Secret recording of Neil Young live in Hamilton found in donation box at local record shop

Someone with a Heart of Gold" has donated a one-of-a-kind tape to a local store.

The year was 1973 when Neil Young performed at McMaster and a student, who does not want to be identified, sneaked a tape recorder into the concert.

This week, a local vintage music and movie store went viral on TikTok after showing the cassette tape of the famous $5 concert.

Flashbacks owner, Chad Silva, received a donation of mix tapes destined to be either donated or thrown out, but everything changed when he saw one named Neil Young Live in Hamilton."

It (the recording) didn't exist anywhere, so I posted on TikTok and it went viral. On the same day I got a phone call from Neil Young's management firm," Silva said.

According to Silva, Young's personal manager wanted to make sure the tape wasn't a hoax.

He basically quizzed me to make sure that it was legitimate and even asked a couple of questions people know about that show, if it's all acoustic or if it was full band," Silva said.

The owner had done his homework beforehand and checked Sugar Mountain, Neil Young's website, where a detailed list of every show the artist has ever done, officially recorded or not, is available. When Silva realized Hamilton's 1973 concert was not in the archives, he fell off his chair.

I just listened to it a couple of times and then made the copies digitally in case anything happened to it," Silva said.

Tom Hambleton, owner of Sugar Mountain," confirmed to Silva that the Tonight's the Night" tour set list is the same one they have in their archive.

Hambleton told Silva in an email that the songs Journey Through The Past" and Tell Me Why" were only performed at that concert.

How does such a rare tape end up in a local used music store?

The store, located on 411 Concession St., which opened two months before the first lockdown, was still growing its collection of tapes when a customer and family friend visited with a box, which contained the tape. Though shocked with his finding, Silva didn't let himself get too excited.

The first thing I thought when I saw the tape was that it must have been copied from somewhere, because what's the likelihood of this being the original tape that has survived almost 50 years in pristine condition?" Silva said.

The only one he would sell it to? Perhaps to Neil's label due to a potential tape release.

I'm running a business and there was labour involved. If it was given to any other store they would have just thrown it out, so I think there definitely should be somewhat of a finder's fee for myself and the woman who donated it as a courtesy," Silva said.

So it's true, one person's trash, is another's treasure.

She came to the store a couple of months ago and was talking about how she's never going to use it and how it didn't mean anything to her because it was like an old picture she took," Silva said. But I told her that there's a potential value there and it (the tape) doesn't exist anywhere and that Neil Young's archive wants to repurchase it."

Silva said he is not looking to sell the tape to anyone, not even for thousands of dollars. However, local fans are already trying to get their hands on it. So far, he has been offered $900.

I'm a huge Neil Young fan and I collect almost anything that's Hamilton. Especially owning a record store, especially not illegally. But if Neil Young or his management are interested I would return it to its rightful owner," Silva said.

Where does he keep tape? Can people go to the store and listen to it?

Two guys came into the store and pressured me to not only just play the tape, but to make a copy for them."

What no one knows is that Silva has already played the tape in the store, but never told anyone. People just thought it was a Neil Young album playing in the background. Somebody actually asked me if it was on vinyl. I was like: No, it's a cassette tape.'"

McMaster's 44th edition of The Silhouette" newspaper from that year reported some of the requirements for the show included a real palm tree on stage and a light bulb representing the sun. The report by Carol Ann Wilson also said the audience was wet, cold and shivering" since the concert happened in October.

The concert's 49th anniversary is Oct. 28 and Silva would like to celebrate it by letting folks listen to the tape.

I would love for everyone to hear it because I've probably received 3,000 messages in the last couple days," Silva said. But as a business person, I've got to source all options first. If they (the label) don't want it, then I'll figure out what to do with it later."

Neil Young's father, Scott, mentioned the Hamilton concert in his autobiography, Neil and me."

Beatriz Baleeiro is a reporter at The Spectator.bbaleeiro@torstar.ca