SA9. A Swedish Parlophone Records “She Loves You Sleeve” Autographed By The Beatles On Their Very First Trip Abroad

Released in the United Kingdom on August 23, 1963, “She Loves You” (with “I’ll Get You” as the B-side) was an amazing new hit record for The Beatles and it set and then went on to eclipse several records in the United Kingdom record charts. Without question “She Loves You” is the song that thrust The Beatles full scale into the British national spotlight. It was for them the next step in their amazing progression after their first chart topping hit “From Me To You”. But it was not only Great Britain that took notice – so did other European counties –  most notably Sweden, located across the North Sea, some 1,200 miles to the northeast of Liverpool.

Because of the success of “She Loves You”, The Beatles were in heavy demand in Sweden and were immediately booked to play a series of concerts there in late October. And so The Beatles left for Stockholm on October 23, 1963 - the very same day the band had finished up recording for their second album “With The Beatles”.

Here is a Swedish issue Parlophone Records 45rpm record sleeve for “She Loves You” that has been autographed beautifully by all four members of The Beatles in black ballpoint pen on their respective images. The sleeve features a great Dezo Hoffman shot from the same July 1963 photo session that produced the classic ‘seated collarless’ pose. As depicted on the yellow tinted image of this sleeve, each member not only has their own chair, but their own genuine smile.

This record sleeve was signed on October 28, 1963, when The Beatles did a 30 minute in-store autograph session at the Waidele Music Store in Borås, Sweden. Later that evening they performed in concert at the Borås Hallen in Borås. The sleeve is in good overall condition, with some areas of paper loss on the front, and written on the back are the name and initials of the original owner, “Eva Hansson”.

For any collector who has been waiting and wanting to step up to the all important category a Beatles signed record sleeve, here is your chance to own one without breaking the bank…

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SA7.  "A Hard Day's Night" UK LP Cover Fully-Signed By All Four Beatles For American Runaway, November 1, 1964

She's not the runaway who inspired "She's Leaving Home", but 13-year-old Elizabeth Freedman garnered her own share of international publicity when, on October 17, 1964, she slipped away at dawn from her Newton, Massachusetts home and flew to London. Before her overseas adventures were over, she would have a fortuitous meeting with the Beatles and head back to America with two fully-signed Beatles LPs.
Elizabeth's love for the Beatles and the Animals prompted her to withdraw $400 from her bank account, secure a passport, obtain a smallpox vaccination and buy a one-way ticket to London. She left a note at home, saying she was going to see a movie and instead flew off to Britain. Despite her young age, no one questioned her along the way. Once she reached her destination, she immersed herself in the local music and club scene, attending shows by Tommy Steele, Cilla Black, Cliff Richard, Petula Clark and Long John Baldry. Having recently attended a concert by the Animals in Boston (where she met Eric Burdon and another member), Elizabeth hoped to once again meet up with the group, which had just returned to England. It was also her intention to see the Beatles in concert, but that seemed unlikely to happen.
In the meantime, Boston police had traced Elizabeth as far as the city's Logan Airport, where it was discovered that she had flown to England. There the trail ended. Her widowed, British-born mother, Barbara Freedman, contacted the U.S. Embassy and Scotland Yard in desperation, asking for their assistance. Elizabeth's passport photo was sent from the authorities in Washington D.C. to Scotland Yard, but neither British nor American authorities were able to locate her. A glimmer of hope appeared when the Embassy soon notified Mrs. Freedman that they had traced Elizabeth to a London hotel, where she had stayed for two days after her arrival. Unfortunately, she had disappeared again.
Mrs. Freedman immediately flew to London to begin her own search, starting with the clubs and coffee bars in the West End.
Enter Beatles producer George Martin. When news of Elizabeth's plight hit the London papers, Martin made this public promise in print: “When this little girl is found I promise her I will see she meets The Beatles before she goes home”. The following day (October 30th), nearly two weeks after her disappearance, Elizabeth was located at a rooming house in the tough Brixton district in South London. The London papers had run a description of the missing girl and police had been tipped off by someone she had met in a club. Mother and daughter were immediately reunited. The pair stayed in London a few additional days and, while in England, visited the girl's grandmother, who lived in a town about 70 miles south.

George Martin’s promise was fulfilled on November 1st when Elizabeth was escorted into the Beatles' dressing room at the Astoria Theatre in Finsbury Park. A published account in the November 2nd Daily Express described the meeting. "So this is the little girl we've been reading about," Ringo quipped. "I don't think we've been to Boston," George said. Paul replied, "We have. That's where we had the tea party." The newspaper article reported that after she ate a hot dog with the Beatles, "Elizabeth saw the show, clutching two record albums the Beatles had signed." Four days later, Elizabeth and her mother returned to Boston where she was promptly grounded for a while.

It is a rare instance indeed when a Beatles signed piece comes with such ironclad provenance, but offered here is one of the two LPs that Elizabeth had autographed by the group during her backstage visit. This original British Parlophone Records mono pressing of A Hard Day's Night has been fully-signed by all four Beatles on the back cover in the same black ballpoint pen. John, Paul and Ringo have signed at the top above the liner notes and George has signed below his photo at the bottom. The signatures are large and legible. John and Paul have also added kisses ("XXX") following their signatures. The LP, which measures 12" x 12", has very light wear and discoloration on the back, but this has no bearing on the clarity of the signatures or the overall beauty of this piece which has remained solely in Elizabeth's possession for almost fifty years.

The LP is accompanied by copies of several newspaper article clippings (both British and America) chronicling Elizabeth's escapades, her mother's frantic search for her and eventually her face-to-face meeting with the boys. As a nice bonus, Elizabeth's Beatles concert ticket from the night of her meeting with them is included. Additionally, there are two black & white photos showing Elizabeth taken at the time of her amazing encounter with the Beatles in their dressing room. In one, John Lennon is seen holding the very A Hard Day’s Night album being offered here! He is pictured clutching the album in one hand and the pen The Beatles used to sign in the other. (Elizabeth recalls Lennon pointing the pen at the photographer and saying "bang, bang" as if he was shooting him.) On the same evening, Elizabeth also had all four Beatles sign a copy of the With The Beatles LP, but gave that album to a friend when she returned home.

Autographed Beatles LPs are among the rarest and most desired of all autographed Beatles pieces as they represent the music the band created. Certainly, A Hard Day's Night, the soundtrack album to their first feature film, is the LP that best exemplifies Beatlemania at its peak. In recognition of the great album that it is, Britain's Q magazine placed A Hard Day's Night at number five in its list of the "100 Greatest British Albums Ever". To date, fewer than a dozen A Hard Day’s Night covers signed by all four of The Beatles have materialized, making this an exceptionally rare title.

"They were very friendly, sweet, funny and unassuming," Elizabeth writes in the Letter of Provenance that accompanies the LP. "They were not at all stuck up or arrogant. I was so dazzled by them...". The girl who ran away from home to meet the Beatles still has her memories, but now you can own the well-preserved evidence of her meeting with the four most famous rock musicians of all time. Don't miss this opportunity to acquire an investment-grade artifact with a well-documented back-story that gives it an impeccable pedigree….. $SOLD

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SA6. "A Hard Day's Night" LP Cover Signed Beautifully By The Beatles in 1964

Shortly after their triumphant visit to America in February of 1964, The Beatles returned home to England with a big challenge in front of them — and they delivered in a big way. They immediately began recording their third album, to be titled “A Hard Day’s Night” (although one of the album tracks, “Can’t Buy Me Love”, was recorded in France just before their trip to the U.S.). The album also served as the soundtrack to their first feature film, a critically acclaimed semi-autobiographical ‘day in the life’ of The Beatles also called “A Hard Day’s Night”. In addition to the title track and “Can’t Buy Me Love”, the LP contained such classics as “I Should Have Known Better”, “If I Fell” and “And I Love Her”, and was clearly the band’s best effort to date. Upbeat, exciting and energetic, it was the embodiment of ‘Beatlemania’, the fan frenzy that had exploded worldwide by the time the recording sessions took place. The synergistic effect created by featuring most of the album’s songs in the movie gave these great compositions even more impact. The songs included on this album are nothing short of spectacular, with the first 7 songs (Side One) appearing in the movie.

All four have autographed the back cover on this LP jacket beautifully in blue ballpoint pen, with John Lennon signing directly over the Side Two song titles, and Paul McCartney signing to the left of thick block capital letters stating “THE BEATLES”. George Harrison and Ringo Starr have signed below and above their respective images. This particular cover was the first prize in a contest held by Wathes, a store located in Liverpool, and in fact writing in another hand indicates that it was ‘PRESENTED BY WATHES’ to the winner. This well preserved album cover is in excellent condition, having been well kept over the years.

“A Hard Day’s Night” is the first U.K. issue Beatles album to feature photographs of the band members, with four individual headshots taken during the filming of the movie - and these images dramatically heighten the visual appeal of this signed Beatles treasure…..$SOLD

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SA4.  A “Please Please Me” Album Cover Autographed By The Beatles In The Fall Of 1963

"Please Please Me", a seminal album in early ‘60s British rock, was rush-released on March 22, 1963, barely a month after it was recorded by The Beatles in a marathon one day recording session at Abbey Road Studios (then known as EMI Studios). With eight Lennon & McCartney originals, and the balance taken from a pool of songs which were written by other artists that The Beatles performed in their live show repertoire, this album thrust The Beatles into the national spotlight in Great Britain. It was a fabulous launch into the foray of Long Playing Records and it immediately exploded onto the British charts and went to Number 1 where it remained for 30 weeks, until it was replaced at the top spot by the band’s follow up album, “With The Beatles”.

This early issue U.K. Parlophone Records “Please Please Me” LP cover has been autographed beautifully in blue ballpoint pen by all four members. Although no further information regarding the signing of this album was available, the signatures date from The Fall of 1963, and these are excellent representative examples from the period.

The cover is in overall good condition, and as it will be 50 years old in just a few months, it shows some signs of ageing. The initials G.V.T. are written in the upper left hand corner of the back cover, and there are small areas of paper loss in the upper and lower left hand corners. The upper right hand corner of the front of the cover has peeled back a little. These minor detractions can be repaired by an experienced paper restoration expert, if so desired.

"Please Please Me" was released in the Spring of 1963, when the Beatles were still accessible and approachable. However, with each passing month it became increasingly more difficult to come face to face with them. By the end of the year it was next to impossible, as their phenomenal success put considerable distance between the group and their fans. Because of this brief window of accessibility in 1963, there are more "Please Please Me" signed covers in existence than any other title by the band. Still, they rarely come up for sale and most are firmly rooted in collections worldwide and are seldom seen on the market. This is a nicely signed, vintage signed copy of The Beatles’ debut album — the one that started it all for the most influential band in the history of popular music…..$SOLD

 

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SI8. A “Twist and Shout” Extended Play Record Sleeve Signed By The Beatles

On July 12, 1963, The Beatles released their first EP (extended play) record in Great Britain on Parlophone Records, entitled “Twist and Shout”. The songs included on this 4 song record were all taken off of their debut album “Please Please Me” and they were: “Twist and Shout”, “A Taste of Honey” (both cover versions written by other artists) and “Do You Want to Know A Secret” and “There’s A Place” (both Lennon & McCartney originals). Even though the songs were available on the album, the “Twist and Shout” EP sold more than 800,000 copies in Great Britain, a remarkable feat at the time for an extended play record. Upon release, the record promptly reached #1 in the U.K. charts – and stayed there for 21 weeks! It also remained in the EP charts for a record 64 weeks.

The front of the “Twist and Shout” EP sleeve features a Dezo Hoffmann photo of The Beatles in a jumping mid-air pose, hovering above a decrepit wall. John Lennon’s vocal performance on the song “Twist and Shout” was nothing short of magnificent. It is a raucous dynamic rocker, and to this day it ranks among the finest examples of a Rock & Roll vocal in the history of British music. John was only able to record one take (because it took a toll on his vocal cords), which was left for last in the one day marathon recording session on February 11, 1963 that resulted in almost the entire “Please Please Me” album. Many agree that the Beatles’ version of “Twist and Shout” is the definitive version, rather than the original done by the Isley Brothers.

All four have signed the reverse side of this original pressing EP record sleeve beautifully in dark blue ballpoint pen. The signatures date from within one month and a half of the time of release – so the EP was very current when The Beatles signed it. The sleeve is in excellent condition, having been well kept very the years. The original record is included, and it is in VG condition. Beatles signed EP’s are incredibly rare - many more times so than signed LP covers. In fact, to date there have been less than 10 authentically signed Beatles EP covers known to surface, which puts them in the realm of ultra-scarce.....$SOLD

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SA3. A “White Album” Signed By John Lennon And Paul McCartney

In November 1968, The Beatles released their ninth UK album — their first on the newly-created Apple label. The double LP, simply titled “The Beatles”, was housed in a plain white cover and quickly gained notoriety as the “White Album”. It contained 30 new songs, most written earlier that year in Rishikesh, India while the group was studying transcendental meditation under the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. The eclectic style of the music contained on the “White Album” took the listener on an unexpected aural journey. From hard rock to reggae, acoustic ballads to avant-garde, chamber music to country and even touches of 1930’s dance hall, blues and bluegrass music, this landmark release touted nearly every musical genre known at the time. Many critics and aficionados consider it to be their best work and it is indeed a fan favorite, ranking tenth on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the “500 Greatest Albums of All Time”.

Here is an American Apple issue “White Album” LP cover signed on the right-hand side of the open gatefold in the mid-1970s by John Lennon and Paul McCartney. John has used a red felt pen to sign, and the result is an unusually large signature that measures 5¾” long. This autograph bears a strong resemblance to those signed in May of 1975 when he was a special guest host at the WFIL Helping Hands Marathon in Philadelphia. Paul McCartney has signed in black ballpoint pen. His signature, which measures just under 5” long, dates from the mid-1970s, either 1975 or 1976. Any “White Album” signed by John Lennon in any form is incredibly scarce and, to date, only one known example signed by all four members of The Beatles has surfaced. Today, it is worth over $100,000. The album offered here, signed by the songwriting juggernaut of John Lennon and Paul McCartney — arguably the greatest of all time and the composing team responsible for 25 of the 30 songs on the “White Album” — is the first ever to date which has been signed only by Lennon & McCartney.....$SOLD

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