Bryan's Beatles Archives
I've been a Beatle fan since that summer night in 1964 when my parents took us to the drive-in to see A Hard Day's Night. My cousin Marcia was along, and she screamed or cried every time Paul came on screen. Then, my Grandmother bought me the soundtrack to A Hard Day's Night and my collection was started. I've been seriously collecting Beatle's memorabilia for over 20 years; below are some of the unique, one-of-a-kind items in my collection.
1963 Promo card signed by John Lennon
This is a Parlophone promotional card, probably from early 1963, around the time of "Please Please Me". John inscribed it "to Linda, Love from John Lennon XXX".
Stuart Sutcliffe sketch
This is a page from one of Stu Sutcliffe's sketchbooks, probably from the late 1950s, when he was attending Liverpool College of Art with John Lennon. For those of you who haven't seen the film BackBeat, Stu was the original bass player for the Beatles, from 1960-61.
1963 Lennon-McCartney Autographs
The Beatles played the Gaumont Cinema in Worcester on September 4, 1963. These signatures were obtained after that show. Note that Paul felt obliged to add "Beatles" after his signature.
Ya know, all the price guides always show the A side, Please Please me, of this infamous single with "Beattles" misspelled. It was the Fab's first US single as "the Beatles", released on February 25, 1963 (George's 20th birthday, according to legend), a full year before they would invade America. Paul mentioned this single at the Beatles first US concert, in Washington D.C. on February 11, 1964. As he introduced Please Please Me, he said, "This next song was our first hit in England, way back in England; It was released in America, it didn't do anything, it was released again, and, well, it's doing something ya know". Gee, what a difference one little letter can make.
bbarrow@NOSPAM.cruzio.com
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Thanks, Bryan