A series of five autographed love letters written by Ringo Starr, member of the legendary British band the Beatles, which include a reference to his early days of joining the Beatles, have sold at an auction for $26,000, according to IANS.
The English musician wrote the notes to a girlfriend named Doreen Speight in the 1960’s, when he was in his early 20s. Doreen met the future Beatles drummer at a Butlin’s holiday camp in North Wales, Britain, when she was 16. This was before Ringo had officially joined he Beatles and was a drummer in popular Liverpool band Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. In one of the notes, Starr shares some exciting news with Speight after he was invited to join the band, writing: “I got a call asking would I join the Beatles. I said yes. I am doing very well with the new group.”
In his letters, Ringo mentioned leaving Rory Storm and the Hurricanes, and that he had a new record out with the Beatles. He also expressed hope that she had heard the new track, because it was on Radio Luxembourg every night, and urged her not to forget to buy it.
According to Mirror Online, Doreen rediscovered the letters from inside a drawer. They were sold in Bonhams auction house in London to an anonymous US collector. Speight says of the letters: “He was Richard Starkey (Starr’s real name) then and we spent the whole week together, having beach parties. Ringo would hold my hand. He was a real gentleman.”
Published in The Express Tribune, June 28th, 2014.
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