Update (7/25/04)

Dear Steve,

Just to save you wasting any more valuable space on your excellent website to this complete non-story - as I seem to be the only person to have examined the suitcase and listened to the "lost tapes" (in fact they were CD-Rs). I have tried to kill this story off as complete nonsense, but it seems that some people are suffering from "wishful thinking" and hoping for a snippet of truth.

Just to reiterate: The contents of the case had absolutely NO connection whatsoever with Mal Evans. I would love to have reported that the suitcase actually contained poor Mal's ashes and his unpublished autobiography manuscript, but alas, such was not the case. As previously stated, the unreleased recordings turned out to be common bootleg material - the guys who owned the stuff said they had Abbey Road reel-to-reel tapes, but could not produce said items when I asked to see them.

Furthermore, they stated that the tapes were in the original metal canisters(!!). As you know, film reels are kept in metal canisters, but audio tape, which is magnetic, is always housed in cardboard or plastic boxes.

The contents of the suitcase contained nothing more than run of the mill Beatles memorabilia - nothing rare, just average flea market stuff. However a couple of items did catch my eye. These were laser copies of some of the reproduction items that were housed in the Lennon Legend book (published last year). So, not even laser copies of original memorabilia but copies of reproductions...!! End of story...

Best regards...Pete Nash
www.britishbeatlesfanclub.co.uk

Update (7/22/04)

Hi Steve -

I really can't speak about the photos / autographs since I haven't seen any of the "treasure". The audio however, does seem suspicious. Pete Nash of the British Beatles Fan Club was dispatched by a UK TV station to listen to the tape, and dismissed it as all commonly available material.

If Pete's report wasn't enough to discount the tapes authenticity, I've found it very odd that all of the titles I've seen reported thus far also appear on the boot CD "Arrive Without Aging" (c.1993) which was itself a hodge podge of material from a variety of sources - some post dating Mal's demise in 1976. One item that seems to have captured the attention of the media is Lennon's home recording of 'I'm In Love".

All of the appearances of this performance available to collectors originate from a broadcast on the final program of Westwood's One's "The Lost Lennon Tapes" radio series in March of 1992. This is worth noting because WW1 processed the recording prior to airing it, a fact which I confirmed with the producer of the series. If the version of 'I'm In Love appearing on the "Mal Tape" exhibits evidence of this processing, it would immediately classify the tape as a forgery.

Chip Madinger

Update (7/15/04)

Hi Steve,

Just got back from listening to the so called "lost Mal Evans tapes". The track being played over the news, 'I'm In Love', is indeed a Lennon demo, but from the common "Arrive Without Aging" bootleg LP. All the other tracks on the tapes are readily available on various bootleg CDs, so not "lost" at all. There was no connection with Mal Evans (if fact some of the "treasure" in the suitcase dated from the 1990's - poor Mal died in 1976). The whole thing was a complete scam to earn a few bucks from the media. Remember: "never believe what you read in the newspapers"...!!
Pete Nash
www.britishbeatlesfanclub.co.uk

Hi Steve,

The press here have gone crazy about the 'lost' tapes. I went on Sky News yesterday to talk about it. On investigation, it seems all the tracks listed - including 'I'm in Love' are on a bootleg called 'Arrived Without Aging' which is of recordings John made at home. Of the rest of the stuff, I saw nothing I haven't seen before. I don't know where the idea of the case belonging to Mal came from. Most of the material dates from AFTER 1964 so it couldn't have been left in Australia by him on the 1964 tour. It is a nice collection and I wouldn't have minding buying it for $50 - but not worth all the fuss the press are making of it.

Richard Porter
http://www.beatlesinlondon.com

The London Times' website is featuring the audio of "I'm In Love," a Lennon-McCartney track never released by the Beatles but recorded by the Fourmost. The track was among a treasure trove of rarities discovered at an Australian flea market. To hear the track, go to http://www.timesonline.co.uk. (Note: You must be a subscriber.)

Although the new owner is talking of selling some of his discovery online, we suspect the Beatles will try to get some of their material, especially the tapes, back. Sales of previously discovered material have been blocked before.

From Greg Armstrong in Australia:

Steve:

Not sure if you have heard the news below from Australia regarding the discovery of a cache of "unreleased Beatles songs". There have been tenuous links made by the press to Mal Evans and that it may be his suitcase left behind from the 1964 tour...

Those in the know are very sceptical, believing that this will turn out to be a beat-up - probably just tape reel copies of common bootleg fodder, with maybe a commercial reel-to-reel released album or two thrown in. We all hope it is something significant, but sadly remember last year when an Sydney Aussie claimed he had the mastertape of Abbey Road - turned out to be a reel-to-reel C/V.

(Thanks to everyone who emailed links -- far too many to mention. )