17th Sep, 2025 11:00
The Beatles: three original ticket stubs for the band's performance at the Astoria, Finsbury Park (London), on Saturday December 11th 1965, together with the original accompanying concert programme, a pair of fold-out posters of the band, an original Beatles fan club letter and envelope, listing the dates for the 1965 December tour, and a charming contemporaneous hand-written account of the occasion, completed by the vendor, who attended as a fan. The bill comprised of The Paramounts, Jerry Stevens, Beryl Marsden with Steve Aldo, The Moody Blues, The Koobas, The Marionettes and The Beatles, with the tickets for sequential seats in Row Y of the stalls.
The vendor's account, completed immediately after the show, states ...'the day I had been waiting for', and 'I was a bit dubious as the tickets were for the 6.40 performance, and I'd never been to a first Beatles show before and just hoped & prayed there were not too many people there who were too young & screamed all the time'.
She goes on to describe the performance of each band, listing their songs and mentioning their outfits, before, 'Eventually the curtain rose to a terrific roar as John, Paul, George and Ringo appeared! They wore grey jackets, with black polo necked sweaters underneath and immediately belted into 'I Feel Fine' - you could hardly hear them. Everyone stood up in their seats, in the gangways, did anything but sit down! I've never seen anything like it in my life!'
The account continues in further detail to describe each song, as different Beatles introuduced 'numbers', before stating 'Every minute was worth it, to actually see the Beatles again after so long! I hope they don't wait another year to tour again, it's much too long. They are still the greatest group on earth...'.
From a private collection of a long-time Beatles fan, who attended a number of their concerts, and kept a large scrapbook of press cuttings, magazines and other ephemera, to include further programmes and tickets, which are also in this sale. She followed them around London many times, even getting in to see Ringo Starr in hospital when he was having his tonsils out (in 1964 at UCH), by telling the staff that she was his cousin - they believed her and let her in. She became so star-struck by getting to meet him, that she forgot to ask for his autograph, but she reports that he found it all very amusing.
Sold for £260
Condition Report
Remnants of sellotape to the tickets and programme, from when they had been stuck in the vendor's scrapbook. The date and time of the concert has been written to the front of the programme, in blue biro, by the vendor.
The Beatles: three original ticket stubs for the band's performance at the Astoria, Finsbury Park (London), on Saturday December 11th 1965, together with the original accompanying concert programme, a pair of fold-out posters of the band, an original Beatles fan club letter and envelope, listing the dates for the 1965 December tour, and a charming contemporaneous hand-written account of the occasion, completed by the vendor, who attended as a fan. The bill comprised of The Paramounts, Jerry Stevens, Beryl Marsden with Steve Aldo, The Moody Blues, The Koobas, The Marionettes and The Beatles, with the tickets for sequential seats in Row Y of the stalls.
The vendor's account, completed immediately after the show, states ...'the day I had been waiting for', and 'I was a bit dubious as the tickets were for the 6.40 performance, and I'd never been to a first Beatles show before and just hoped & prayed there were not too many people there who were too young & screamed all the time'.
She goes on to describe the performance of each band, listing their songs and mentioning their outfits, before, 'Eventually the curtain rose to a terrific roar as John, Paul, George and Ringo appeared! They wore grey jackets, with black polo necked sweaters underneath and immediately belted into 'I Feel Fine' - you could hardly hear them. Everyone stood up in their seats, in the gangways, did anything but sit down! I've never seen anything like it in my life!'
The account continues in further detail to describe each song, as different Beatles introuduced 'numbers', before stating 'Every minute was worth it, to actually see the Beatles again after so long! I hope they don't wait another year to tour again, it's much too long. They are still the greatest group on earth...'.
Provenance
From a private collection of a long-time Beatles fan, who attended a number of their concerts, and kept a large scrapbook of press cuttings, magazines and other ephemera, to include further programmes and tickets, which are also in this sale. She followed them around London many times, even getting in to see Ringo Starr in hospital when he was having his tonsils out (in 1964 at UCH), by telling the staff that she was his cousin - they believed her and let her in. She became so star-struck by getting to meet him, that she forgot to ask for his autograph, but she reports that he found it all very amusing.
