A rare set of Beatles autographs scribbled on a taxi driver’s business card in 1964 could fetch almost £2,000 at auction.
The Fab Four signed the back of the card after a stunned cabbie was hired to give them a lift to their gig.
At the time Beatlemania was at its peak following the release of the band’s first film, A Hard Day’s Night.
Schoolgirl Sandra Lambert, then called Sandra Gerrard, was 13 when she tried to buy tickets to see her idols perform their hits at the De Montfort Hall in Leicester.
Despite queueing at the ticket office all day, all three concert dates were sold out and she was left devastated.
But she was cheered up when her best friend’s sister’s boyfriend, who was the Beatles’ taxi driver, gave her one of the signed business cards he got from the band.
Sandra, now 72 and living in Brighton, is selling the card which is set to fetch between £1,200 and £1,800 at auction.
She said: “In the early 1960s I was living in Leicester and The Beatles were booked to appear at the De Montfort Hall.
“In those days you queued up to buy your tickets at the venue and I queued all day to get mine.
“Sadly, they'd all sold out by the time I got near to the front. I was devastated.
“In 1964, when I was 13, The Beatles’ film A Hard Day's Night was released.
“In those days films were shown all day continuously so you could spend all day in the cinema, which I did.
“I spent the whole of the school summer holidays there. When I was at home I played my Beatles LP over and over.
“I adored all The Beatles but Paul McCartney was my favourite.
“By the end of the summer of 64 all I could think about was Paul, so not being able to see them perform was bitterly disappointing.
“However, the boyfriend of my best friend's sister was a driver for Highfields Taxis of Granby Street, Leicester.
“The firm had been booked to take The Beatles from their hotel to De Montfort Hall.
“He knew how upset I was at not getting to see them and asked if they could sign a couple of business cards, which they did. To my utter surprise he gave me one.”
Sandra, who used to run an engineering recruitment firm in Brighton, decided to sell the card after finding it during a clear out.
She added: “It’s been wonderful to own something so precious for 59 years. I kept the autographs in my bedside table.
“It was amazing to be part of the excitement when The Beatles exploded on to the music scene. I still play their music.”
The Beatles autographs will go under the hammer at Hansons Auctioneers in Tunbridge Wells on Tuesday, November 21.
Auctioneer Robin Fletcher said: “I just love the story behind this find.
“It captures the madness, magic and mayhem of Beatlemania.
“A random act of kindness helped to heal the heartbreak of a schoolgirl mega fan.”
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