Beatles drummer Ringo Starr and his wife, Barbara Bach, have announced that they will auction off over 800 items of personal and rock and roll memorabilia this December, according to the Associated Press.
The auction will feature rare Beatles gear such as a three-piece Ludwig drum kit Starr used in over 200 performances, a Rickenbacker played and later gifted by John Lennon, and a Gretsch guitar from George Harrison. In addition, Starr and his wife will sell the first pressing of the White Album, which they had kept in a bank vault for over 35 years.
A portion of the proceeds will benefit Starr’s Lotus Children’s Foundation, and a selection of the rarest items will be exhibited in the Hard Rock Cafe’s Times Square location starting on November 16.
All of this comes as a once-in-a-lifetime housekeeping measure from Starr and his wife. The pair discovered that they had storage units filled with personal items all over the world in 2013, when the Grammy Museum asked to do an exhibition on Starr’s life and music.
“We’re fed up with having the stuff in storage when it could be put to some good use and also give a lot of people joy,” said Starr.
The 74 year old musician and his wife have been paring down their personal items of late, having recently sold their country home in England and an apartment in Monte Carlo. Besides Beatles memorabilia, the sale will include chairs, cups and saucers, and various other personal items.
The auction will take place December 4-5 at Julien’s Auctions in Beverly Hills. They estimate the collection to be worth between $5 million and $10 million. Items estimated to fetch top dollar include Lennon’s Rickenbacker, the Ludwig drum kit, and a custom 7-tom drum kit commissioned by George Harrison for Starr in 1968 — of which only 5 are known to exist.
