The chance to hear a unique Beatles bootleg — for $250,000

Some years ago a Canadian reader got in touch: Piers Hemmingsen from Toronto, a retired computer programmer and Beatles expert. From time to time he visits London, where his son lives, and we meet for coffee at a Beatles-themed café in Notting Hill, where photos of the Fab Four beam from the walls as Piers and I catch up on each other’s news.

His latest venture has made the actual news, including coverage in Billboard, the US music trade magazine, and the Toronto Star newspaper. The interest is due to a bootleg recording that Piers owns of The Beatles playing a Canadian concert in 1965. It appears to be the only audio record of the gig in existence, and its sound quality is markedly better than most other Beatles bootlegs.