Paul McCartney’s Lyrics To ‘Hey Jude’ To Auction For $180,000
Words by Riley Fitzgerald
Graphic by Press
On April 10, the 50th anniversary of the Beatles‘ breakup, a copy of Paul McCartney‘s handwritten lyrics to 1968 single ‘Hey Jude’ will go on auction.
The song was originally conceived while McCartney will traveling to visit fellow Beatle John Lennon‘s son Julien Lennon after John had left first wife Cynthia Lennon for new lover Yoko Ono.
“I thought, as a friend of the family,” Paul McCartney shared of ‘Hey Jude’ in the Beatles’ Anthology book, “I would motor out to Weybridge and tell them that everything was all right: to try and cheer them up, basically, and see how they were. I had about an hour’s drive. I would always turn the radio off and try and make up songs, just in case… I started singing: ‘Hey Jules – don’t make it bad, take a sad song, and make it better…’ It was optimistic, a hopeful message for Julian: ‘Come on, man, your parents got divorced. I know you’re not happy, but you’ll be OK.’”
(John, who considered ‘Hey Jude’ one of his bandmate’s finest, admitted in 1980 that he had always assumed the song was written about Ono and him.)
The lyric will be but one amongst 300 items of memorabilia associated with the Fab Four to auction.
Perhaps the oddest of all items on auction are the planks from Liverpool’s Lathom Hall, the site of the band’s first-ever performance.
Julien’s, the auction house hosting the event, expects these wooden relics to sell for between $10,000 and $20,000.
(The nails which affixed the planks to venues floor will also be included.)
A pair of wide-cut corduroy trousers once worn by John Lennon, also expected to sell for several thousand dollars.
The auction will be held at New York’s Hard Rock Cafe.
Those interested may also bid online.
“Internationally renowned Julien’s Auctions has broken world records with the sale of Beatles memorabilia,” Julien’s shares in the events press release, “including John Lennon’s acoustic guitar which sold for a record $2.4 million, Ringo Starr’s Ludwig Drum Kit which sold for a record $2.2 million, The Ludwig Beatles Ed Sullivan Show Drumhead which sold for a record price of $2.1 million and The Beatles White Album owned by Ringo Starr sold for $790,000.”
“On offer in this ‘All Beatles’ auction,” they continue, “will be hundreds of items of rare memorabilia exclusively related to the Fab Four from throughout their career, including guitars and instruments, autographed items, rare vinyl, obscure licensed material and other rare and collectible artifacts.”
View the full details here.
JULIEN’S AUCTIONS NEW YORK PUBLIC EXHIBITION
Tuesday, April 7th, 2020 – Friday, April 10th, 2020
Daily: 11:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time
Free to the public
LIVE AND ONLINE AUCTION
Friday, April 10th, 2020
The Beatles at Hard Rock
Session I: 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time
REGISTER TO BID
Registration is required to bid in this online auction and can be done in person at the exhibition, or online before the sale at the JuliensAuctions.com Registration page to bid by phone, proxy or in person, or online at JuliensLive.com to bid live online, or by calling (310) 836-1818. For inquiries, please email info@juliensauctions.com or call 310-836-1818.