The Beatles and John Lennon NFT auction: Memorabilia including clothes and Paul McCartney Hey Jude notes to go digitally under the hammer

A treasure trove of Beatles memorabilia, including handwritten song notes by Paul McCartney and clothes worn by John Lennon, is set to feature in a new auction – although the physical items won’t exchange hands.

Lennon’s son, Julian Lennon, is selling the pieces as non-fungible tokens (NFTs) as part of Lennon Connection: The NFT Collection.

An NFT is a unique digital identifier that records ownership of a digital asset, and any digital creation – including a picture, a video, a piece of music or even a tweet – can become one. The word entered the mainstream in 2021 as in some cases millions was spent on the most sought-after images and videos.

What is an NFT? And why are some digital artworks selling for millions?

The Beatles NFTs are being auctioned as audio-visual collectibles that will include narration from Julian Lennon and images of the items.

His digital auction also includes several guitars gifted by his father, as well as Lennon’s Magical Mystery Afghan coat and the black cape he wore in the film Help!

Notes for Hey Jude written by McCartney are also part of the collection.

“Through this NFT collection, I’m able to grant exclusive access to special items that I cherish and carry on the legacy of my father in a new way,” Julian Lennon told Rolling Stone. He will keep the original items, according to the US music publication.

The digital items are going under the hammer in partnership with Julien’s auction house and Yellow Heart NFT.

“Items featured include the notes for one of the greatest songs of all time, The Beatles 1968 masterpiece, Hey Jude, handwritten and illustrated by Paul McCartney,” a statement on the Julien’s website said. “The song itself was written by McCartney as a way to help comfort Julian during the divorce of his parents.”

Bidding for the Hey Jude notes NFT starts at $30,000 (about £22,000), while the guitars start at $4,000 (about £3,000).

Part of the proceeds will go to Julian Lennon’s White Feather Foundation, set up in 2007 to address environmental and humanitarian issues.