Missing Beatles demo found by Cilla Black's family after 52 years
A long lost Beatles demo disc sent to Cilla Black has been rediscovered 52 years later.
Black had a UK Top 10 hit with the Lennon-McCartney penned It's for You in 1964 which was produced by George Martin at Abbey Road Studios. The song peaked at number 7 in the charts but Paul McCartney had earlier that year recorded his own version, clocking in at just under two minutes, on a 7 inch Dick James demo disc and wanted Black to listen to it. The acetate was delivered to the London Palladium where Black was performing at the time but its whereabouts since then had been unclear, with it thought to have been lost or destroyed.
The disc has now re-emerged after a relative of Black, who died last year, came across a brown envelope which had the words "It's For You" hand-written on the front and Cilla Black's name underneath. They assumed that it was a copy of her hit record and brought it in with other items to be valued at The Beatles Shop in Mathew Street, Liverpool.
Stephen Bailey, who has managed the shop for 31 years, said they decided to play what they thought were 21 demo discs by Black.
Mr Bailey said: "We got to the last one and as soon as I heard it I thought 'Oh God, that's not Cilla Black it's Paul McCartney'. "I was shaking with excitement and speechless. I realised that this was the long lost Beatles demo disc from 1964 and I was probably one of the few people to have seen and heard it in over 50 years."
By: Kim Pilling
Source: The Irish News
