Pop & Rock Collectables

The 8mm silent colour film reel of The Beatles' American tour in 1964 with a guide price of £4000-£6000 sold today for £4,100. Having seen the footage on television I must say I'm surprised because the quality was terrible; the cameraman really was 'Drew with the shakey hand

An 8mm silent colour film reel of The Beatles' American tour in 1964 is up for auction with a guide price of £4000-£6000. 

 It's two minutes long and was taken unofficially by a youngster at a gig in Kansas City, and lay forgotten in a drawer at his parents' home for decades.
 “We cleared out my parent's estate two months ago. 

“And there I discovered it at the bottom of the old drawer, still lying in its original photo-lab box with 'Beatles 1964' on the back where I'd feverishly scrawled it in blue ballpoint pen - the one and only motion picture of the one and only concert the Beatles would ever perform in Kansas City.” The concert was put on at the last minute when the Kansas City municipal stadium offered a record-breaking 150,000 dollars to Beatles manager Brian Epstein to add the date to their tour.



It is being sold by Cameo Fine Art Auctioneers near Reading  on November 4 and is among over 600 entertainment lots. You can see a preview of the footage on their website.

There's a Jimi Hendrix guitar that's coming up for sale this evening at the Fame Bureau and it's a very special one at that. It's apparently the first one that Jimi ever set light to at a show at the Finsbury Park Astoria when he played on a package tour with the Walker Brothers. It's estimated that it will sell for between £250,000 and £500,000 but I've been hearing talk that it could go for more - as much as a million has been mentioned.

UPDATE

I've just had a call to say it went for £280,000, which is not far over the estimate. It maybe a victim of the current economic climate. This to me seems like a very good price, despite the fact that it's still a lot of money. Back in 2004 several Eric Clapton guitars went for close to a million dollars; even a Stevie Ray Vaughan guitar fethched over $600,000.

It’s been dubbed the ‘Holy Grail of music memorabilia’, although some fans of the Rolling Stones might disagree. It’s the Beatles first signed contract with their manager Brian Epstein and given that Beatles collectables consistently fetch the highest prices I think I’d agree with the Holy Grail tag. It is being sold by the Fame Bureau, rock and film memorabilia dealers and is expected to fetch £250,000.

It’s thought that the contract probably originated from the estate of Brian’s late mother. It’s arguably the most important music contract of all time and was Epstein’s personal copy. The first contract was signed by John, Paul, George and Ringo on January 24, 1962; Epstein refused to sign it until he secured them a recording contract which finally happened nearly nine months later. This second five-year contract is also signed by Harold Hargreaves Harrison and James McCartney, who had to give additional consent on behalf of their sons as they were under 21.

It’s part of an auction at the Idea Generation Gallery in London on Thursday, 4 September. Also included is the Bechstein Grand Piano, used in the recording of the Beatles’ White album and their single Hey Jude. There’s also the model of movie cowboy Tom Mix which stood between the John Lennon and the waxwork of Paul on the iconic sleeve of Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.

Last week at Christie's in New York an auction of clothes, as well as many other things, belonging to the legendary soul singer, James Brown, sold for over $850,000.

The highest priced lot was the black cape, with James Brown embroided on the collar, which was worn by the singer on stage went for $47,000. For as little as $375 were two champagne glasses inscribed, George Bush, the Presidents dinner, June 13, 1991 or his 1987 passport which realised $2,500