Rare guitar from TV show going under hammer in Newbury expected to fetch £25k

RARE GUITAR FROM TV SHOW GOES UNDER THE HAMMER

A guitar owned by Tony Sheridan at the time he was playing and recording with The Beatles in Hamburg is going under the hammer at Special Auction Services in Newbury on Tuesday (July 25) and is expected to fetch £25,000.

The guitar came to light during a valuation day that was being filmed for Channel 5’s Paul Martin’s Antiques Showdown at Sheffield Winter Garden in March.

The 1959 Martin D-28E Electro Acoustic Guitar, an extremely rare guitar in its own right, was played by Tony Sheridan when he was resident in Hamburg, recording and playing with The Beatles, and is being sold with its original case which is stamped 'Starclub Hamburg'.

A 2002 book by Andy Babiuk entitled 'Beatles Gear' includes the quote from Tony Sheridan: “On stage with The Beatles nightly, for long hours, guitars were passed around quite a bit”, which suggests this guitar would have been passed around and played by members of The Beatles during their time in Hamburg.

Paul Martin, host of Paul Martin’s Antiques Showdown, said: “We’ve come across some unbelievable finds during filming for Auction Showdown but this remarkable instrument, steeped in musical history, is particularly unique – so much so that we’ve decided to arrange a specialist auction for it. I’m looking forward to finding out which lucky bidder will be taking this very exclusive lot home on 25th July!”

Jessica Forrester, SAS expert and Paul’s opposition on the show said: “This guitar belonged to a musician who was vitally important in the early development of The Beatles. Its provenance as well as the likelihood of it having been played by The Beatles in the early days of their career will elevate its popularity with collectors.”

The premise of the show is to see who can make the most money over the week. The show will air on Channel 5 in the near future.