MEMORIES of a Beatles concert in Worcestershire will come flooding back as a dancing club membership card signed by the Fab Four goes under the hammer this month.
The 1962-63 card for the Riverside Dancing Club, at Tenbury Wells' Bridge Hotel, is autographed by all four Beatles and is a rare souvenir of their historic visit to the town.
It is believed the 3ins by 4ins card was signed by the band when they performed there on April 15 1963, before they became world-famous rock stars.
And now it is expected to fetch about £2,500 when it is auctioned at Bonhams in London on Wednesday, April 27.
The Beatles' gig in the town came three days after the release of their third single From Me To You and their first album Please, Please Me - the former going on to become their first number one record, remaining at the top slot for seven weeks.
They had already had a top 20 hit with Love Me Do in autumn 1962 but few could have imagined at the time of their concert in Tenbury what a huge worldwide musical phenomenon they would go on to become.
However, in retrospect, it was considered a terrific coup for the town and one of the greatest moments in its history, with former resident Andrew Lowe writing a book on it.
And Stephen Maycock, specialist in Beatles' memorabilia at Bonhams said the membership card was quite an unusual item to see signed.
"It's a very small venue there, they only played it once and only a couple of hundred people saw them that night, so it was a low-key affair before they became massively famous," he said.
"To see something from a venue they appeared at signed is far more interesting than a blank piece of paper with their signatures on it."
What do you think about the rapidly rising value of pop memorabilia? Write to Letters, Worcester News, Hylton Road, Worcester WR2 5JX.
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