Beatles autographs signed while Fab Four ate in Birmingham chippy set to sell for thousands
A set of autographs signed by the Beatles whilst they ate lunch at a chippy in Birmingham could sell for thousands at auction.
The seller - a retired schoolteacher from Kenilworth - collected the signatures in 1963.
Her autograph book, which contains autographs from other music stars of the period, shows signatures from Paul McCartney, John Lennon, Ringo Starr, and George Harrison, signed "love from The Beatles."
When John Lennon signed, he left his fingerprint on the book, smudged on with chip grease.
The 73-year-old seller said: "I was only 14 at the time. My friend’s mother worked in the design department at the ABC Weekend Television Studios in Aston, Birmingham, and the Beatles were filming there on June 23, 1963."
She adds: "My friend’s mother arranged for us to go backstage. We walked into the canteen and there they were – The Beatles! It was pretty quiet.
"No one was bothering them. I suppose people had been told to leave them alone. They were queuing up at the food counter and they all plumped for fish and chips.
"I went over to Paul McCartney first and wished him happy birthday. His birthday’s on June 18, which was a few days earlier.
“He signed my autograph book first, wrote ‘love from The Beatles’ and passed it round the table. John was the last to sign.
"They’d been picking up chips with their fingers and I remember him licking his lips and rubbing his fingers on his trousers to try to get the grease off before he signed."
The retired schoolteacher adds: "He still put a greasy smudge on George Harrison’s name. It was one of those old blotchy Biros. I suppose the inky smudge contains John Lennon’s DNA.
“They were all so lovely to us, chatty and kind. It was very early days for The Beatles so perhaps the novelty of signing autographs hadn’t worn off.
"We could hear loads of screaming girls outside the window of the canteen hoping for a glimpse of them."
Later that day she bumped into Brian Epstein on a staircase, The Beatles manager, and he also signed the book.
The autographs are going under the hammer at Hanson's auctioneers on June 15th. The organisation said they are expected to go for between £4,000 - 4,500.