Nick Drake Demo Auction Derailed Over Legal Dispute — rollingstone.com

The auction of a set of rare recordings made by Nick Drake in the late Sixties has been stopped thanks to a legal dispute over the tapes' ownership. The Guardian reports that Drake's estate and record company have called into question whether Beverley Martyn, the folksinger who put the tapes up for sale, is the rightful owner. The tapes, containing six songs recorded by the English folk singer on a four-track before he had a record deal, were set to go up for auction by auctioneers Ted Owen & Co. The recordings include rare live, single-take versions of several songs that were included on Drake's 1969 debut album Five Leaves. Since Drake made only three albums before his 1974 death at the age of 26, the appearance of the unknown tapes has been a tantalizing prospect for folk fans. According to the auction guide, in these tapes Drake's "guitar playing is stronger, more baroque, with the voice smoother and more resonant than the highly produced released versions." 

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