A rare, unreleased demo of The Beatles’ “What Goes On”—recorded in 1963 and featuring John Lennon on vocals—has surfaced on on eBay through Parlogram.
Though the song would not be released by The Fab Four until 1965’s Rubber Soul, the song actually predates The Beatles. Lennon originally wrote the song all the way back in the late Fifties, for his pre-Beatles group the Quarrymen.
Lennon kept the song around, and—according to Parlogram—even considered recording it with the group as a follow-up to their breakthrough hit, “Please, Please Me,” before dropping it in favor of the single’s eventual follow-up, “From Me to You.”
The song continued to kick around though, and the band eventually recorded it for Rubber Soul with rewritten verses, a solo from George Harrison, and Starr on lead vocals.
The demo—which is currently up for auction—features Lennon on lead vocals and acoustic guitar, with Paul McCartney providing harmonies. You can hear a snippet of it—recorded directly from the acetate—below.
For more information on the demo, you can examine the listing for yourself here.
