An extremely rare and valuable
Beatles
record, the first disc to be cut before the British band made a breakthrough into the national charts in late 1962, will be auctioned next month and could fetch over 10,000 pounds.
Described as 'a Holy Grail item,' the 10-inch record of Till There Was You and Hello Little Girl was found languishing in a loft in the home of
Les Maguire
for decades. Maguire, the keyboardist in fellow Liverpool act Gerry and the Pacemakers, said it could be seen as the record that sparked
The Beatles
' success.
The acetate bears the handwriting of the Fab Fours' manager
Brian Epstein
. A conservative estimate is that the 78 RPM record will fetch upwards of 10,000 pounds when it is auctioned, although it is such a rare item it is difficult to predict what the sale price will be, the BBC reported.
46 years on, Beatles still boost Liverpool economy The record of Till There was You - labelled as being the work of 'Paul McCartney and The Beatles' - was made at the HMV store in Oxford Street, London, and presented to future Beatles producer George Martin at the EMI record label in a bid to secure the band a recording contract. Hello (misspelled by Epstein as Hullo) Little Girl, on the other side of the disc, was recorded as being the work of 'John Lennon & The Beatles
Maguire, 74, was given the disc by Epstein in 1963 after it had been returned to him by Martin. Maguire described the record as a special piece and a one-off. "I've never been a big fan of memorabilia, but people seem to like it," he said. "It's no good to me so I've given it to my grand daughter, who is hoping to buy a house after passing her accountancy exams. I hope it goes for a good price."
Beatles historian Mark Lewisohn said in his book, Tune In, that the uniqueness of the disc is enhanced by Brian Epstein's handwriting on the labels, and the recognition of what it led to.
Despite initial reticence from Martin, The Beatles would sign to EMI in 1962 before going on to become one of the most successful and influential bands of all time.
The recording is, Lewisohn wrote, one of the 'rarest and most collectable of all Beatles records'.
Ian Shirley
, editor of Record Collector Rare Record Price Guide, described the disc as a 'Holy Grail item'. He said it would fascinate Beatles collectors worldwide and would no doubt attract bids from those with deep pockets.
The sale is to take place at
Omega Auctions
in Warrington on March 22.
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