Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic

Today marks 60 years since the Beatles found a shell to play in. The 60th anniversary of the band's first Hollywood Bowl show will be commemorated with a presentation by respected Beatles expert Martin Lewis, who will speak Friday night at LA's Philosophical Research Society and bring along some audio and video curiosities for the Beatlemaniacs in attendance.

Lewis — a Briton who assisted Beatles biographer Hunter Davies, worked under famed Beatles publicist Derek Martin and marketed retrospective projects like “Anthology” — has several topics to discuss during “The Greatest Beatles Story Never Told,” a self-styled TED Talk-style event at the Los Feliz Auditorium. One topic, of course, will be the anniversary in question and how the Aug. 23, 1964, concert at the Bowl helped accelerate the rise of outdoor shows. He’ll also discuss the Beatles-related subject he’s most passionate about: the legacy of manager Brian Epstein, who will be the subject of a biopic, “Midas Man,” due out this fall.

But he'll also debut a pair of mashups, one in audio form and one in video, that should be of interest to fans. Publicity for the event has promised the unveiling of a never-before-heard recording from the "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" era. Lewis now tells Variety what the nature of this mysterious playback will be … and no, it's not "Carnival of Light" that's finally being made public, but an oddity that may still pique curious fans. (More on that intriguing agenda item in a moment.)