RECORD SIGNED BY THE BEATLES TO BE AUCTIONED IN WORTHING

Auctioneer Paul Campbell with the record

A rare set of Beatles autographs, signed on a record, is sure to please the owner when it goes under the hammer in Worthing for a starting estimate of £15,000.

The autographs were signed on one of the first Gold Label pressings of The Beatles’ debut album, Please, Please Me, during a card game with Freddie and the Dreamers during summer, 1963. The record was used as a coaster during the game.

The band were staying, along with the Freddie and the Dreamers, at the Normandie House Hotel in Paddington, London, and the record was given to Arthur Collins, the owner of the hotel, who was also playing cards with them.

The record is being sold by his son and daughter, Chris Collins and Liz Chambers, who live in Worthing, at Campbells auction house, High Street, on December 11.Liz said: “Late one evening while my father was drinking and playing cards with Freddie and the Dreamers, The Beatles returned to the hotel in the early hours after attending some promotional events. In their possession was the record – one of the first Gold Label pressings of Please, Please Me, which had been given to them.

“All of The Beatles joined the card game and the record was placed in the middle of the table where it was used as a coaster for whisky glasses. As the card game reached a drunken conclusion in the early hours, all of The Beatles signed their signatures and added short messages, as did Freddie of Freddie and the Dreamers, not wanting to be left out, as a thank-you for the hospitality they had been shown at the hotel.”

The Normandie House Hotel had an agreement with music industry executives to safely accommodate pop stars in a “low profile” manner. Consequently, The Beatles, Gerry and the Pacemakers, Freddie and the Dreamers and bands of the time were guests at the hotel.

On the album, which came out in March, 1963, John Lennon signed the words Blast for Hide, while George Harrison wrote in brackets G.P.O.

Auctioneer Paul Campbell, said: “We are delighted to have been asked to sell these autographs dating from almost 50 years ago. Not only do they have a great provenance and a wonderful story to accompany them, they are signed on a mono pressing of Please, Please Me, which has the rare gold label – so has a value in its own right.” Paul said the record could sell for £30,000.