Culture / Auctions

Original score for the Beatles’ “Eleanor Rigby” goes up for auction in England

The score is the highlight of the upcoming Beatles Memorabilia Auction, which will also feature the deeds of a grave bearing the same name as the Beatles hit.

Sep 01, 2017 | By Pameyla Cambe

A fan of the Fab Four will soon be adding a new rarity to their collection. The original handwritten score for the Beatles hit “Eleanor Rigby”, which comes complete with pencil notes by the band’s late producer George Martin, will be sold by Omega Auctions on September 11. The icing on the cake? The note is signed not only by Martin, but the band’s singer Paul McCartney as well.

Unsurprisingly, the score is the highlight of the upcoming Beatles Memorabilia Auction that will be held in Warrington. While other Beatles-related items will be going under the hammer as well, Omega Auctions expects there “to be fierce bidding from across the globe” for the score in particular.

The 1966 track “Eleanor Rigby” was first released as the B-side to the iconic foursome’s catchy hit, “Yellow Submarine”. As revealed by the notes on its score, the song was to be recorded at London’s Abbey Road Studio with four violins, two violas and two cellos.

Advertisements

According to McCartney, the song’s eponymous character is “totally fictitious”, but that is not going to stop fans from bidding on another item of strong interest — the deeds of the grave of a woman with the same name. The headstone is found in St Peter’s churchyard in Woolton, Liverpool, which also happens to be where McCartney first met future bandmate, John Lennon.

There is sure to be tough competition amongst bidders wanting to sweeten the deal by getting both items. As noted by Paul Fairweather of Omega Auctions, “each item is fantastic, unique and of significant historical importance in itself.” The score is expected to fetch £20,000, while the deeds of the grave is likely to sell for £5,000. The latter also comes with a bonus artefact: a miniature Bible that bears the handwritten label, “Elenor Rigby”.


 
Back to top