Sixty years after they invaded the US, The Beatles continue to be the gift that keeps on giving.
After November’s release of “Now and Then” — “the last Beatles song” — some more unearthed treasure from the Fab Four has emerged in never before seen footage from behind the scenes of their 1965 film “Help!”
Three minutes and 17 seconds of rare footage — which give you a candid close-up of The Beatles on 8 mm film — is being auctioned by Boston-based RR Auction through Feb. 24 after going on the block Jan. 19.
The long-buried clip was shot during the filming of the “I Need You” sequence from “Help!”
Taken on location in Salisbury Plain in southern England, it captures an intimate glimpse of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr interacting with the cast and crew, toying with their instruments between takes, and otherwise letting their mop-topped hair down.
RR Auction says the silent black-and-white footage — “from the personal archive of a member of the production crew or a possible friend of The Beatles” who filmed it on May 3, 1965 — was acquired from a “Dublin based collector who purchased it off eBay.”
Given that The Beatles are one one of the most documented bands in history, this is a noteworthy discovery after 59 years — and RR Auction is expecting it to go for $10,000 or more.
“I’ve seen my fair share of rare Beatles artifacts, but this 8 mm film is something special because it captures the sheer joy of the Fabs,” said Bobby Livingston, RR Auction executive vice president.
“It’s a cinematic time capsule that brings us closer to The Beatles in a way that photographs and interviews simply can’t.”
This continues the latest wave of Beatles nostalgia that began with the release of “Now and Then” — which was their first new tune since 1996 — three months ago.
Written and sung by Lennon, the song was first recorded by the late Beatle in the ’70s.
After Lennon’s 1980 murder, his widow, Yoko Ono, gave the demo of “Now and Then” to his Beatles bandmates McCartney, Harrison and Starr in 1994. However, they were unable to complete the recording because of technological limitations at the time.
But armed with new technology in 2022, the surviving Beatles — McCartney and Starr — set out to finally complete “Now and Then.”
And the song’s Peter Jackson-directed video is a time-traveling trip that, true to the tune’s title, captures The Beatles “Now” and “Then.”