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Louder
Louder
Entertainment
Fraser Lewry

"Nobody with any sense would pay and queue for a ticket just to stand on a seat and scream and not hear one sound from the stage": it turns out George Harrison's mum had her doubts about The Beatles

Some Beatles fans screaming in 1964

Later this month, a series of letters written by Louise Harrison, mother of The Beatles' George Harrison, will be auctioned at the Liverpool Beatles Memorabilia Auction. The 25 letters contain details about Mrs Harrison's relationship with the band, and reveal that she was not entirely delighted by the attention they received.

"Last Wednesday I went to Manchester, and I was disgusted at the way the so-called fans just screamed through the whole of The Beatles' act," wrote the exasperated Mrs Harrison. "Nobody with any sense would pay and queue for a ticket just to stand on a seat and scream and not hear one sound from the stage."

"I was really ashamed I was a female," she added.

Mrs Harrison corresponded with many Beatles fans around the world during Beatlemania, and the messages included in the auction include one in which she writes, "I'm so busy I could scream! 3000 letters to answer at least!".

The 2023 Liverpool Beatles Memorabilia Auction, which features over 300 lots, will take place at Cato Crane Auctioneers in Liverpool on Saturday August 26 from 10am. 

Items up for grabs include a copy of the December 1965 edition of Playboy magazine featuring a Beatles cartoon strip (estimated price: £30-£40), a small heart shaped Beatles' occasional table (£80-£100) and locks of actual Beatle hair from George Harrison, John Lennon, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr (£300-£400 each), which, presumably, one can use to clone some new Beatles once DNA science allows. 

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