Lennon's Piano on Sale in New Bout of Beatlemania
October 17, 2000 5:42 am EST
By Lyndsay Griffiths
LONDON (Reuters) - The piano on which John Lennon composed "Imagine" goes on sale on Tuesday in a live transatlantic auction that caps a month of Beatlemania.
Be it the opening of a new Lennon museum in Japan or the release of the band's first autobiography, Fab Four events have flowed thick and fast as global interest -- and money -- continues to circle the British idols.
Two solo albums were released last week to mark what would have been Lennon's 60th birthday, shortly after Paul McCartney put together a new Beatles dance record featuring out-takes from the band's 1960s heyday.
Tuesday's sale is expected to underline the band's iconic status with auctioneers predicting Lennon's Steinway will fetch about 1.5 million pounds ($2.20 million).
Steinway has authenticated the upright walnut piano as the one Lennon bought in 1970 for around 1,000 pounds.
The former Beatle, who composed "Imagine" on it a year later, was murdered in New York by Mark David Chapman on December 8, 1980. Chapman was denied parole earlier this month.
Auctioneers fleetwoodowen.com hope Lennon's magic will propel bidders to set a record price for a piece of pop memorabilia when the hammer falls on the upright Steinway Z.
Bidding will come live from Hard Rock Cafe branches in both London and New York, as well as via the telephone and Internet.
"THAT'S THE ONE"
The one-hour auction kicks off at 7 p.m. London time (1800 GMT).
Also on offer will be Lennon's old Ferrari 330GT, which the Hard Rock chain expects to fetch 80,000 to 100,000 pounds, and a pair of Lennon's trademark wire-rimmed spectacles.
But it is the piano that has aficionados drooling.
Film footage from 1971 shows a relaxed Lennon at its keys composing "Imagine" before he turns to his keyboard player to remark: "That's the one I like best."
Currently owned by a private collector, the piano has been on show for most of the year at the Beatles Story Museum in their home town of Liverpool.
Shelagh Johnston, curator of the museum, called it "a vital cornerstone of Beatles memorabilia, a piece of music heritage."
Liverpool is anxious to keep the walnut upright -- the museum has offered it a home and full insurance if a new buyer will keep it on display there -- but faces steep competition from Beatles' fans the world over.
"It would be very sad if it left the country but I've got this inkling that it will," Johnston told Reuters.
"The piano has commanded such reverence here. People have come from all over the world and it has brought them to silence. The music 'Imagine' plays and the people just stand there and look. That's a very touching sight."
Edited by - AhHah on 17 October 2000 12:40:44