Money can’t buy you love – but it could land a DC Thomson cartoonist’s rare caricature of The Beatles, signed by the Fab Four on a visit to Dundee.
The caricature of the iconic foursome is being auctioned off by Paul Fraser Collectibles and has already attracting bids as high as £5,500.
The band signed just 20 of the cartoons, which were given to them when they played the Caird Hall in 1963 just as they were on the cusp of global stardom.
It is thought that the DC Thomson illustrator in question, who worked for the now defunct People’s Journal, is veteran journalist Fraser Elder.
One of his close friends reached out to the Tele via email, writing that although Fraser is in his early eighties is as “fit as a fiddle and sharp as a tack”.
“He resides in Motherwell and had a varied and extremely interesting journalistic career.”
Daniel Wade, manager of Paul Fraser Collectibles, said: “This is spine-tingling Beatles memorabilia. It’s one of the best Beatles autographs I’ve handled.
“The signatures are huge. The caricature smacks you between the eyes. It’s got photo provenance. And the date – October 1963 – means the band signed this in the midst of Beatlemania: that’s so important for collectors.
“The Beatles only signed 20 of these – far less will have survived. I wonder if any more are lurking in Dundee lofts?”
© DC Thomson
The band’s October 1963 was the first of two dates they played in the City of Discovery and came as Beatlemania was sweeping the nation.
The Dundee gig was the third and final night of a three-date Scottish tour and it was one of the most highly-anticipated, and subsequently most famous, gigs to have graced the Caird Hall.
The band played two 30-minute sets (at 6.15pm and 8.30pm) performing nine hits including Twist and Shout, She Loves You, From Me to You, I Saw Her Standing There and Baby It’s You.
The Beatles stayed the night at The Salutation Hotel in Perth after being smuggled out of the Caird Hall through a coal bunker.
The group played the Caird Hall again a year later and, in between both dates, would appear on The Ed Sullivan Show in America – an historic event which was watched by around 73 million people and helped to usher in the decade’s cultural revolution.
The caricature is being auctioned on www.invaluable.com and bids will be open for another 14 days.
