'Holy Grail' early Beatles record to be sold at auction

A "Holy Grail" early Beatles record that helped launch the band on their road to stardom is going up for auction next month after it spent years gathering dust in a loft.

The 1962 record of Till There Was You and Hello Little Girl is expected to fetch around £10,000 when it goes up for sale.

It has a handwritten label by the band's manager Brian Epstein Credit: PA

The disk, featuring a handwritten label by manager Brian Epstein, was given to record company boss George Martin in 1962.

Despite Martin's initial skepticism about the band from Liverpool, he offered the Fab Four a recording contract from EMI - and the rest is history.

The record is being sold on behalf of Les Maguire of Gerry and the Pacemakers, who was given it by Brian Epstein in 1963 after it was returned to him by George Martin.

The valuable recording has been locked away in Mr Maguire's loft until now.

The 10-inch, 78 RPM record will go up for sale at Omega Auctions in Warrington on March 22.