A rare amplifier used by The Beatles for ‘Sgt. Pepper’ and ‘Revolver’ recording sessions is to be auctioned in London.
The Vox UL730 amp and cabinet will be one of the highlights of the Entertainment Memorabilia auction on Thursday 15th December at Bonhams, Knightsbridge.
The equipment has only recently been discovered to have been used by the band and is estimated to sell for £50,000 to £70,000.
Bonhams Entertainment Memorabilia consultant Stephan Maycock said: “Very few amps used by the Beatles have come to auction before, and to find one that was used on two such significant albums is truly rare and exciting.
“Beatles fans all over the world will be eager to own such an important piece of music history.”
It was only by chance that the amp was found to have been used by the Fab Four after it was taken to be repaired by a specialist engineer.
Joy Division and New Order singer Peter Hook borrowed the amp from its current owner in February 2011, as his guitarist needed a vintage amp for a recording session.
It developed a fault at the end of the session and was taken to be fixed.
When the amp chassis was removed from its case, the engineer noticed the name of 'George Harrison' scratched on the chassis. After further inspection he found a label on the inside of the speaker cabinet.
Subsequent research led to a photograph of George and the Beatles in the studio with a UL730, with visible chalk markings similar to those seen in the cabinet offered here.
A member of The Merseybeats who used to write the 'Beatles Gear' pages for the monthly 'Beatles Book' magazine has also identified this as Harrison's equipment.
The 730, and all other 7 series models built by Triumph for Vox, were only in the Vox catalogue for less than a year and were virtually withdrawn from commercial sale.
This decision ultimately proved disastrous for the company. Some 76 UL730s went back to the factory to be destroyed, leaving just 26 that had already been distributed.
Other Beatles items in the sale include an autographed black/gold label pressing of the Beatles' debut album, 'Please Please Me' (1963) with an estimated value of £8,000-£10,000.
Unpublished colour film of the Beatles during production of the film 'Help!' (£7,000-£9,000) is also to be auctioned as well as a collection of photographs of John Lennon at radio station WFIL, May 1975 (£6,000-£8,000).
The original cover artwork for Let it Bleed, the Rolling Stones album which has been described as one of the greatest covers of all times, is another highlight of the sale and is estimated to sell for £30,000 to £40,000.
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