Beatles interview sells in auction

Associated Press

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. — A six-minute recording of a Beatles interview — bought for $5 at a flea market — sold for $10,400 at an online auction.

A U.S. man identified only as "an avid record and music memorabilia collector" since the 1970s had the winning bid, Dave Gioia, spokesman for Collector's Universe of Newport Beach, said Thursday.

"This particular item is by far the rarest item I have ever been lucky enough to purchase," the winner said in a Thursday e-mail to the company. "I am lucky, to say the least."

The three-week auction that ended Wednesday night netted about 30 bids from as far away as Australia and the United Kingdom, Gioia said.

The price, which includes a 15 percent buyer's fee, was very good for the apparently one-of-a-kind item, Gioia said.

The seller, a Los Angeles collector who bought it earlier this year, also remained anonymous.

The recording, made by Capitol Records, features phone interviews from March 11, 1964, with all four Beatles, along with Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys and surf guitarist Dick Dale, Gioia said.

During the interview, the Beatles discussed the filming of their upcoming movie "A Hard Day's Night." Wilson detailed the reasons he liked the group's music, and Dale commented on the Beatles' haircuts.

The winning bidder especially likes the Beach Boys, and "that's what prompted his desire to buy this thing," Gioia said.