A signed photograph of the Beatles and a sheet of handwritten lyrics by Sex Pistols frontman John Lydon have each fetched over £65,000 at auction. The autographed image of the Fab Four on-stage, intended for their 1964 Australian tour promoter, was estimated to sell for 40,000 dollars (£31,922).
However, it surpassed expectations by selling for 83,278 dollars (£66,462). RR Auction’s Marvels of Modern Music sale also saw Lydon’s original working lyrics sheet, known as Johnny Rotten, hammered down for 82,638 dollars (£65,952), exceeding its estimate of 80,000 dollars (£63,844).
The sheet featured early drafts of Holidays In The Sun and Submission, two of the Sex Pistols’ songs from their hit 1977 debut album Never Mind The Bollocks, Here’s The Sex Pistols. The sheet had previously been displayed at Cleveland’s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame from 1996 to 2000, and was exhibited at London’s Hospital Exhibition in 2004 and Manchester’s Urbis exhibition.
The manuscript comes with a certificate of authenticity from punk historian Jon Savage. Bobby Livingston, executive vice president at RR Auction, said: “The music auction marketplace is currently very strong, and this sale proves the enduring power of the Sex Pistols and the cultural revolution they ignited.”
He added: “Blue-chip punk items are being purchased by collectors whose lives were transformed by the power of this music.”
The auction raked in a grand total of 1,132,981 dollars (£904,178), with several other remarkable items being sold. These included a signed Beatles Magical Mystery Tour EP, which fetched 37,500 dollars (£31,170).
Another autographed photo of the iconic British rock band from around mid-1963 was sold for 26,575 dollars (£21,208). A first pressing of the Beatles’ debut single Love Me Do and PS I Love You, signed just a day after its release, was bought for 24,079 dollars (£19,216).
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