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THE HOLIDAYS CAME EARLY THIS YEAR THANKS TO TWO SPECIAL PEOPLE
The holidays came early to me this year as I was able to acquire two very hard to find signatures that have a connection to the Beatles story. One is the signature of Freddie Lennon, John’s dad, which I have been seeking for more than 30 years. Through the information provided to me by renowned “John Lennon expert, Chip Madinger, who was aware that I have been searching for Freddie’s signature for a very long time. Chip informed me that the signature on this page was being auctioned off at Omega auctions.
Alf Lennon Signature
The person who was selling it said that the signature was in an old autograph book which he purchased in an antiques store in Liverpool. I had photos of two other examples of Freddie’s signature for comparative authenticity purposes.
In addition the person that helped me the most in this enterprise was my excellent internet friend, Seamus Hayes, who bid on the item for me with his Omega account. Seamus and I have been helping each other out in acquiring items for our respective collections and our trust in one another is without question. When Seamus acquires an item for me, I inform him of my price range and if he is able to secure it, I then issue the compensation for his efforts. This arrangement works in reverse if Seamus, who lives in the UK needs something from the States. This shows the importance of networking when seeking out rarities across the world.
Both Chip and Seamus have been part of the sterling network helping me to expand my Beatles collection the last several years. Acquiring Freddie’s signature has now narrowed my Beatles-related autograph want list.
Still Looking!
I am still looking for the late James McCartney (Paul’s dad), Magic Alex (the so-called Beatles electronic expert), Dick Rowe (The Decca executive who turned down the Beatles), Robin and David Lennon- (John’s two half-brothers) Ingrid Pederson, (aka Victoria Lennon, John’s half-sister that Julia put up for adoption), the Maharishi, Tommy Moore (Beatles drummer), Kyoko, Yoko’s daughter, Beatrice, Paul’s daughter, Jason and Lee Starkey, two of Ringo’s children. (I have Zak’s).
Here is the Freddie Lennon signature acquired and a few photos I am probably going to frame the piece with:
The Freddie Lennon signature acquired the day after what would have been John Lennon’s 83rd birthday!
This photo and the following few photos I was able to find on the internet, but there was no attribution accompanying the photos. If anyone knows who these should be attributed to, please let me know and adjustments will be properly made to the post.
A young Freddie Lennon at the center of the photo. Appears to have been taken on a boat with his fellow merchant seamen.
Another photo of a young Fred
Freddie holding the 45 he made in 1965/66 to probably capitalize on his son’s fame. Freddie actually did a lip-synced TV performance of the song on Dutch TV but no video apparently survives!
The rare Dutch picture sleeve of Freddie’s 45. He sang this very rare version in the Dutch language and was backed by a few (to become famous) musicians on the recordings, Mitch Mitchell and Noel Redding, who were to become part of Jimi Hendrix’s Experience!
Freddie about to go to work:
Another Great Set of Autographs! – Ken Scott, Beatles Engineer
Magical Mystery Autograph! Whose Is It?
Below is the signed Magical Mystery Tour LP and the description of the item. What was significant to me as a collector is even though John Van Hamersveld is well-known in the art world, very rarely do you hear about his involvement in designing the Beatles Magical Mystery Tour cover. Peter Blake is acknowledged for his ornate Sgt. Pepper cover design, but the design for the Magical Mystery Tour album has been greatly understated in my humble opinion!!! I am happy to have acquired 2 of the signatures of men that had something to do with the final product!
The following description of the item is from the Ebay
seller
The designer of the Magical Mystery Tour cover, John Van Hamersveld and an engineer on the record, Ken Scott. Scott was promoted to engineer, where his first session was with the Beatles on their song “Your Mother Should Know”. His first orchestral recording session came a few days later when he recorded the strings, brass and choir for the band’s song “I Am the Walrus”. During his time with the Beatles, Scott also worked on the songs “Lady Madonna”, “Hello, Goodbye” and “Hey Jude”, as well as The Beatles and Magical Mystery Tour albums.[4]
Among the notable songs from those albums that he worked on are “The Fool on the Hill”, “Glass Onion”, “Helter Skelter”, “Birthday”, “Back in the U.S.S.R.”, “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” and “Not Guilty”, the last of which was recorded for the White Album, but not included on it.
Van Hamersveld created over 300 album covers and the iconic poster and artwork for the ultimate surfers movie, Endless summer.
And here is the signed album cover: I have never seen a signed album cover by the album cover designer before…
I hope you enjoyed this?
Have you got any Beatles autographs? What is your most treasured piece of Beatles memorabilia? Let me know in the comments.
Buzz
