LOS ANGELES — A 14-minute tape recording of a 1966 Beatles news conference in Toronto did not find a buyer on Sunday.
The two reels up for auction feature John Lennon responding to questions about his statement that the Beatles were more popular than Jesus.
The auction house, Los Angeles Bonham and Butterfields, estimated the artifact would fetch between $20,000 to $25,000.
“Unfortunately it didn’t sell,” said Margaret Barrett, the auction house’s director of entertainment memorabilia.
“It obviously didn’t spark enough interest.”
While the tapes did have the auctioneer taking a few bids, the numbers being thrown around weren’t high enough for a sale.
Barrett said the auction process works with a reserve, which is a confidential number that the client and the auction house agree upon, and if the item does not meet the reserve, the item does not sell.
She couldn’t say how high the bidding reached, but confirmed that it wasn’t enough to satisfy the client.
The tapes will now be returned to its owner, but Barrett couldn’t say who the owner was or where they were from.
The tapes on the auction block were recorded on Aug 17, 1966 at Toronto’s King Edward Hotel.
The Beatles held the news conference between back-to-back shows at Maple Leaf Gardens.
The tapes also feature the Fab Four discussing Vietnam, the generation gap and how long the band might stay together.
Another audiotape of the recording will be auctioned off in Dallas and online in October.