The Beatles’ handwritten ‘Hey Jude’ lyrics, penned by Paul McCartney, fetch nearly $1M at auction

The handwritten lyrics to one of the Beatles’ most-beloved songs drew a whopping winning bid of $910,000 during a Friday auction, multiple media outlets reported.

The lyrics, penned by Sir Paul McCartney, fetched nearly six times its original estimate of $160,000 during Julien’s Auctions’ annual Beatlemania auction, conducted virtually this year in response to the novel coronavirus pandemic. The event also marked the 50th anniversary of the Fab Four’s infamous breakup.

“It’s obviously a very iconic song that everyone’s familiar with,” Julien’s Auctions music specialist Jason Watkins told Reuters, adding, “These handwritten lyrics were used in the studio as a guide when they were recording it.”

According to Billboard, the event featured more than 250 items from the iconic band, including “never-before-seen memorabilia, guitars and instruments, autographed items, rare vinyl obscure licensed material and more.”

Although McCartney’s lyrical scribbles obviously won the night, other auctioned items included:

• A vintage bass drumhead with The Beatles’ logo, used during the band’s first North American tour in 1964, sold for $200,000.

• John Lennon and Yoko Ono's "BAGISM" drawing sold for $93,750.

• The music video shoot script page for "Hello Goodbye" sold for $83,200.

• An ashtray used by drummer Ringo Starr at the Abbey Road recording studios in London sold for $32,500.

• The stage from the band’s first performance sold for $25,600.

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Cox Media Group