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Lot Essay
On stage, John Lennon had been almost exclusively associated with the Rickenbacker 325 since he first acquired his legendary 1958 “mapleglo” natural finish 325 during the Beatles' first trip to Hamburg in 1960, painting it gloss black in 1962. The road-weary guitar was only retired when Lennon took delivery of a 1964 “jetglo” black 325 direct from the Rickenbacker factory in California during the band’s first visit to the US in February 1964. When the favored 1964 325 was damaged during one of the first performances in the Beatles’ three-week run at the Hammersmith Odeon in December 1964, British distributor Rose-Morris stepped in to provide Lennon with a replacement Rickenbacker 1996 in “fireglo” red sunburst finish, which he would play for the remainder of the run. According to Andy Babiuk in Beatles Gear, Rose-Morris had commissioned Rickenbacker to make six exclusive models based on their existing line, with slight modifications for the British market. The model 1996 was the British equivalent of the 325, designed with traditional f-holes instead of the typical Rickenbacker slash-shaped soundholes to appeal to the European market.
The February 1965 issue of Beat Instrumental magazine reported the incident: John Lennon has broken the Rickenbacker guitar that was specially made for him and Rose Morris have provided him with a production model – the 1996 – from stock which is very similar to his original, while the broken one is being repaired… He dropped it off stage during the current show at the Hammersmith Odeon and at the time thought little of it. When he took it on stage for the next performance, however, he noticed a slight crack in the neck just below the machine heads and found that it began to go out of tune as he played it. Following the success of The Beatles’ Christmas Show the previous year, manager Brian Epstein had arranged to repeat the festive variety show format with Another Beatles’ Christmas Show at London’s Hammersmith Odeon from 24 December 1964 to 16 January 1965. Lennon played the Rose-Morris Rickenbacker for the remaining Christmas shows through to mid-January 1965, while his Rickenbacker 325 was out for repair. Regular Beatles collaborator Robert Whitaker was on hand to photograph the event and captured several shots of Lennon with this guitar.
Appearing on the bill as lead guitarist of the Yardbirds, Eric Clapton remembered the shows in his 2008 autobiography: At the end of December, we were invited to perform as a support act to the Beatles in their twenty-night series of Christmas shows at the Hammersmith Odeon in London. These were a curious mixture of music, pantomime and comedy in which we shared the support bill with pop groups like Freddie and the Dreamers, solo artists such as Billy J. Kramer and Elkie Brooks, and the R&B band Sounds Incorporated. The Beatles closed each show with a half-hour set of eleven songs, including their recently released eighth single ‘I Feel Fine’. Melody Maker reported that the Beatles could barely be heard over the screams of the crowd, …but what was audible in their closing spot underlined that they are so far ahead of anything else in the pop field… Lennon’s “I’m a Loser,” staunchly in the Bob Dylan manner, was the musical highlight of a programme which took in most of their hits and “Baby’s In Black”; “Everybody’s Tryin’ To Be My Baby” and Ringo’s feature “Honey Don’t” from the new LP.
Rose-Morris cashed in on the unexpected exposure by featuring Lennon in their promotional campaign for the 1996 model, releasing new advertisements with the slogan Rickenbacker: the Beatle backer and adding This is the famous Rickenbacker guitar used by Beatle John Lennon. For a long time now John and his Rickenbacker have been inseparable, so why don’t you try one at your local music shop? After the damage to Lennon’s 1964 325 was repaired, the Rose-Morris Rickenbacker was retired to Lennon’s home studio at Kenwood, as seen in photographs taken by Beatles Book photographer Leslie Bryce during a June 1967 visit for a feature on Lennon’s home, one of which was eventually featured on the cover of the February 1987 issue.
In early September 1968, Lennon gifted the guitar to Ringo Starr after he briefly quit the band during recording sessions for The White Album. Disenchanted by the rising tensions in the group, Ringo temporarily walked out on his bandmates on 22 August 1968 and flew to Sardinia to spend two weeks on Peter Sellers’ yacht, where he was inspired to write the song ‘Octopus’s Garden’, his second solo Beatles composition. I had a rest and the holiday was great, Ringo recalls in The Beatles Anthology. I knew we were all in a messed-up stage. It wasn’t just me; the whole thing was going down. I had definitely left, I couldn’t take it any more… I got a telegram saying, ‘You’re the best rock’n’roll drummer in the world. Come on home, we love you.’ And so I came back. We all needed that little shake-up. When I got back to the studio I found George had had it decked out with flowers – there were flowers everywhere. Soon after Starr returned to the studio on 3 September 1968, Lennon presented him with the Rose-Morris Rickenbacker to further encourage his songwriting. I told them that I had been writing some songs, Starr told Andy Babiuk in 2010, so the next day John came in and gave me his little red Rickenbacker. He thought it would fit me well as it’s a bit smaller and that I should use it to write more songs… it’s one of my prize possessions. Starr held on to the guitar for over 45 years, only parting with it when he auctioned part of his collection to benefit The Lotus Foundation in 2015.
REFERENCES:
The Beatles, The Beatles Anthology, London, 2000.
E. Clapton, Clapton: The Autobiography, London, 2008.
Melody Maker, London, 2 January 1965.
The February 1965 issue of Beat Instrumental magazine reported the incident: John Lennon has broken the Rickenbacker guitar that was specially made for him and Rose Morris have provided him with a production model – the 1996 – from stock which is very similar to his original, while the broken one is being repaired… He dropped it off stage during the current show at the Hammersmith Odeon and at the time thought little of it. When he took it on stage for the next performance, however, he noticed a slight crack in the neck just below the machine heads and found that it began to go out of tune as he played it. Following the success of The Beatles’ Christmas Show the previous year, manager Brian Epstein had arranged to repeat the festive variety show format with Another Beatles’ Christmas Show at London’s Hammersmith Odeon from 24 December 1964 to 16 January 1965. Lennon played the Rose-Morris Rickenbacker for the remaining Christmas shows through to mid-January 1965, while his Rickenbacker 325 was out for repair. Regular Beatles collaborator Robert Whitaker was on hand to photograph the event and captured several shots of Lennon with this guitar.
Appearing on the bill as lead guitarist of the Yardbirds, Eric Clapton remembered the shows in his 2008 autobiography: At the end of December, we were invited to perform as a support act to the Beatles in their twenty-night series of Christmas shows at the Hammersmith Odeon in London. These were a curious mixture of music, pantomime and comedy in which we shared the support bill with pop groups like Freddie and the Dreamers, solo artists such as Billy J. Kramer and Elkie Brooks, and the R&B band Sounds Incorporated. The Beatles closed each show with a half-hour set of eleven songs, including their recently released eighth single ‘I Feel Fine’. Melody Maker reported that the Beatles could barely be heard over the screams of the crowd, …but what was audible in their closing spot underlined that they are so far ahead of anything else in the pop field… Lennon’s “I’m a Loser,” staunchly in the Bob Dylan manner, was the musical highlight of a programme which took in most of their hits and “Baby’s In Black”; “Everybody’s Tryin’ To Be My Baby” and Ringo’s feature “Honey Don’t” from the new LP.
Rose-Morris cashed in on the unexpected exposure by featuring Lennon in their promotional campaign for the 1996 model, releasing new advertisements with the slogan Rickenbacker: the Beatle backer and adding This is the famous Rickenbacker guitar used by Beatle John Lennon. For a long time now John and his Rickenbacker have been inseparable, so why don’t you try one at your local music shop? After the damage to Lennon’s 1964 325 was repaired, the Rose-Morris Rickenbacker was retired to Lennon’s home studio at Kenwood, as seen in photographs taken by Beatles Book photographer Leslie Bryce during a June 1967 visit for a feature on Lennon’s home, one of which was eventually featured on the cover of the February 1987 issue.
In early September 1968, Lennon gifted the guitar to Ringo Starr after he briefly quit the band during recording sessions for The White Album. Disenchanted by the rising tensions in the group, Ringo temporarily walked out on his bandmates on 22 August 1968 and flew to Sardinia to spend two weeks on Peter Sellers’ yacht, where he was inspired to write the song ‘Octopus’s Garden’, his second solo Beatles composition. I had a rest and the holiday was great, Ringo recalls in The Beatles Anthology. I knew we were all in a messed-up stage. It wasn’t just me; the whole thing was going down. I had definitely left, I couldn’t take it any more… I got a telegram saying, ‘You’re the best rock’n’roll drummer in the world. Come on home, we love you.’ And so I came back. We all needed that little shake-up. When I got back to the studio I found George had had it decked out with flowers – there were flowers everywhere. Soon after Starr returned to the studio on 3 September 1968, Lennon presented him with the Rose-Morris Rickenbacker to further encourage his songwriting. I told them that I had been writing some songs, Starr told Andy Babiuk in 2010, so the next day John came in and gave me his little red Rickenbacker. He thought it would fit me well as it’s a bit smaller and that I should use it to write more songs… it’s one of my prize possessions. Starr held on to the guitar for over 45 years, only parting with it when he auctioned part of his collection to benefit The Lotus Foundation in 2015.
REFERENCES:
The Beatles, The Beatles Anthology, London, 2000.
E. Clapton, Clapton: The Autobiography, London, 2008.
Melody Maker, London, 2 January 1965.