A mixing console used by The Beatles to record their last album Abbey Road went under the hammer today (December 14) for a "seven figure sum," but failed to reach its guide price.
Prints of the iconic image used for the album cover, and a psychedelic sign which used to hang in the reception area of the St John's Wood recording studios, were also up for auction at Bonhams' special 'Sound of the Beatles' sale.
The 'Abbey Road Console' was specially developed by EMI, who owned the now iconic studios where the album was recorded and mixed in 1969.
The distinctive sound of tracks such as Come Together, Here Comes The Sun, Maxwell's Silver Hammer, and Octopus's Garden are indebted to the technical innovations of the 1968 solid-state transistorised desk.
Installed in Abbey Road's famous Studio 2, it went on to be used by each of the Fab Four on their solo projects; John Lennon's Plastic Ono Band, George Harrison's All Things Must Pass, tracks from Paul McCartney’s self-titled album, and Ringo's Sentimental Journey.
But after just three years of use, it was superseded by the MK II console and dismantled, with parts donated to a North London school, which later discarded them when they were no longer needed.
They were recovered by a tape machine maintenance engineer, and the current owner has painstakingly reunited the surviving original parts and professionally restored the console to full working order.
The sale at Bonhams in Knightsbridge also included a psychedelic Abbey Road illuminated sign (guide price £8,000-£12,000) which was originally used as a small table in the studios' reception area, then hung behind the reception desk in the early 1970s.
Two prints of the image taken for the iconic Abbey Road album cover depicting The Beatles walking over the now much-visited zebra crossing, were also up for sale for an estimated £18,000 to 20,000.
Photographer Iain Macmillan met John Lennon and Yoko Ono at the Indica Gallery in 1966 and The Beatle later invited him to photograph the band for the cover of their final album.
Armed with a sketch that Paul McCartney had given him a couple of days earlier, he knew he didn't have long to get the right shot. On 8th August 1969, at around 11:30 am, a hired policeman stopped the traffic at the zebra crossing just outside the studios.
Macmillan climbed up a large stepladder in the middle of Abbey Road and took just six pictures of the Beatles crossing the street. In 10 minutes he shot the band in various directions, but it was frame No.5 that was used for album cover - the only photo where all four are walking in perfect formation.
Claire Tole-Moir, Head of Bonhams Popular Culture department said the album became so famous that EMI Studios renamed itself Abbey Road.
“Abbey Road was unlike any of the Beatles’ previous albums," she said.
"This TG console allowed the Beatles to realise their creative ambitions for what would be their final album recorded together. Since its release, ‘Abbey Road’ has sold over 19 million copies, and is considered one of the most important albums of the 20th Century.
"The album’s name and instantly recognisable cover has made it synonymous with the studios at which it was recorded. The commercial success and cultural impact were such that EMI Studios even rebranded as Abbey Road Studios, reinforcing their status at the forefront of the recording industry."
"This console is an incredibly important piece of Beatles history, and of music history overall.”
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