LOS ANGELES, CA.- Julien’s Auctions has announced two important and historic pieces from the early career defining eras of the Beatles and Madonna will be the world-record breaking auction house to the stars’ marquee headliners of their premiere music auction event Music Icons, taking place Friday, May 20th, Saturday, May 21st, and Sunday, May 22nd 2022 live at Hard Rock Cafe® New York and online at juliensauctions.com.

The original drum kit used in the Quarry Men, the pre-Beatles group formed by John Lennon and Madonna’s iconic “Material Girl” pink gown ensemble, will headline a lineup featuring over 1,000 spectacular collectibles and memorabilia owned and used by some of the world’s most influential and music artists of our time will be offered.

Formed by John Lennon in Liverpool, England in 1956, the Quarry Men (also known as The Quarrymen) was the legendary British skiffle rock and roll group, whom with later joining members Paul McCartney and George Harrison, would famously evolve into the greatest rock and roll band of all time, the Beatles. Heading to the auction for the first time is a John Grey and Sons Ltd. white finish “Broadway” drum kit purchased from Frank Hessy’s famed music store in Liverpool in the autumn of 1956 by Colin Hanton, the drummer of The Quarry Men from 1956 until 1959 who was part of the group throughout its most important line-up changes - including the joining of Paul McCartney in July of 1957 and the joining of George Harrison in March of 1958.

Hanton played this same drum kit on the very first professional recording of the pre-Beatles group, which took place on July 12th, 1958 at the Liverpool studio of Percy Phillips, where John, Paul, George, and Colin (along with John Lowe on piano) recorded an original track written by McCartney and Harrison called “In Spite of All the Danger,” as well as a cover of the hit Buddy Holly song, “That’ll Be the Day” - both of these seminal recordings were featured on The Beatles compilation release, Anthology 1.
Other prominent stage performances where the drum kit was played include: The Quarry Men’s first live performance, the Rosebery Street Party on June 22nd, 1957 at the request of Hanton’s friend Charles Roberts, who was responsible for stenciling the band name onto Hanton’s bass drum and for taking the three photographs of the band during the concert, the earliest known images of John Lennon performing; the July 6th, 1957 performance at the Garden Fete at St. Peter’s Church in Woolton, Liverpool, where Paul McCartney saw the band for the first time and soon became a member (amateur recording of the concert available online); and on several occasions at The Cavern Club where the incarnation of the band - known as The Beatles - would eventually be discovered and rise to international fame. Hanton departed the group in 1959 and stopped playing the drums all together, storing the drum kit away on top of an old wardrobe closet until 1997 when he brought it out again to play at the 40th anniversary of the Garden Fete performance, commemorating the first meeting of McCartney and Lennon.

The drum kit has been subsequently featured on display at several historical institutions and exhibitions, including The Beatles Story Museum in Liverpool and The Magical History Tour in the United States. The drum kit, hand-signed by Colin Hanton in the inside of the tom-tom drum and inside of the bass drum, is estimated at $400,000 - $600,000. The lot also includes a 1-of-1 Quarry Men Drum Kit Animated NFT serving as the digital representation of the physical drum kit used by Colin Hanton in The Quarry Men.

The Queen of Pop and the indisputable American style provocateur, Madonna, has trail blazed music, celebrity and fashion in a way all her own and like no other artist in the 20th and 21st century. This year marks the 38th anniversary of the release of one of Madonna’s mythic hits and one of pop music’s biggest female empowerment anthems and fashion statement making music videos that coined the empress one of her signature nicknames, “Material Girl.” One of the artist’s most iconic looks of all time will dazzle the auction stage in Julien’s exclusive offering of her pink Marilyn Monroe inspired gown and accessories worn in the Gentlemen Prefer Blondes’ “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend” mimicked film sequence of her classic 1984 “Material Girl” music video. The lot consisting of the pink satin dress with bustier top and oversized pink satin bow designed by white faux fur stole from Edwards-Lowell of Beverly Hills pink satin opera gloves and rhinestone bracelets is estimated at $100,000 - $200,000. Originally made for the 1980 television movie Norma Jean, the dress was rented from the Palace Costume and Prop Company for Madonna’s use in the “Material Girl” music video and was used in Blond, the 2001 television movie exploring the life of Marilyn Monroe. The lot also includes a 1-of-1 “Material Girl” Dress Animated NFT serving as the digital representation of the physical dress worn by Madonna in “Material Girl”.

“Material Girl” reached the top-five in Australia, Belgium, Canada, Ireland, Japan and United Kingdom and reached the number two position on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States. Julien’s Auctions has sold other prominent pieces from Madonna’s life and career including her ivory satin halter gown worn in her 1990 “Vogue” music video which sold for $179,200, her “Material Girl” music video worn hot pink charmeuse silk headband with bow embellishment sold for $28,125, fourteen times its original estimate and her MTV Video Music Award Moonman Award for Best Female Video of 1986-1987 for “Papa Don’t Preach” which sold for $22,400.




Other sensational highlights announced today include (with estimates):

Johnny Cash’s owned 1956 Martin brand, model D-21 acoustic guitar and played in the late 1950s, then gifted to his younger brother Tommy in 1960. Accompanied by a signed and notarized letter of authenticity from Tommy Cash ($100,000 - $200,000).

A Charvel EVH Art Series electric guitar, hand-striped and played on stage by Eddie Van Halen, consisting of a yellow body with a unique, black hand-striped design by Van Halen in tribute to his “Bumblebee” guitar, signed and inscribed in black sharpie: “Des Moines IA. / 2.6.08 / Eddie Van Halen / Van Halen 2008.” Accompanied by a photograph of Van Halen playing the guitar live on stage with Van Halen at the Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa on February 6th, 2008 ($30,000 - $50,000).

A spiral bound Mead “Academie Sketch Diary” notebook, containing handwritten lyrics and other personal notes by Guns N’ Roses front-man, Axl Rose. A note written in red ink reads: “All of our rock heroes have fallen/ All of our idols have gone/ All of our gods are human/ I see them now/ Hard to save their dignity/ Now they look so pathetic/ Who are we to fool ourselves/ As if we could fill their shoes/ We hope to redefine standards of artistic quality/ *More of less*/ A fulcrum/ A rule of thumb/Are you getting more of less quality (Honesty)(Sincerity)/From a record than GN’R’s appetite/ -GN’R-/The Pivot Point/ The AXLE! Ha Ha Ha.” ($6,000 - $8,000)

A customized yellow t-shirt worn by the model Angela Chidnese on the original album cover for Bon Jovi’s platinum-selling 1986 album Slippery When Wet. The photograph used on the original album cover was taken by the rock photographer Mark Weiss during a photoshoot in Bradley Beach in New Jersey. However, Mercury executives feared the risque image would lead to the album being banned from American record stores and the sleeve was changed at the last minute. The original version with this infamous yellow T-shirt was still used on a number of international releases ($1,000 - $2,000).

A single sheet of handwritten lyrics to “Glory Road” by Bruce Springsteen written during the his Born to Run period from late 1973 to early 1975. The song was a candidate track for Springsteen’s third album and has been seen on his lists of proposed tracks for the album. The song was later renamed “Born to Run,” sharing some of the same lyrics, such as “Tramps like us, Baby we were born to run ($20,000 - $40,000).”

An extremely rare low-numbered mono vinyl pressing of The Beatles’ 1968 White Album (PMC 7067, Number 0000002). While mono was the standard for the majority of The Beatles’ career, by 1968 it mostly had been phased out in favor of stereo mixing, which is why the mono version of this album–their final album–was not readily available in the United States. In 2015, Ringo Starr’s personal copy of the White Album (Number 0000001) sold for $790,000 at Julien’s Auctions, making this the second-lowest number to be auctioned ($40,000 - $60,000).

A heavy custom-made chain mail jacket with a silver satin collar and shoulder pads worn by Mick Jagger while performing live on-stage with The Rolling Stones in the United States ($4,000 - $6,000).