John Lennon microphone used by The Beatles at 1964 concert in Hull to be auctioned at Christie's

Friday, June 6, 2014

A MICROPHONE used by The Beatles when they played live in Hull in 1964 is set to fetch about £6,000 at auction. The microphone was owned and used by The Beatles in the early 1960s. It was given by John Lennon to a fan after the show at the ABC Theatre in Hull on October 16, 1964.

Now, almost half a century later, the fan, who has not been named, is selling the Reslosound Ltd RBT/L ribbon microphone, which is expected to sell for £5,000 to £6,000 at Christie's South Kensington on Friday, June 20. According to Christie's, Lennon decided to give the microphone away as he did not think it was functioning properly. A spokesman for Christie's said: "The vendor attended The Beatles concert in Hull and, following the show, struck up a conversation with one of the band's technicians. "The vendor was keen to start his own band so the technician gave him the microphone, telling him John Lennon thought it wasn't working properly any more so the band had no use for it." The type of microphone was used at the early venues where The Beatles performed. The spokesman for Christie's said: "Reslo microphones such as this example were used predominantly at the Cavern Club in the early 1960s and there are many photographs of The Beatles on stage at The Cavern using an identical microphone to the one in the auction."

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