Newly discovered Beatles tape sells for $23,000

Lennon, McCartney collapse into giggles during ‘I'll Follow the Sun’

A tape recording allegedly of The Beatles chatting and breaking into giggles during an early recording session in the early 1960s sold at an auction house in Reading, England. The tape, which also features versions of songs including "I Feel Fine," "I'm a Loser" and "Don't Put Me Down Like This", sold for 9,800 pounds (US $19,100), with some dealers at the auction casting doubt on its authenticity.

Alastair Grant / AP

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updated 8:48 p.m. ET Aug. 10, 2008

LONDON - A newly discovered tape of The Beatles laughing and chatting during an early recording session has sold for about 12,000 pounds ($23,000), an auction house reported Tuesday.

Cameo Auctioneers said the reel-to-reel tape was recorded in 1964 and had recently been discovered by a man in northern England while he was clearing out his father's attic.

The half-hour tape sold to an Internet bidder Tuesday afternoon for 11,900 pounds ($23,446) including tax and the buyer's premium, the auction house said, adding that it had yet to contact the winner.

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The tape features John Lennon and Paul McCartney collapsing into fits of giggles as they try to finish the ballad "I'll Follow the Sun."

It also carries versions of songs including "I Feel Fine," "I'm a Loser" and "Don't Put Me Down Like This."