This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 9/23/2023
Ringo Starr’s custom-tailored red and white polka dot shirt virtually identical to the one he wore on the cover of The Beatles twelfth and final studio album ‘Let It Be’. The Let It Be album cover featured iconic portraits of each of the four Beatles, as taken by photographer Ethan A. Russell, during the January 1969 Let It Be rehearsals and recording sessions at Twickenham Film Studios. There are numerous documented images of Ringo wearing the red polka dot shirt, while performing behind the drum kit, during these legendary sessions. In addition, there are many other documented images of Ringo wearing the shirt from mid-1968 to early 1969. For example, Ringo can also be seen wearing a virtually identical red and white polka dot shirt at the private screening for the press of The Beatles film ‘Yellow Submarine’ which took place at Bowater House Cinema, Knightsbridge, London, England on 8th July 1968. It is clear that this garment was heavily favored by Ringo during this momentous period which perhaps explains why he had more than one made.
Although " Let It Be was recorded in January 1969, the album would not be released to the general public until 8 May 1970. The album was released in tandem with the motion picture of the same name – culminating with the famous ‘rooftop performance.’ Indeed, Let It Be, with its famous title track, represents the final chapter in The Beatles historic career. In November 2021, to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Let It Be, the surviving Beatles, in conjunction with director and producer Peter Jackson, released ‘The Beatles: Get Back’, the critically-acclaimed multi-part documentary series covering the making of the Beatles' 1970 album Let It Be – which had the working title of Get Back – drawing largely from unused footage and audio material originally captured for the 1970 documentary of the album by Michael Lindsay-Hogg.
The shirt was given to an employee of Ringo’s named Alan Herring when Ringo was preparing for a house move in summer 1968. As a former employee of both Ringo Starr and George Harrison, Alan was part of the band’s inner circle from 1967 until the band’s disintegration in late 1969. Along with a small number of other trusted intimates, most, like The Beatles themselves, young working-class men, he lived alongside the band members and shared their extraordinary daily lives. Herring first came to work as a landscape contractor for George Harrison, but George took a liking to “Alan Herringbone” (as he called him) and soon took him on as a chauffeur – the two men shared a love of fast cars – and personal assistant. When George went to India in February 1968 it wasn’t clear when, if ever, he would return, so the Beatles’ office suggested Alan interview to work for Ringo. He met Ringo at Sunny Heights, the Starkey family’s home in Weybridge, one Friday and started work for him the next Monday. He remained working for Ringo until November 1969. The shirt is accompanied by a letter of provenance from Mr. Herring.
Band Member apparel belonging to any of The Beatles is highly coveted, and this – Ringo’s iconic red polka dot shirt – represents an extraordinary, one-of-a-kind, museum-quality artifact.
Authentication: Mr. Herring Letter of Provenance and a Gotta Have Rock and Roll Certificate of Authenticity.