The Beatles Autographs - Presented by Frank Caiazzo

Signed concert programs for live performances by The Beatles were often sold at the venues. They contained photographs and a bio page of the group along with other acts who were also on the bill. They sometimes also included advertising by local merchants. Before the band's popularity rose to dizzying heights, The Beatles would actually stay behind after a show and sign for fans, who were mostly female.

Without question, female fans were the major purchasers for concert memorabilia. It made perfect sense that the majority of the items being signed were the show programs (or programmes, the proper British spelling). Many of these programs unsigned are worth quite a bit of money to collectors, particularly those for 3, 2 or even 1 performance in a given city. For example, on March 8, 1963, The Beatles played at The Royal Hall in Harrogate, Yorkshire, England. For this one day only show, a program was printed which is worth approximately $1000. in mint condition unsigned.

About 10 of these have turned up which have been fully signed by all of The Beatles. As with the majority of signed material, most programs were signed by The Beatles in 1963, their most fertile signing year because they were far more publicly accessible throughout the first three quarters of the year. The generic American programs for their U.S. tours were printed by Raydell Publishing in New York City and were available at shows across North America.

Although more common unsigned than most other programs from around the world, they are among the scarcest to find signed. In fact. very few autographed examples of these have turned up at all because they simply did not sign that many US tour programs due to extremely heightened security. Signed tour programs are quite special as they represent an historic collectible from a specific and in most cases very direct encounter with The Beatles. Indeed, the magic of a live performance by the world's greatest band combined with the intimate experience of acquiring their autographs was the ultimate Fab Four dream.

CP5. An Extremely Rare Scottish Tour Program Signed By The Beatles, April 1964

April of 1964 was a really good month for The Beatles. Having 'conquered America' just two months prior, by he end of April they had already filmed the entirety of their first feature film entitled "A Hard Day's Night". At the beginning of the month, they held the Top 5 spots on the Billboard charts with "Can't Buy Me Love", "Twist And Shout", "She Loves You", "I Want To Hold Your Hand" and "Please Please Me" - a feat that has never been accomplished since. Towards the very end of the month The Beatles did a few live shows on the Spring 1964 U.K. Tour. April 29th and 30th saw them in Scotland - Edinburg and Glasgow respectively. For this 2 day only engagement, a super rare concert program was produced.

The program, which measures 8” x 10 ½”, is 16 pages long cover to in total and features a blue paper outer cover which depicts four separate drawings of ‘Beatle hair’, each one representing a band member. Within the program there are individual and group biographies, as well as information related to the opening acts, which included among others Peter Jay and the Jaywalkers and also The Remo Four. This is an extremely rare Beatles tour program in unsigned form – worth over $400 without ink in today’s market. All four have autographed this rarity within, on their bio spread beautifully in blue ballpoint pen near their respective image, with John Lennon signing in the text below his likeness. The photo of the band here was taken by quintessential Beatles photographer Dezo Hoffmann during the session that produced some of the most iconic and recognizable shots of The Beatles ever taken, wearing their grey collarless suits and to have a Dezo image from that significant photo session signed by the Beatles is a major achievement for any collector. In addition to the signed bio spread, George Harrison has autographed the first inside page, a page that states in big block letters below a smiling pose of the band: “THE BEATLES SHOW”. This program was signed by The Beatles on April 30th, the day they played The Odeon Cinema in Glasgow.

Beatles autographed concert programs have become incredibly scarce in recent years, as most are now firmly rooted in collections. The vast majority of Beatles signed programs in existence were from the year 1963, when they were more accessible in the U.K. than they were in later years….especially after achieving the fame that they did after their first U.S. visit in early 1964. For any collector looking for a significant signed Beatles display piece with strong visual appeal that is a cut above an album page, without breaking the bank, this one is for you……$18,500

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CP4. Fully Signed "The Beatles Show" Program From September 1963

On Wednesday, September 4, 1963, The Beatles launched a four-night run of shows promoted by John Smith, a leading London concert promoter. This wasn't the first series of Beatles gigs Smith had promoted. His first booking with the group had been for a show in Oxford the previous February. He had also booked several dates in support of Brian Epstein's Mersey Beat Showcase starting in Croydon on April 25th of that year. Because several of these Showcase concerts had to be cancelled, Epstein offered Smith this September mini-tour, for which the headlining Beatles earned £250 a night. The shows, compered by Ted King, also featured supporting acts Ian Crawford, Mike Berry, The Fourmost, Rockin' Henri and Patrick Dane's Quiet Five.

The four-night package kicked off on September 4th at the Gaumont Cinema in Worcester, followed the next night by a show at the Gaumont Cinema in Taunton. On the 6th - the third night - they played the Odeon Cinema in Luton before concluding the "tour" on the 7th with
a show at Fairfield Hall in Croydon.

Smith had a special 8-page program printed for this 4-nighter and the one offered here has been signed by all four Beatles on the back cover. This autographed page features four individual Beatle portraits taken in November 1962 by the group's close friend from their Hamburg days, Astrid Kirchherr. Each Beatle has signed beautifully next to his own portrait
in dark blue ballpoint pen. Because these shows took place at a time when fans still had in-person (though increasingly more limited) access to the band, this program was likely signed after one of the four shows on the tour.

The program, which measures 7" x 9-1/2", has been folded vertically down the middle and there is some wear to the top of the front cover. There is also a very light, almost imperceptible horizontal fold on the program. None of these folds affect the cover signatures on the back cover which remain as bold as the day they were signed.

From their fledgling days as The Quarrymen in 1956-57 through the end of August 1966, it was all about touring for The Beatles. Still, Beatles-signed concert programs are very rare indeed and are seldom offered for sale. This is your opportunity to own a gorgeous, authentic example signed during the group's heyday as the most popular act in their native Britain -- just five months before they arrived in America and, in effect, conquered the world…..$22,500

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CP2. A “Beatles (USA) Ltd” 1964 U.S. Tour Program Signed By The Beatles

Seven months after their first historic visit to America, The Beatles made a return visit in September of 1964 and embarked upon their first full-fledged tour of the United States. They played 32 shows in 24 cities between August 19 and September 20. Among these was the fabled show at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. Here is a program from that first North American tour which has been signed beautifully by The Beatles on the first right-hand inside page.

Each member has signed in dark blue ballpoint pen directly above his respective image. The signatures were originally obtained by Mr. Raymond Lussa, the owner of the New York based company Souvenir Publishing, which published Beatles promotional materials and fan magazines, as well as this program. Lussa had The Beatles sign this program for him. He then gave it to a 10- year-old girl named Vicky, the daughter of his next-door neighbor. It was signed while The Beatles were in New York to play two consecutive days at The Forest Hills Tennis Stadium (August 28th and 29th).

The program, which measures 12” x 12”, is in very good condition overall, with some minor scuffing and wear to the front and back cover. The signed page is flawless and all signatures are bold, complete and excellent examples from their all-important breakthrough year of 1964. Very few of these Beatles (USA) Ltd. 1964 programs were signed by The Beatles because it was virtually impossible for fans to get to them either before or after a performance once they arrived in America. This was quite a turnaround from just a year earlier, when they were still fairly accessible while touring in Great Britain. Signed as beautifully as it is, this is without a doubt one of the nicest autographed Beatles 1964 tour programs in existence.....$25,000

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