One of the defendants, Jeffrey Collins, tried to release the recordings several years ago before he was sentenced to probation for violating sound recording piracy law in connection with non-Beatles recordings, Apple claims.

In a January press release, Fuego announced it had acquired 15 tracks of previously unreleased performances of the Beatles at the Star-Club in Hamburg, Germany, that were made just before the group signed its record deal with EMI's Parlophone in 1962, the suit claims. - more on this story

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