Early-'60s Beatles and Rolling Stones autographs for sale

In the early-1960s, John Reese, a cameraman on the hit TV 1960s pop programme Thank Your Lucky Stars, wasn't afraid to ask the stars for their autograph.

Now, decades later, Mr Rees's albums which include some of the biggest stars of the time are set to auction in Wales on Tuesday, October 27.

Chief among John Rees's collection are autographs by the Beatles and the Rolling Stones.

But the sale will also include '60s pop icons such as Gerry and the Pacemakers, Helen Shapiro, Bobby Vee, Peter Jay and the Jaywalkers, Cliff Richard and The Shadows, Johnny Leyton, Rolf Harris, The Crickets, Bobby Rydell, Rosemary Squires, David Jacobs (Of Juke Box Jury Fame), Joe Brown and many more.

The Beatles
The Beatles' autographs are from 1963

Mr Rees's albums will go under the hammer in Colwyn Bay, North Wales, at auctioneers Rogers Jones.

The autographs are estimated at £200-300. But, with the likes of John Lennon and Paul McCartney among them, this estimate is next-to-meaningless and they are likely to sell for a lot more.

In a unique twist, the autographs have not been consigned by Mr Rees himself, but by the former owner of a delicatessen which was over the road from where Thank Your Lucky Stars was filmed.

Mr Rees, it transpires, had a habit of buying things "on a tab" - and would often use his autograph albums as collateral for his debts.

Other autographs featured in the sale are written on the delicatessen's headed paper, signed when the celebrities themselves went into the shop, or when the business made food deliveries to the TV studio.

Thank Your Lucky Stars

Thank Your Lucky Stars was a ground breaking pop show made by ABC Television, and recorded at Thames Television studios.

The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones in the early-'60s

It was broadcast by ITV from 1961-1966 as a rival to Juke Box Jury.

The programme had the distinction of broadcasting the Beatles' first-ever network TV performance when they mined their second single, From Me To You, in January, 1963.

They signed John Rees's autograph book on February 17, 1963 during their second appearance to mime Please Please Me (although no tapes from this performance are thought to remain).

The Rolling Stones also made their first UK television appearance on the show on July 7 that year, with their single Come On.

The Stones' autographs include the late Brian Jones, and appear on a sheet of paper from a notepad dated 1964.

 


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