A 1970 Honda 160Z Monkey Bike owned by John Lennon and Ringo Starr fetched more than 5 times its estimate to realise £36,000 at Bonhams Entertainment Memorabilia sale at Bonhams in Knightsbridge today - Wednesday 18 June 2008.
The bike was bought by John Lennon as a fun way of getting around the many acres of his home of Tittenhurst Park and was amongst items inherited by the new owner, Ringo Starr. After John and Yoko moved to New York. Ringo employed the vendor, a landscape gardener, to undertake various projects on the estate over a number of years. In 1986, Ringo asked the vendor to provide help in moving from Tittenhurst to a smaller property nearby. During the move, the monkey bike was uncovered in one of the garages and, as a gesture of thanks for his help, Ringo gave the bike to the vendor.
The vendor put the machine back into working order and replaced the smashed front headlamp. The registration plate was also replaced. The bike is a 50 CC, with mileometer reading 3690 miles.
A beautiful Steinway Grand piano that Elton John played for many rehearsals and celebrity singalongs at his Windsor home sold for £42,000 in the Knightsbridge saleroom. Kiki Dee, Take That and the late Paula Yates were among the many stars who sang along to it.
The piano measures 8ft 11in, is made in a burr maple wood finish with simulated crossbanding. The piano was completed in Hamburg September 27th, 1971 and shipped to Steinway & Sons in London where it was purchased by Elton John to be housed at his Woodside residence in Windsor.
George Formby's original Abbott 'Monarch' banjolele, or 'Little Strad' as Formby referred to it, played extensively by the entertainer for both concert and studio work including the recording of his most famous song, 'When I'm Cleaning Windows' sold for more than 3 times its estimate to realise £72,000. It sold in the room to a UK private buyer. This particular banjolele , is believed to have been George Formby's favourite instrument.
Formby's gold plated Dallas E banjolele which was used by the entertainer during his live performances fetched £21,600. In June 1961, this particular instrument was purchased by George's brother, Frank Formby during an auction. After approximately ten years it was sold to Bill Logan, President of the George Formby Society and then subsequently sold to Stan Evans, editor of the Society's magazine, 'The Vellum', on behalf of former-Beatle George Harrison.
At a concert in Digswell, Welwyn Garden City, George Harrison met Jeffrey Formby, George Formby's nephew. George Harrison offered to return the instrument to the family as a gift although Jeffrey preferred to purchase it. A copy of a letter from George Harrison to Jeffrey, dated 1991, is included with the lot.
An original Captain Paul Travers puppet head from Thunderbirds Are GO! Modelled after Sean Connery, from the collection of Terry Curtis, fetched £10,800 while Captain Scarlet And The Mysterons: an original Captain Blue puppet head and hands, painted composition fetched £9,000. This puppet is also from the collection of Terry Curtis.
Terry Curtis was responsible for the sculpting of Captain Blue during the Captain Scarlet series and also created Cohre, Grey and Destiny Angel, characters from 'Thunderbird 6', Joe 90 and The Secret Service. This model is the only original version of the puppet to have 'false teeth'.
For more information, please contact Michelle Gonsalves on 020 7468 8340 or Press@bonhams.com
Bonhams, founded in 1793, is one of the world's oldest and largest auctioneers of fine art and antiques. The present company was formed by the merger in November 2001 of Bonhams & Brooks and Phillips Son and Neale UK. In August 2002, the company acquired Butterfields, the principal firm of auctioneers on the West Coast of America and in August 2003, Goodmans, a leading Australian fine art and antiques auctioneer with salerooms in Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide, joined the Bonhams Group of Companies. Today, Bonhams offers more sales than any of its rivals, through two major salerooms in London: New Bond Street, and Knightsbridge, and a further seven throughout the UK. Sales are also held in San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York and Boston in the USA; and Australia, Canada, Dubai, France, Hong Kong, Monaco and Switzerland . Bonhams has a worldwide network of offices and regional representatives in 25 countries offering sales advice and valuation services in 57 specialist areas. For a full listing of upcoming sales, plus details of Bonhams specialist departments, go to www.bonhams.com. (May 2008)
