The Beatles Share Unheard 1965 ‘Day Tripper’ Work Tape Ahead of ‘Rubber Soul’ Reissue

UMG and Apple Corps have made public a previously unheard 1965 work tape showing John Lennon and Paul McCartney developing “Day Tripper” at Lennon’s Kenwood home in Weybridge, Surrey. The recording, titled “Day Tripper (Songwriting Work Tape),” had sat in storage since it was made during the Rubber Soul era and arrives ahead of the “Rubber Soul Special Edition,” due out October 2, 2026.

• The tape had never left storage since it was recorded in 1965.
• The finished “Day Tripper” was completed in an eight-hour studio session and issued in December 1965 as a double A-side single with “We Can Work It Out,” reaching number one in the UK and number five in the US.
• The song was kept off the Rubber Soul album entirely, released only as a single.
• The “Rubber Soul Special Edition” is mixed by producer Giles Martin with engineer Sam Okell.

What Lennon and McCartney Sound Like Writing ‘Day Tripper’

On the newly surfaced recording, Lennon and McCartney can be heard piecing together the song’s structure and experimenting with different vocal deliveries over acoustic and electric guitars. The pair break into laughter more than once during the session, and at one point Lennon remarks on how loudly the tape is picking up the sound.

Because the take predates the song’s finished arrangement, the guitar riff that would later define “Day Tripper” is absent entirely; Lennon wrote that riff afterward. The tape instead shows Lennon working from an early, folk-leaning version of the song before McCartney contributed a verse and the two shaped it into the track that was eventually recorded.

‘Rubber Soul Special Edition’ Formats and Bonus Tracks

The October 2 box set will present Rubber Soul in new stereo and Dolby Atmos mixes for the first time , alongside the original British mono mix and the original Capitol US edition of the album. The reissue also folds in 24 early session recordings, made up of 20 previously unreleased takes and three previously unreleased home demos.

The release is being issued across several configurations:

• Special Edition Standard: 14 songs
• Special Edition Deluxe: 30 tracks
• Blu-ray Edition: 16 tracks plus four videos
• Special Edition Super Deluxe: a 5-LP or 4-CD box set with 68 tracks, including two discs of sessions and demos, the original mono master, the Capitol US version, and the 7-inch A-side single

An Unheard Lennon Demo and a New McCartney-Written Introduction

Among the previously unreleased material is a Lennon home demo called “Little Girl,” described as a song outline that has never before been released or even rumored to exist. The reissue’s packaging also includes an 88-page hardbound book featuring a newly written introduction by Paul McCartney and a foreword assembled from Lennon’s own words.

The “Day Tripper” work tape follows the recent release of “Michelle (Take 1)” from the same reissue campaign. Both releases arrive amid an expanded partnership between UMG and Apple Corps, under which UMG has taken over global oversight of Beatles merchandise, licensing and e-commerce.

More Info

• John Lennon and Paul McCartney crack up while working out “Day Tripper” on a newly released 1965 tape: "We saw ourselves as full-time trippers | Guitar Player
• Beatles surprise as unheard Day Tripper work tape offers a candid look at John Lennon and Paul McCartney writing together | femalefirst.co.uk
• Hear how The Beatles Day Tripper came together as they share early songwriting work tape’ | NME
• The Beatles release rare recording of Day Tripper from 1965 | Far Out Magazine