A letter written by John Lennon's revered Aunt Mimi Smith to a Beatles fan in 1964 has sold at auction for the relatively small price of £250 ($388), the BBC reported Saturday.
The letter, written in 1964 to Susan Mottram of Newcastle, Staffordshire, was sold to an anonymous phone bidder. In the letter, Aunt Mimi said John Lennon "certainly has always had a great sense of humour, but he's really nice, always has been."
Smith helped raise Lennon starting when he was five years old. She's known for the now immortal words to Lennon that "a guitar's all right as a hobby, but you'll never make a living out of it." Lennon later had the words put on a plaque which he gave to her.
Unguarded moments: An unseen set of black-and-white photos of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones will be exhibited next week in Liverpool, Dawson's Music Shop announced Saturday. The photos, taken in 1963 and 1965 at the Ritz Theatre in Huddersfield by Trevor Bray, have never been published or even publicly displayed before, Dawson's says.
Bray caught the two groups in decidedly unguarded moments. The Stones were so irreverent that they are seen flipping off the camera. The photos are now the property of Helen Bray, the photographer's daughter who has carried on the family tradition and is now a photographer herself.
Admission is free. The exhibition is to mark the recent opening of the new Dawsons store on what would have been the 70th birthday of George Harrison. The store is encouraging donations to the Linda McCartney Cancer Centre. Prints will be available for purchase with a percentage of the proceeds also going to the Linda McCartney Centre.
BBC unearths vintage McCartney: A 2-CD set of Paul McCartney interviews from the BBC archives that's been available in the UK for a while will finally make its way to the U.S. April 9. Called “In His Own Words” by Paul McCartney, it's available from Amazon.com and from Amazon.co.uk. The set features audio interviews from the years 1968 to 2009, the BBC says. “Paul McCartney talks about touring the UK with Wings (which was then a new band); a mid-70s offer to re-form the Beatles; the early days of the Beatles, and their final break-up. He also discusses his solo albums; receiving the freedom of the City of Liverpool; Christmas with his family; his love of music, and his career since the break-up of the Beatles up to 2009.”
Harrison tribute in Hollywood: A tribute to George Harrison's 70th birthday will take place at 6 p.m. Feb. 25 at George Harrison's Hollywood Walk of Fame Star in front of the Capitol Records tower, 1750 N. Vine St., Los Angeles. The event will include a special birthday cake ceremony led by Chris Carter, host of "Breakfast With the Beatles."
Beating Bieber: Author Judith Furedi says her book, "A Lennon Pastiche," is in the Top 4 of new releases at the Apple iBookStore and is beating out Justin Beiber's "Believe." "Proof there is order and balance in the Universe!," she says.
Late addition: Rusty Anderson from Paul McCartney's band has joined the group involved in performing two Beatles albums, "Rubber Soul" and "Sgt. Pepper," tonight in Hollywood as a benefit for the Autism Think Tank. "Breakfast With the Beatles" host Chris Carter is the emcee.
A look inside: Don't miss our interview with Henry Grossman, who photographed the Beatles more than any other photographer, along with a great look at some of his photos from his stunning new book.
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