'Bidding war' for Beatles treasure

Meldrum said from his Melbourne home that the find could spark a bidding war between Beatle Paul McCartney and Yoko Ono.
The Times newspaper in London reported yesterday that a British traveller bought a battered suitcase full of Beatles memorabilia C including recordings, photographs and concert programs C for $50 at a market near Geelong, south-west of Melbourne, earlier this year.

The collection was thought to be the long-lost archive of one of the British band's close associates, sound recordist and session musician Mal Evans, The Times said.

Mr Evans died in 1976, but rumours of his collection, which he compiled for a memoir he never completed, have tantalised Beatles collectors for years.

Among tapes inside the suitcase were alternative versions of well-known songs such as We Can Work It Out and some new material, a pop memorabilia consultant for auctioneers Christie's told The Times.

One four-and-a-half-hour recording on reel-to-reel tape included Beatles Paul McCartney and John Lennon talking as they experimented with previously unknown versions of songs, the paper added.

Meldrum, a long-time Beatles fan, said if the find was genuine, it was one of music's most significant discoveries.

"If the recording of John and Paul working on different versions of tracks such as We Can Work It Out is genuine, you really are talking, in a sort of sense, about someone finding a Van Gogh or a Rembrandt in someone's back shed," Meldrum said.

Meldrum speculated that if the memorabilia proved to be authentic, Paul McCartney and Yoko Ono could battle to buy the collection.

"Both have a direct affinity and I wouldn't be surprised if they get into a bidding war," he said.

"If we find this is ridgy-didge, I think Paul and Yoko will be going for it."

The pair had battled for ownership of The Beatles song publishing rights in the mid-80s, before they were snapped up by pop singer Michael Jackson, Meldrum said.