Organizers of the biggest auction of Beatles memorabilia - from the birth certificate of Paul McCartney to the only guitar signed by all four musicians - predicted Tuesday that the sale would set world record prices for pop music souvenirs.
Three decades after Beatle-mania swept Japan and the rest of the world, Tokyo was chosen as the site of Saturday's auction because the "Fab Four" music is again topping charts in Japan.Other items among the 300 up for simultaneous auction in Tokyo and London are the Liverpool house where Ringo Starr was born, the piano John Lennon used to compose his classic song "Imagine" and a check for 2.76 pounds signed by George Harrison.
Bids will be accepted in Tokyo and London via telephone hookup with the hammer coming down in Tokyo.
"The response we have is phenomenal," said Ted Owen, rock expert for Bonhams auction house, which put the collection together and unveiled it to the Japanese press on Tuesday.
Owen said the Beatles had consistently outsold over the years memorabilia from their only challenger as a long-time pop idol, Elvis Presley.
He said the items likely to fetch the highest prices were the Stein-way piano Lennon used to compose "Imagine," a 1964 guitar autographed by the four Beatles and a restored Mercedes Benz owned by Lennon.