|
The Beatles may not have been the perfect antidote for the nation’s
depression following the assassination of JFK, but the music and
mayhem produced by the mop-topped quartet from Liverpool certainly
brightened everyone’s sprits. That day in 1964, my life was
changed, and that was the beginning. From that moment on, I was
totally hooked. I wanted anything I could get my hands on that had
to do with the Beatles that my allowance would let me.
In the mid-to-late 1960’s, millions of kids
harbored that same desire – to acquire anything that bore the
images of John, Paul, George and Ringo. But there was something
unique about the way I collected.
 It
was as if I was born with a passion and an understanding for collecting
… there was never a time that I wasn’t a collector. When
I was very young, things like the offerings on the back of cereal
boxes always visually intrigued me. Like every kid, I collected
baseball cards, but I always seemed to have a better understanding
than my friends of what something was worth. Knowing what to collect
was in my blood. I even saved all of the wrappers from the cards
including the Beatles. It was just a gut feeling that I always had.
By the late 1970’s, I amassed an impressive collection of items
pertaining to the Beatles, other rock ’n’ roll groups
and various icons of the day. As the 1980s dawned, I began to really
get serious.
In the early 80’s pop culture-oriented memorabilia
and collectibles were just beginning to generate interest, but the
serious boom in collecting wouldn’t hit for a while. I bought
my first set of Beatles autographs at that time for around $850.
Today a set like that can go for $6000 and up.
My passion of collecting and The Beatles are
several things I had in common with my wife Mary. Being collectors,
we often travel to memorabilia conventions together. She has a massive
45 record collection, which includes the Beatles … of course!
The first set of Beatles signatures got me passionately
hooked on autograph collecting. It also served as the springboard
for what would become a quixotic search for other items signed by
the Liverpudlian lads, as well as autographs of Elvis Presley, Jimi
Hendrix, Jim Morrison, Elton John, Marilyn Monroe, James Dean, Frank
Sinatra and other 20th century icons.
 Unfortunately
I never got to meet John Lennon or George Harrison, and as of yet
haven’t had the chance to meet Paul, but I was fortunate enough
to write George and Paul and received their autographs thru the
mail. I never wrote John, but should have as he was signing thru
the mail in the 1970’s thru 1980. I did get to meet Ringo twice
and got his autograph on both occasions.
My first encounter with the Beatles’ drummer
came during one of Ringo’s early tours with his All-Starr Band.
I had been tipped off through a guy I knew at a travel agency that
Ringo was coming into O’Hare Airport. He gave me the flight
number and I made the trip to Chicago to be there when the plane
landed.
When Ringo emerged from the jet way, I made my
approach. When I asked him to sign, Ringo said, ‘Not now.’
As soon as he said that I had this overwhelming feeling of being
extremely dejected. Ringo must have noticed how hurt I was by the
look on my face because he immediately said, ‘Walk with me.’
I couldn’t believe my ears! True Story! I walked right beside
him through the airport and when we got to his van he turned to
me and said, ‘OK, now, what do you want me to sign?’ That
was a great memory!
In 1995, at another All-Starr Band tour, I heard
that Ringo and the band were doing a sound check. When I went to
check it out, I saw that there were fans waiting for him by the
stage door. So I returned to my car to get something for Ringo to
sign. As I was making my way back to the stage door a van slowly
passed me, and when I looked up I made eye contact with its passenger
– Ringo himself! He signed 3 things and one was mine. The cool
thing is that someone video taped it and was kind enough to send
me a copy. That was just unbelievable – that I was in the perfect
spot at just the right time.
While I have a degree in architectural engineering
and worked in the field for over 20 years, that type of work never
brought me the joy and satisfaction I found in collecting ... especially
the Beatles. I am a fan and a collector – first and foremost.
But yes, I have sold things over the years, usually to make money
to buy more things. And now, I’m at a place in my life where
I’ve been successful at what I do. I’m at a point where
I want to share my experiences and educate collectors to the best
of my ability. I recently did an Autograph Study on the Beatles
for that reason. I will also be selling part of my collection thru
Beatle Brunch Classifieds.
Visit
Tom's Website
|
