Bootleg of 1966 Beatles concert
in Toronto up for auction

A recording of the last concert by the Beatles in Canada is to be auctioned live on eBay on Saturday.

The concert at Toronto's Maple Leaf Gardens on Aug. 17, 1966, came at the end of the band's final tour and is one of the last the Fab Four ever performed.

The bootleg tape was recorded on a reel-to-reel recorder by an unidentified Canadian fan.

It is being sold by a U.S. collector who bought it from the original owner.

The tape, running two hours and 20 minutes, includes performances of hits such as Yesterday, Nowhere Man and Paperback Writer.

The opening bid for the tape, with a reel-to-reel recorder and carrying case, is set at $10,000 US.

The Toronto Star reports the National Archives of Canada has authenticated the recording as that of the 1966 Toronto concert.

Although the Beatles went on recording until they split up in 1970, they were already tired of concert life as they completed their 1966 North American tour.

Their last concert before paying fans was a San Francisco concert on Aug. 29, 1966, just weeks after the Toronto gig. Their last live performance is the 1969 concert atop the Apple building in London in 1969.

Auction website eBay estimates the value of the recording at $20,000 US to $30,000 US.

by  - August 29, 2008

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