The last day that the Beatles ever played in Canada was on August 17, 1966. Between concerts, they attended a question-and-answer session at Toronto’s King Edward Hotel. Mr. Paul Hourigan, a photojournalist, was there and recorded the interview on reel-to-reel tape. When he made the film, he had planned to sell it for $50 but there were no takers...
Of course, Mr. Hourigan is GLAD that there were no takers because auctioneers at Bonham's feel that the film may sell at auction for up to $25,000 U.S. during an upcoming memorabilia sale.
This is the ONLY known recording of that session. The tape is said to be 14 minutes long and feature all four of the Beatles with the issues of draft dodgers, Beatles versus Jesus popularity and the band's possible break up being discussed. On that issue, Lennon said, "We're obviously not gonna go around holding hands forever."
Is $25,000 reasonable? Mr. Hourigan certainly hopes so and there is certainly precedent and interest in Beatles memorabilia. Last July, the signed poster that hung over John Lennon and Yoko Ono in the iconic hotel bed sold for $140,000; Lennon's handwritten version of Give Peace A Chance sold for $800,000; and in 2008, a copy of the white album sold on eBay for the equivalent of $19,878 U.S.
I wonder if the public will ever have the opportunity to view what is on Mr. Hourigan's reel-to-reel tape.
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Since I have no picture of this press conference, I have chosen to illustrate this page with a fun, modern sign of the Fab Four. You can find it here on Amazon.
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