John Lennon’s acoustic guitar has been sold at auction in California for $2.4 million.
The Beatle is thought to have recorded and written a number of hit songs, including Love Me Do and I Want to Hold Your Hand, on the Gibson J-160E guitar.
The guitar was one of only two of its type flown from the US to England in 1962 for John Lennon and George Harrison.
John Lennon used the guitar for about a year before swapping it with George Harrison in 1963, after which vanished.
For more than 50 years the guitar’s whereabouts remained unknown until a man in California discovered last year that an instrument in his possession may have historical value.
The Associated Press has named the man as John McCaw from San Diego, who bought the guitar for $275 in the late 1960s.
In 2014, John McCaw found an old magazine article about George Harrison, which featured a photo of the instrument.
The guitar was then looked at by Beatles’ instruments expert Andy Babiuk, who was able to identify it by its unique markings as the one John Lennon used.
Andy Babiuk compared it with photographs and film footage of John Lennon playing it.
George Harrison and Ringo Starr’s jackets worn in The Beatles’ 1965 film Help! have fetched £115,000 ($179,000) at a Liverpool auction.
Ringo Starr’s cape fetched £61,000 ($95,0000), while George Harrison’s sold for £54,000 ($84,000), including buyer’s premium. Both beat separate pre-sale valuations of £20,000-30,000.
Meanwhile, a piano used by Paul McCartney and John Lennon was bought by a South American collector for £57,500 ($90,000).
Jackets worn by George Harrison and Ringo Starr in The Beatles’ 1965 film Help! have fetched £115,000 at Liverpool auction (phot Getty Images)
The 1907 Bechstein grand piano was used to compose the tracks Help! and Yesterday, according to Omega Auctions.
The piano and jackets were sold by Richard Lester, now 82, who directed Help! and The Beatles’ first film A Hard Day’s Night.
The auction took place at the Adelphi Hotel in Liverpool.
A cape, suit and sheet of handwritten lyrics belonging to Paul McCartney were withdrawn from auction after the star made a late legal challenge.
The rest of the sale went ahead on Thursday to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the release of The Beatles’ hit Can’t Buy Me Love.
The Beatles have decided to release 59 rare and unheard recordings in a bid to stop their copyright protection expiring.
The digital compilation includes four alternate takes of She Loves You and five of A Taste Of Honey.
EU law protects songs for 70 years after they are recorded, but only if they get an official release. Otherwise, copyright lasts 50 years.
In the case of The Beatles, that means their 1963 debut album Please Please Me is protected until 2033, but the unreleased session tapes for that album are not.
If the Beatles chose not to release the recordings before the end of the year, it would mean other record labels could theoretically put them out and profit from them.
The band’s 1962 debut single, Love Me Do, arguably slipped out of copyright last year, before the EU’s copyright extension was signed into law.
At least one record company issued a “remastered” version of the song, although that has since been deleted.
The new collection is expected to reach iTunes on Tuesday.
The Beatles have decided to release 59 rare and unheard recordings in a bid to stop their copyright protection expiring
News of its arrival first appeared on Norwegian Beatles blog, WogBlog, which also published cover art and a tracklisting.
According to the site, the collection contains three versions of There’s A Place as well as demos of two songs the group gave to other artists — Paul McCartney and John Lennon’s acoustic version of Bad to Me and Lennon’s piano demo of I’m in Love.
The Beatles are not the first band to issue rare material in a bid to extend copyright.
Bob Dylan’s record label rushed out 100 copies of an album last year containing early TV performances, alongside multiple versions of Blowin’ in the Wind, Bob Dylan’s Dream and I Shall Be Free.
Officially called The 50th Anniversary Collection, it carried a subtitle which explained its true purpose: The Copyright Extension Collection, Vol. 1.
A second volume followed this year, while Motown has also begun issuing rare recordings on iTunes under the “Motown Unreleased” banner.
Given the low-key nature of the release, it is likely that Apple Corps, the Beatles’ record label, will take down the new material after a brief period, allowing them to exploit the recordings in a more considered way later on.
However, it is likely that the release of rare material will become an annual event, as the band seek to protect their works for another 20 years.
Meanwhile, a more glossy campaign is being mounted to promote a new Beatles box set, which is being released to mark the 50th anniversary of the band’s first trip to America.
The 13-disc set includes all of the band’s American albums, including five that have never been available on CD before.
Many of the records feature different titles, track listings, mixes, and artwork from their UK versions.
The Beatles will also be given a lifetime achievement award by the Grammys in 2014, during a special ceremony the night before the main event.
German electro pioneers Kraftwerk, country star Kris Kristofferson and soul group The Isley Brothers will also be honored.
A guitar played by John Lennon and George Harrison of the Beatles has sold for $408,000 at auction.
The custom-made instrument, built in 1966 by the VOX company, was bought by an unidentified US buyer in New York.
The guitar played by John Lennon and George Harrison of the Beatles has sold for $408,000 at auction
George Harrison played I Am The Walrus on the guitar in a scene from Magical Mystery Tour in 1967. John Lennon used it in a video for Hello, Goodbye later that year.
Julien’s Auctions said the guitar had exceeded its estimated value of $200,000-$300,000.
After playing the guitar, John Lennon gave it as a 25th birthday present to Alexis “Magic Alex” Mardas, a member of The Beatles’ inner circle in the 1960s.
A plaque on the back reads: “To Magic Alex/ Alexi thank you/ for been [sic] a friend/ 2-5-1967 John.”
Alexis Mardas sold the instrument in 2004.
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