Abbey Road and White Album studio tapes recovered after 34 years. (1 Viewer)

[Colin Sims]

In Sydney.News story pasted below

Man attempts selling Beatles recordings for $5m
Authorities are trying to authenticate classic Beatles recordings and artwork believed to have been found in a suburban Sydney apartment.

A 27-year-old Lidcombe man raised police interest after he reportedly tried to sell the items in a newspaper for $5 million.

Detective sergeant Dave Darke says the tapes may have been stolen from the Abbey Road studios.

"Two reel to reel tapes of Abbey Road and The White Album. The tapes appear to be originals or copies of the originals from tapes that were stolen back in 1969 from the Abbey Road studios," he said.

The man has told police he bought the tapes from a Parramatta music festival in 1991 for $1,000.

It is unlikely the man will be charged, but he is helping police with their inquiries.

 

[Colin Sims]

From CNN

It would be nice to know if there are any lost gems on the tapes. Maybe they should stop the presses for the Anthology DVD.

STOLEN BEATLES TAPES RECOVERED
SYDNEY, Australia (AP) -- Police on Friday recovered reel-to-reel tapes apparently recorded by The Beatles and believed stolen from the band's studios in London more than three decades ago.

Detectives raided a home in western Sydney early Friday and seized tape recordings of the "Abbey Road" album and "The Beatles," better known as "The White Album." They also confiscated album artwork, police said in a statement.

A preliminary examination of the tapes suggested they are either original studio recordings or professionally made copies, police said. They did not say how much the tapes are worth.

Detectives believe the recordings were stolen from the Abbey Road studios in 1969. A 27-year-old man was arrested at the home but was later released without charges being filed.

Police have given the seized tapes to a musicologist to determine their authenticity.

The raid stemmed from a British investigation into a suspected piracy racket that led to the recovery of 500 tapes believed to be original Beatles recordings during a raid in Holland last month.

Five people -- three Britons and two Dutchmen -- have been arrested.

 

[Colin Sims]

Info about the original Holland Raids here BBC

Its too long to quote completely but a snippet below. Now I'm really interested.

'Priceless' Beatles tapes discovered
A cache of 500 original Beatles tapes stolen in the 1970s and containing tracks which have never before been released, has been recovered.Police said the tapes were "priceless" and the only recordings from them which had ever been heard before were on bootlegs.

They were discovered in Holland when police cracked a piracy racket, arresting five people in raids in west London and the Netherlands.

The tapes are the only original recordings made and are thought likely to include material which has never been previously released.

 

[Mark Pfeiffer]

A 27-year-old Lidcombe man raised police interest after he reportedly tried to sell the items in a newspaper for $5 million.

Yeah, that wouldn't attract any attention, would it?

 

[Lee Scoggins]

Yeah, that wouldn't attract any attention, would it?

We may have a Darwin Award winner for crime.

 

[Marty M]

Maybe they should stop the presses for the Anthology DVD.

I don't think that is likely, but there is material for future releases.

 

[andrew markworthy]

better known as "The White Album." They also confiscated album artwork,

If it's artwork for The White Album, I presume this means sheets of blank paper.

Without endorsing bootlegs, it's got to be said that a great deal of the stuff on the tapes has been widely known to fans for years. It'd be nice to have the stuff in a pristine form on official CDs, but, as we've argued on another, related thread, the chances are that any officially released versions would be 'improved' versions of the originals, given experience of Anthology.

 

[oscar_merkx]

absolutely fascinated that tapes that seemed to be all but forgotten suddenly re appear on the market.

Perhaps there is now a market for Anthology Pt 2

 

[Colin Sims]

New South Wales Police Media Release

Police from Flemington Local Area Command and Music Industry Piracy investigators today recovered a number of reel-to-reel tapes, believed to have been recorded by The Beatles and stolen from Londons Abbey Road Studios in 1969. About 8.05am, Auburn Detectives executed a search warrant at an address in Matthew Road at Lidcombe. The following items were recovered from the premises :1 clear reel tape containing a recording of Abbey Road 1 clear reel tape containing a recording of The White Album, 1 clear reel without tape, Abbey Road reel tape cover (Album artwork), 1 The White Album reel tape cover (Album artwork) A 27-year-old man was arrested at the premises and taken to Auburn Police Station for questioning. He¡¦s been released without charge pending further inquiries. An initial examination of the recovered items indicates they are either the original tapes of the actual recording sessions or studio copies of the original tapes. Arrangements are currently underway to have the recordings taken to an accredited musicologist who will determine the authenticity of the items. They will then be returned to police custody with a view to having them returned to London. Todays operation was undertaken to assist City of London Police with Operation Acetone, an investigation currently being conducted in the United Kingdom.

 

[Ron Etaylor]

I think this is going to turn out to be a non-story just like the 500 reels of Get Back material was(which will now be used to hype the release of the de-Spectorized Let It Be/Get Back project).

 

[Brian Perry]

Just curious--if these were the original master tapes, how many generations removed were the tapes used to make the original CDs?

 

[Steve Meskell]

It would be nice to know if there are any lost gems on the tapes. Maybe they should stop the presses for the Anthology DVD

Bite your tongue....
I'm counting the days till I have this in my hands