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A magical history tour for the Beatles
 | | Howard Cohen with the rare signed poster of John Lennon and Yoko Ono. Picture by Mark Hakansson |
Andy Tristem
THE spirit of the Fab Four and 1960s rock'n'roll is being conjured up with a new museum of rare Beatles memorabilia.
Howard Cohen, owner of the London Beatles store in Baker Street, is creating a priceless collection of posters, photographs and paraphernalia for fans and collectors.
Among the items on show will be sketches by fifth Beatle Stuart Sutcliffe - who died of a brain haemorrhage in 1962 - and a rare John Lennon and Yoko Ono poster banned after a row about the label.
Mr Cohen is planning to open the museum in a basement next to the store in early April.
He said: "For many people, the store is more of a Beatles' experience - a travel through time - than a shop.
"We have had this shop for five years and have always been asked where a Beatles' museum is and until now have had to refer people to the one in Liverpool."
The museum will complement the quirky nature of the road, which has an Elvis store and a Sherlock Homes museum, Mr Cohen said.
He added: "We are going to have everything from original 1960s plastic paraphernalia to original drawings from the Yellow Submarine.
"We will also show the last sketch book of Stuart Sutcliffe.
"And there will be an incredibly rare signed poster of John Lennon and Yoko Ono in a bed in Amsterdam. It was originally withdrawn after an argument with Apple Computers about the Apple Record label."
A prominent Beatles' collector has also agreed to add his artefacts to the collection but wishes to remain anonymous.
Mr Cohen added: "We hope that, when the word gets around, some of the old Beatles' photographers will ask to exhibit their work at the museum."
Mr Cohen's business partner Meg Maloney is contributing her world-renowned Yellow Submarine collection to bolster the number of artefacts.
Mr Cohen added: "We will charge a pound so that the normal fans can come and see it. It's really about responding to public demand although the serious collectors will be able to buy some - but not all - of the exhibits."
andy.tristem@hamhigh.co.uk
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