Beatles memorabilia has always generated interest among collectors. There will always be those who can afford to pay top dollar for genuine merchandise and for those whose fandom goes way beyond the group’s music. However, on this day in 2016, a fifty-year-old piece of John Lennon’s hair from the set of How I Won the War sold for $35K. Beatles collectors paid big bucks for the personal item and two other mementos.
John Lennon starred in the 1967 dark comedy ‘How I Won the War’
In the latter part of his Beatles career, John Lennon starred in the 1967 dark comedy, How I Won the War. The film was directed by Richard Lester, who also directed A Hard Day’s Night and Help!
How I Won the War tells the tale of the fictional 3rd Troop called the 4th Musketeers and their misadventures through the Second World War. Lennon starred as Private Gripeweed alongside Michael Crawford, Roy Kinnear, Lee Montague, and Jack Headley.
For the role, Lennon had to get a haircut. In 1966, a four-inch piece of hair was removed from his head. However, fifty years later, the lock was sold for big money to a private collector.
On this day in 2016, a 50-year-old piece of John Lennon’s hair sold for $35K
A lock of John Lennon’s hair sold for $35,000 at auction pic.twitter.com/pKXj4tQh1Q
— billboard (@billboard) February 20, 2016
How I Won the War was John Lennon’s only non-musical acting role. According to Billboard, the hairdresser on the film set was named Klaus Baruck. He trimmed Lennon’s hair and later pocketed the four-inch-long lock.
In 2016, Heritage Auctions auctioned off the substantial lock of Lennon’s hair and extensive paperwork to prove its authenticity. The site’s official website shared information regarding the item.
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Director of Music Memorabilia at Heritage, Garry Shrum, spoke about Lennon’s tresses. He stated the hair “comes from a significant time in his [Lennon] career, and the provenance is impeccable.” The keepsake was accompanied by a newspaper clipping and a photo showing Baruck’s hand holding Lennon’s hair. It is captioned: “Immediately picked up and tucked away: a clump of hair that had been John Lennon’s, cut yesterday.”
On this day in 2016, Lennon’s hair was purchased by Paul Fraser, a United Kingdom-based memorabilia collector, for $35K. Of the purchase, Shrum said, “This world record price is a lasting testament to the world’s more than 50-year love affair and fascination with Lennon and the Beatles.”
However, John Lennon’s hair wasn’t the only Beatles item on sale that day
Lennon’s hair wasn’t the only piece of Beatles memorabilia for sale on Feb. 20, 2016. Two other historical Beatles items also hit the auction block.
A sealed, unsigned copy of The Beatles Yesterday and Today album with its infamous butcher cover sold for $125,000. The first-run cover showed John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr dressed as butchers surrounded by raw meat and dismantled doll parts. But, after retailers protested its sale due to the gory nature of the picture, the cover image was switched to a photograph of the band seated around a steamer trunk
“This is by far one of the finest copies of the very limited number of ‘first state’ albums that were released to a small audience,” Shrum of Heritage Auctions said. “This copy is a worthy addition to the most advanced Beatle collections.”
Also on the auction block that day was a signed photograph of the Fab Four performing at the Empire Theatre, Liverpool, on Dec. 7, 1963. The Beatles signed the photo in black marker alongside their respective images. Subsequently, the picture sold for $45,000.
