Baby, you can drive my car – with George Harrison’s plate
A NUMBER plate once belonging to George Harrison that was sold in return for free haircuts in Leeds and a letter complaining about being pelted with sweets by fans could make thousands of pounds at auction.
The number plate KMT 499C was removed from an Aston Martin DB5 once owned by the late Beatle.
The car itself went under the hammer in 2011 for a staggering £350,000 to an anonymous fan from Houston, Texas.
It is part of a “treasure trove” of rare Harrison memorabilia being sold by Wiltshire-based auctioneers Gardiner Houlgate in June.
The number plate is believed to have been one of two removed by a mechanic at Arnold G. Wilson Limited’s Regent Street dealership in Leeds in the early 1970s in exchange for new reflective plates.
The rear plate remained at the dealership until a member of staff sold it to a local barber in return for free haircuts for life. It was then sold to the collector.
The front plate is known to have hung on the wall of an famous Leeds pub, the Cherry Tree, for many years, until it was knocked down.
Also included is a letter from Harrison to a fan written on the day that the Beatles’ fourth single She Loves You was released in 1963.
Drafted on notepaper from the Palace Hotel, Bournemouth, the letter reveals that Harrison sings the wrong words on the single’s Bside I’ll Get You.
Harrison also explains that the group were annoyed at being pelted with Jelly Babies sweets while performing live and that drummer Ringo Starr was too scared to sing on stage, even though Harrison and Paul McCartney offered to play the drums for him.
Auctioneer Luke Hobbs said they were expecting strong international interest, particularly from America. The plate could make four figures and the letter from £10,000 to £20,000.
In September, Harrison’s Maton Master Sound MS-500 guitar sold for £347,000.