A rare, previously unheard version of a classic Beatles song is currently up for sale on eBay.
The acetate disc on offer features the original demo for ‘What Goes On’, which appears on the band’s 1965 album Rubber Soul, sung by Ringo Starr.
However, this earlier demo version of the song was recorded back in 1963, and features John Lennon on vocal duties accompanied by Paul McCartney on harmony.
The original tape recording is presumed lost, and the acetate disc is thought to be the only surviving copy of the song.
Surprisingly, it remains one of the very few Beatles recordings that has never been released, either officially or unofficially as a bootleg.
Lennon claimed that he originally wrote the song as a teenager in the late 1950s, for his first group The Quarrymen.
It was considered as a follow-up single to ‘Please, Please Me’ in 1963, before the band decided on ‘From Me To You’,
Then, during the Rubber Soul sessions at Abbey Road, the band resurrected the song. The chorus remained intact, but the rest of the lyrics were reworked by McCartney and Starr, and it was recorded on November4, 1965 with the addition of a guitar solo from George Harrison.
The single-sided acetate disc is the only-known record of Lennon’s original lyrics, and retains its original label for Dick James Music Limited – the company which published The Beatles’ early songs.
According to the eBay listing, the disc was originally given by George Harrison to a family member, possibly his brother Harry, and later sold at Bonhams in 2012.
Bidding in the online sale ends on October 1, and the recording looks set to fetch more than $10,000.
