Handwritten lyrics for Beatles' song Hey Jude sell for $910K at auction

Artist Paul McCartney's handwritten lyrics to The Beatles' hit song Hey Judesold for $910,000 US on Friday, nine times its original estimate, auction house Julien's Auctions said.

A vintage bass drumhead with The Beatles' logo that was used during the English band's first North American tour in 1964 was another top item, selling for $200,000 US.

The items were among more than 250 piecesof Beatles memorabilia offered in an online auction by Julien's Auctions to mark the 50th anniversary of the band's breakup.

A drawing by John Lennon and wife Yoko Ono called Bagism, a term they coined to satirize stereotyping, sold for $93,750 US, while an ashtray used by the Fab Four's drummer Ringo Starr at the Abbey Road recording studios in London fetched $32,500.

The wooden stage of the small Liverpool venue where the band performed before they rocketed to fame went for $25,600 US.

Before the sale, Julien's Auctions music specialist Jason Watkins had described McCartney's hastily scribbled notes for a 1968 studio recording of Hey Judeas very rare and valuable.

"It's obviously a very iconic song that everyone's familiar with," said Watkins. "These handwritten lyrics were used in the studio as a guide when they were recording it."

The sale had been due to take place online and at the Hard Rock Cafe in Times Square, New York, but it was made online-only due to the coronavirus pandemic, the auction house said.