'Exceptionally rare' copy of Beatles' first song set to sell for £20k
- The band’s documentary Let It Be was released on Disney+ today
An ‘exceptionally rare’ copy of the Beatles’ first single Love Me Do signed by the Fab Four just a day after its release is set to sell for a staggering £20,000.
The Parlophone UK record for Love Me Do/PS I Love You was autographed by each member of the iconic band in ballpoint pen when they met fans inside Dawson’s Music Shop in Widnes, Cheshire, on October 6, 1962.
The band were still relatively unknown at the time and had added Ringo Starr to the line-up two months earlier, who replaced drummer Pete Best.
Six decades on, the pressing, in its original multicoloured ‘Type 1’ Parlophone record sleeve, is set to spark a bidding war at RR Auction, of Boston, US.
It has been consigned by a private collector.
An RR Auction spokesperson said: ‘This is an exceptionally rare and desirable Parlophone UK first pressing of the band’s debut single, Love Me Do/ P.S.. I Love You, signed on the label in black ballpoint by John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr.
An ‘exceptionally rare’ and signed copy of The Beatles’ Love Me Do is set to sell for a staggering £20,000 on May 23
The single was autographed by each member of the iconic band in ballpoint pen when they met fans inside Dawson’s Music Shop in Widnes, Cheshire, on October 6, 1962
‘The autographs were obtained at a record signing session at Dawson’s Music Shop, Widnes, on October 6, 1962, just one day after the record’s release.
‘Perhaps most interesting about this single is the rarity of the music itself-only the first UK pressings used the ‘Love Me Do’ track recorded in studio with Ringo Starr as the drummer.
‘Dissatisfied with Ringo’s work, producer George Martin hired Andy White as a session drummer and had them record a second version.
‘All future British pressings of the single, the American release, and their Please Please Me debut album used the track featuring White on the drums.
‘The version of the song on this 45 has only been sporadically re-released on compilation albums of rare or unusual Beatles recordings.
‘It is a magnificent, well-displayed piece representing the earliest days of the band.’
The sale is set to take place on May 23.
The band’s first album ‘Please, Please Me’ topped the UK charts for 30 weeks following its release in March 1963, but was knocked off by the band’s second album ‘With The Beatles’.
The first pressing had Ringo on the drums but producer George Martin was reportedly unhappy with his performance.
He hired Andy White as a session drummer and had them record a more widely distributed second version.
It comes after Beatles iconic documentary Let It Be was released on Disney+ today.
Let It Be contains footage not featured in the Get Back docuseries, bringing viewers into the studio and onto Apple Corps’ London rooftop in January 1969 as The Beatles, joined by Billy Preston, write and record their Grammy Award-winning album Let It Be, with its Academy Award-winning title song, and perform live for the final time as a group.
After the trailer was released last month, fans shared their delight at being able to watch the documentary for the first time in 50 years.
The much-anticipated film was executively produced by The Beatles, while the producer was Neil Aspinall with Anthony B Richmond as Director of Photography.
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