The further the initial impact of the Beatles recedes into history, the higher the prices for Fabs-related memorabilia rise. In the past week we’ve seen a piano that was once used by John Lennon fetched a record-breaking £2.5 million ($3.2 million).
That’s the most for any piece of Beatles-related memorabilia. But then it was the Broadway upright piano that Lennon used to compose a number of songs for Sgt Pepper, including Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds, Being For The Benefit Of Mister Kite! and his section of A Day In The Life.
The piano was sold at Christie’s in New York as part of the Jim Irsay Collection, a group of items that belonged to the billionaire, who owned the American football franchise Indianapolis Colts until he died last year.
Irsay also owned a Ludwig drum kit that Ringo Starr had used both in the studio and live between May 1963 and 1964 – it was the kit he played when the Beatles appeared on the history-making Ed Sullivan show in February ‘64. That went for $2.4 million in the Christie’s auction and a drum head from Ringo’s next Ludwig kit sold for even more: $2.9 million.
However, the highest price at the auction went to an instrument with no connection to the Beatles (not directly, anyway). This was David Gilmour’s Black Strat which went for a whopping £11 million, thus becoming the most expensive guitar ever sold at an auction. Meanwhile, a Fender Mustang that Kurt Cobain used in the iconic Smells Like Teen Spirit video fetched more than £5.2 million.
In a statement, Julien Pradels, the president of Christie's Americas, said: "Lot after lot, we felt like we were making history."
"The Irsay sale did justice to the brilliance of the collector, and the monumental pieces he brought together - iconic objects that tell the story of our culture and our times."
