A lock of John Lennon’s hair that was snipped from the Beatle’s head by a German barber half a century ago has fetched $35,000 (£25,000) at an auction in the US.
The 10cm (4in) lock was trimmed by Klaus Baruck in Hamburg just before Lennon was about to star in the black comedy film How I Won the War in 1966.
The successful bidder was named as Paul Fraser, a British-based collector of Beatles memorabilia, who paid three times the expected price.
Lennon’s haircut came about a month after the band had released its Revolver album and just before Lennon’s turn as Private Gripweed in the Richard Lester comedy about an inept second world war platoon.
“This is the largest lock of John Lennon’s hair ever offered at auction and this world record price is a lasting testament to the world’s more than 50-year love affair and fascination with Lennon and the Beatles,” Garry Shrum, of Heritage Auctions in Dallas, told the BBC.
He said the lock came from “a very important time in his career” and was “a good size with quite a lot of strands”.
A signed head-and-shoulders portrait, taken before the haircut, was sold for $2,125. Other items auctioned included a signed photograph of the Beatles that fetched $42,500 and an unused ticket for the band’s first US concert in Washington DC in 1964, which fetched $30,000.
