Owner of NFL's Indianapolis Colts pays $2.2million for Ringo Starr's three-piece drum kit
A drum kit Ringo Starr used to record some of the Beatles' early hits sold for $2.2million at a Friday auction in Beverly Hills, California, to Jim Irsay, the owner of NFL team the Indianapolis Colts. Julien's Auctions said Irsay bought the three-piece 1963 Ludwig Oyster Black Pearl kit during a two-day auction involving more than 800 items owned by Starr, 75, and his wife, actress Barbara Bach. Starr used the kit in more than 200 performances between May 1963 and February 1964.
He also played the kit on iconic recordings including Can't Buy Me Love, She Loves You, All My Loving and I Want to Hold Your Hand. The auction, which includes items like instruments and career memorabilia, concludes Saturday.
Also for sale is a guitar used by John Lennon, which the late Beatle gave to Starr. '[We] thought... we've got lots of furniture, we've got lots of cutlery... and I thought let's make it really crazy and special... like John's guitar,' Starr said at a party on Tuesday night ahead of the auction. He added: 'It's been played twice.' A portion of the proceeds will benefit the couple's Lotus Children Foundation, which focuses on global social welfare issues. Last month, Julien's Auctions sold a drum head from a kit Starr played on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964 for $2.1million
Source: Daily Mail
