A sheet of paper on which Paul McCartney handwritten the words of the famous song Hey jude was auctioned off 910,000 dollars (832,000 euros) in auctions marking Friday the 50e anniversary of the Beatles’ separation. This is more than five times the amount estimated upstream of the online sale, because of the coronavirus, by the Californian house Julien’s Auctions.
Guitars, rare vinyls, autographed objects… Some 250 lots linked to the mythical British group were offered to fans and collectors around the world, fifty years to the day after its separation.
An ashtray sold for $ 32,500
Paul McCartney had written Hey jude after another breakup: that of his acolyte John Lennon with his first wife Cynthia, following his infidelities with the Japanese artist Yoko Ono. The song, intended to comfort John Lennon’s son Julian during his parents’ divorce, was originally titled Hey jules.
Among the other big sales of the day: the skin of a bass drum kit with the Beatles logo, used during the group’s first American tour in 1964, sold for $ 200,000.
A handwritten page of the song clip scenario Hello, Goodbye (1967) left for $ 83,200, and an ashtray used by Ringo Starr at Abbey Road studios in the 1960s for $ 32,500.
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