Beatles Auctions | Page 10 | Fab Forum | The Beatles Bible

A letter John wrote aged 11 to his Aunt Harriet is going into an online auction on the 3rd April thru Tracks. The letter is estimate at £30,000+. The text reads

“Dear Harrie

Thankyou for the book that you sent to me for Christmas and for the towel with my name on it, And I think it is the best towel I’ve ever seen.

“The book that you sent to me is a very interesting one. I am at the bottom of page 18 at the moment. The story is famous Ships its all about a man called Captain kidd the pirate.

“I am on the second chapter, the first chapter is called the Victory and the second is called the Mary Celeste.

“Thankyou for the red jumper that you sent to me.

“I hope you have a happy new year. Love from John x”

Ron Nasty said

In February 1962 Brian took the Decca audition tape into the HMV Store on Oxford Street. On the second floor they had a recording booth, and the ability to cut records from tape (kind of similar in ways to the Percy Phillips set-up all those years before that had led to The Quarrymen’s That’ll Be the Day / In Spite Of All The Danger , just rather more professional). His idea was to get the tape cut to discs as those would be easier to play to people.

The discs were cut by Jim Foy. While the discs were being cut, Brian and Jim chatted. Jim expressed liking the band. Brian proudly explained that some of the songs were even written by the group. Discovering they were unpublished, Jim mentioned one of EMI’s publishing companies, Ardmore and Beechwood, was another floor up, and would he like Sid Coleman to have a listen. Brian jumped at the chance.

Sid liked the songs enough (Hello Little Girl , Love of the Loved and Like Dreamers Do ) to want to publish them, and via whatever route, that took Brian to a first meeting with George Martin on 13 February. It is this very disc, with Brian writing in the details (giving lead singer and band on both sides, unlike suggested in the article, Hello Little Girl  is clearly credited to “John Lennon & The Beatles”), that is said to be the only one of the discs Brian had had cut that George had time to listen to listen.

It was certainly this disc that was taken to a meeting between the two on 9 May, as George wanted something where he could evaluate the lead vocals to decide who would be the lead singer. The disc was left George Martin while Brian rushed off to send a telegram to the boys in Hamburg.

This disc took us to where Brian meets George Martin and – for whatever reasons – The Beatles get a record contract.

It sits alongside The Quarrymen’s disc in importance and rarity so far as I’m concerned.

Joe said

Maybe. I’m not sure if this was a one-off. It’s possible that there were more cut, but this one happened to survive. I seem to recall hearing about Brian selling copies of Decca recordings in NEMS. Since this was intended to drum up interest in the group, it would have made sense to have enough to send to radio/TV stations as well as A&R people.

I don’t know, it may be unique. It’s certainly very special given that it was passed on to George Martin and remained in such good condition. And acetates wore out very quickly, so it’s possibly that no others survived.

As for rarity, the Quarrymen’s disc was absolutely a one-off. For what it’s worth, it was also the only place you could get that music at the time, whereas the Decca auditions were reasonably commonplace by the 1970s. Truly unique.

The estimate of £10,000 was way low, just like I suspected.

It sold for £77,500 ($110,000). http://www.wcvb.com/national/r…..k/38637818

The 10-inch vinyl, which features the first song John Lennon ever wrote — “Hello Little Girl ” — was **sold to an anonymous British collector** on Tuesday.

It is one of the first times the legendary record has seen the light of day after Les Maguire, keyboard player with British band Gerry and the Pacemakers, had kept it stored in his attic.

The Omega Auction, taking place near the Beatles’ hometown of Liverpool, saw seven telephone bidders from various countries including the U.S., Germany and China, go head-to-head — far surpassing the estimated £10,000 price tag.

There are perhaps few pieces of vinyl in the Beatles’ impressive recording canon, more significant than this one.

It was the first disc to bear the Beatles name — scrawled on the cover by manager Brian Epstein.

Indeed, without this particular piece of lacquer, the Beatles might never have scored their recording contract with producer George Martin — who passed away this month, aged 90.

New Year, new record

While other budding musicians may well have been nursing hangovers on New Year’s Day, 1962, the Beatles were attending an audition at Decca Records in west London.

The lads from Liverpool recorded 15 songs that day. Decca, to its eternal shame, reportedly rejected the group’s offering, saying: “Guitar groups are on the way out.”

Dismayed but determined, Beatles manager Brian Epstein was still able to take a copy of the audition tape to record store HMV in Oxford Circus, central London, where it was transferred to acetate discs.

Importantly, these discs could be more easily played on a record player — and by potential record companies.

The engineer listening to the tapes at the time was so impressed that he brought them to the attention of Syd Coleman of EMI’s publishing company Ardmore and Beechwood — then based above the HMV store.

Coleman in turn brought the discs to the attention of George Martin, who invited the band to a try-out at Abbey Road Studios. Martin signed the Beatles to EMI — the rest, as they say, is history.

A collector’s item

The record is labeled in Epstein’s own handwriting, and it appears the manager was keen to highlight the lead singer for each song. The tune “Hello Little Girl ” is attributed to “John Lennon and the Beatles,” while “‘Till There Was You ” is credited to “Paul McCartney and the Beatles.”

Epstein later gave the disc to Maguire, whose Liverpool group he also managed. Gerry & The Pacemakers recorded its own version of the song “Hello Little Girl ,” but it was never released in the 1960s. Ultimately, the song was released by Epstein’s other band, The Fourmost, in 1963.

I wonder if Paul is the anonymous British collector.

Jay Hastings was the doorman at the Dakota who helped John the night he was shot. Jay is selling the shirt he wore that night. It has stains from John’s blood on it.

The story:
http://www.express.co.uk/news/…..ction-sale

The auction house’s website:
http://entertainment.ha.com/it…..ion-071515

Here’s the picture of the shirt from the story.

Mr. Hastings is getting old. If he doesn’t have children or grandchildren who would appreciate the significance of the shirt, I guess he wants it to go to someone who will.

What a piece of history. We miss you, John.