Lichfield auction of Beatles and Rolling Stones autographs collected by fan whose arm was signed by John, Paul, George and Ringo

Sale date Monday 2nd February

IT was not so much a case of ‘I wanna hold your hand’ as ‘can you write on my arm’ when a Portsmouth teenager met her idols The Beatles.

Elizabeth Salt – or Liz McBrierty, as she was then – encountered John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr after a gig in 1963.

Fortunately for Beatle-obsessed Elizabeth, the occasion was also marked by all four signatures in her autograph book, augmented by George’s broken guitar string.

It was one of many times the teenager encountered the group as Beatlemania swept the UK and her autograph book, also stuffed with signatures of other stars including the Rolling Stones, Cliff Richard, Adam Faith, Del Shannon, Bobby Vee and Billy Fury, is a celebration of one the most exciting periods for pop culture in British history.

Now her album will go under the hammer with Richard Winterton Auctioneers on Monday, February 2, at The Lichfield Auction Centre.

“I remember going with my friend who bought Love Me Do in late 1962,” said Elizabeth, now 79, from Lichfield.

“That was when it started – we just got obsessed with them.”

The Beatles played the Savoy Ballroom in Southsea, Portsmouth, on Sunday, April 7, 1963 – a date Elizabeth and her friends were not going to miss.

“We were sat around the stage when George Harrison broke his guitar string and I picked it up,” she said.

“Afterwards they went into a room and we all just piled in. That’s when I got their autographs on my left arm – I just held it out asking them to sign and they did!

“I was still at school and wanted to show all my friends the next day but when I got home my dad said ‘you’ll get blood poisoning!’ and made me wash it straight off. I was heartbroken!”

Fortunately, the fanatical teen still had the autographs signed in her book – and George’s snapped string.

Elizabeth, then of North End, Portsmouth, and her friends had already seen the group at the Guildhall in Portsmouth on March 30 1963 and continued to go to as many shows as they could all along the south coast including Brighton, Bournemouth and Southampton.

Another encounter came through The Beatles’ Fan Club at an event in London before an evening concert.

“We went up to London for the fan club meet-and-greet,” said Elizabeth.

“It was quite weird, I can remember that John Lennon’s teeth were absolutely lovely!

“But you weren’t allowed to linger. They all shook our hands and we were moved along.”

Only one of the friends, Anne, went on to the evening concert.

Another memory is of queuing up overnight for another concert at Portsmouth Guildhall when Elizabeth’s cousin Mary agreed to save the girls’ place in the queue so the others could watch The Beatles’ TV appearance on Sunday Night At The London Palladium.

Elizabeth also has a copy of a cutting from the Portsmouth Evening News where the writer describes meeting her and four friends who had spent ‘three nights sleeping on the pavements, with transistors and a blanket each, to buy tickets for both performances – much to the dismay and disapproval of their parents’.

Elizabeth, or Liz, described as being still at school, claimed to have ‘a thousand pictures of The Beatles’.

Now a grandmother-of-four, Elizabeth remains a huge Beatles fan and sentimentally points to the group’s first LP, Please Please Me, as her favourite.

She stayed in Portsmouth until the 1980s, eventually moving to Lichfield to be closer to her two daughters, and has been married to second husband Peter for 27 years in March.

Before retirement, Elizabeth worked as a legal secretary specialising in conveyancing, as did her friend Barbara – who also features in the Portsmouth Evening News article as ‘Babs’.

The pair are still in touch.

Elizabeth’s album also contains a further George Harrison signature and those of Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney again on another separate page.

In addition, there is a complete set of the Rolling Stones’ signatures including Brian Jones, obtained when Elizabeth went to see the band at the Savoy Ballroom in Portsmouth.

Other 1960s stars in the book include a Cliff Richard signed photo and separate autograph, Adam Faith, Del Shannon, Bobby Vee, Tony Orlando, Dion, Billy Fury, Marty Wilde, Mark Wynter, Eden Kane, Shane Fenton – later reborn as Alvin Stardust.

Rob French, ephemera valuer at Richard Winterton Auctioneers, said: “This is one of the finest 1960s autograph books I’ve have the pleasure of cataloguing.

“What makes this book so special is the fact that it contains the signatures of all The Beatles and the Rolling Stones plus more from some of the biggest names in pop music from the 1960s.

“It is a wonderful document celebrating Elizabeth’s experience of one of the most exciting periods for pop culture in British history.”

Estimated at £3,000 to £4,000, the autograph album goes under the hammer at The Lichfield Auction Centre, Wood End Lane, Fradley Park, in Richard Winterton Auctioneers’ Antique & Home Sale on Monday, February 2, starting at 9am.

Viewing in person takes place on Friday, January 30, between 10am and 4pm.

The catalogue goes live a week beforehand and can be viewed via our Auction Calendar.

For more information, to arrange a free valuation of autographs, posters and all other types of ephemera and memorabilia, or to enquire about a home visit for large collections or house clearances, email office@richardwinterton.co.uk or call 01543 251081.

Rob French will also be offering free, drop-in valuations of autographs and ephemera at The Auction Café in Market Street, Lichfield, from 9.30am to 12.30pm on Wednesday, February 4.