'Lost' Beatles Playboy tapes to be auctioned

The two-hour recording of an interview given by the Beatles in their heyday has never been released

A recording of a "long-lost" interview given by The Beatles for a feature in Playboy magazine is set to be auctioned.

The two hour interview, carried out by American journalist and radio host Jean Shepherd, took place in October 1964 after a concert at the Exeter ABC.

The cassette tapes are said to include "unfiltered moments" such as Paul McCartney swearing about a hostile journalist and 15 minutes of live concert recordings.

The tapes will be auctioned by Merseyside based Omega Auctions on 15 October, with a price-tag starting at £10,000.

'Exciting'

The recordings include "heartfelt anecdotes" from John Lennon and McCartney about their families, as well as "playful banter".

Omega said that while the interview provided the basis of a feature that appeared in Playboy in February 1965, the full tapes had never been published.

The recording begins with a spoken introduction by Shepherd while the band play songs including Can't Buy Me Love and I Wanna Be Your Man.

Shepherd then carries out an in-depth interview at a Torquay hotel where the band stayed after the concert.

Omega auction manager Dan Muscatelli-Hampson said: "Unearthing gems like these is always exciting and why we love what we do."