatles recorded and said that guitar groups were no longer very popular.

However, Epstein took one copy of the audition tape to a record store in central London where it was converted to acetate disc.  

Regular vinyl records are made by using a fast molding process that quickly manufactures the discs from pieces of plastic. However, a acetate record is made by cutting audio signal grooves into the surface of lacquer-coated discs.

The engineer at the record store HMV was impressed by the Beatles' recording. He took the discs to Syd Coleman who worked at EMI's publishing company.

  Coleman then informed Martin about the discs. He gave the band a tryout at Abbey Road Studios, then signed them to the EMI record label.

Epstein later handed the acetate disc to Maguire. The song was released in 1963 by Epstein's band The Fourmost. 

Here's the song "Hello Little Girl":