Anniversary of first gig by The Beatles in Wolverhampton marked at Molineux
Music fans brought along their memorabilia to a free valuation day in Wolverhampton to celebrate the 60th anniversary of The Beatles first playing in the city.
Tuesday marks six decades since one of the most famous bands of all time played in Wolverhampton's Gaumont Cinema, Snow Hill, on Thursday March 14, 1963.
To celebrate, Lancashire-based music memorabilia specialist company Tracks held a valuation day at Molineux on Saturday.
The firm was also on the lookout for items relating to other major artists and bands.
Paul Wane, from the company, said about 20 people came through the doors to get their music memorabilia valued.
He said: "A lot of vinyl records came in. One man brought in a rare copy of the Please Please Me album. We offered him £4,000 which he liked.
"He's going to think about that and possibly come back. "People have these kinds of items for so long, they develop emotional links to them.
"One man brought in a lot of punk memorabilia. His favourite group was The Jam – he had seen them 30 times.
"At that time the group and audience were all one. They would let people go backstage and people would get their albums signed.
"He brought in just part of his collection."
Mr Wane said he had bought albums and singles signed by The Jam and The Clash from him, as well as a collection of The Jam vintage t-shirts.
He added: "There was another lady who had the autographs of Paul and Ringo.
"We came to Wolverhampton as The Beatles played here. You find people from the 1960s generation are starting to sell their memorabilia. They have got to the point in their lives where they make a decision to sell or pass it onto their family."
The market for Beatles and music related memorabilia which began in the eighties has since grown exponentially in size and significance.
In the world of music memorabilia the artists and bands whose ephemera attract the highest prices are The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Queen, Jimi Hendrix, David Bowie, The Who, Pink Floyd, Bob Marley, Led Zeppelin, Madonna, Prince, Michael Jackson and Nirvana/Kurt Cobain.
Autographs and written material are of great interest to collectors and he signatures of The Beatles have always brought the most money.
A good clean set of autographs can be £4,000 upwards and a set from 1967 can be in excess of £5,000.
Album sleeves autographed by The Beatles can bring £15,000 to £20,000 and even more if signed on one of the later releases.
The Beatles performed in Wolverhampton twice.
The first, at the Gaumont Cinema, was part of the Tommy Roe & Chris Montez tour, where John Lennon missed a third concert due to a persistent cold. He was able to re-join the group on stage the following night in Bristol.
Their set list on this tour was ‘Love Me Do’, ‘Misery’, ‘A Taste Of Honey’, ‘Do You Want To Know A Secret’, ‘Please Please Me’ and ‘I Saw Her Standing There’.
The Beatles returned to the Gaumont Cinema for a second and final time on Tuesday, November 19, 1963, the 14th date of their 1963 Autumn tour.
For more information about Tracks visit webuyrockandroll.com and anyone interested in selling music memorabilia can call Mr Wane on 07812 345841.
