The much-loved guitar used by The Beatles’ John Lennon and George Harrison in the movie ‘Help!’, which was lost for 50 years, is set to be auctioned. The 12-string Hootenanny acoustic guitar, made by Bavarian manufacturer Framus in the early 1960s, famously appeared in ‘You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away’ and features on the studio version of the song. It was also used by Harrison on his tracks ‘Norwegian Wood’ and ‘Girl’. The current owners were gifted the guitar by 60s pop star Gordon Waller, stored it in their attic and ultimately forgot they owned it.
According to Darren Julien, co-founder and executive director of Julien’s Auctions, the Framus guitar is “like finding a lost Rembrandt or Picasso, and it still looks and plays like a dream”. He also visited the UK to authenticate the guitar and to rescue its original case, which had been thrown away. Alongside Beatles historians Andy Babiuk and Danny Bennett, Julien confirmed that the instrument was the model in question from ‘Help!’. Julien’s Auctions predicts the guitar will sell for between $600,000-$800,000.
The guitar is not the only piece of John Lennon history on offer at the auction, with the telephone that he used during the Bed-Ins For Peace protest also up for sale. The auction will also include memorabilia from Michael Jackson, Joan Jett, Tina Turner, Amy Winehouse, Freddie Mercury and Kurt Cobain. The exhibition will be on display at London’s Hard Rock Cafe in Piccadilly Circus throughout this month.
This auction comes nearly 10 years after one of Lennon’s instruments sold at a Julien’s auction for $2.41m. The model in question was a J-160E Gibson acoustic guitar that had been stolen from the musician.
Disney+ recently announced that a restored version of The Beatles’ classic 1970 documentary film ‘Let It Be’ will be released on 8 May. The documentary, which was first released in cinemas 54 years ago, shows footage of The Beatles while they were writing and recording their last studio album. Yesterday, Paul McCartney announced that Wing’s 1974 live studio album ‘One Hand Clapping’ will be released for the first time
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