Tynemouth man discovers rare John Lennon drawings - will be displayed at Beatles museum
Rare drawings made by John Lennon have been discovered by a man from Tynemouth.
The drawings were discovered by Joseph Robert O’Donnell at a London Auction House.
O’Donnell, a Beatles collector and dealer based in Tynemouth, uncovered the drawings in the capital, before offering them to be displayed at the Liverpool Beatles Museum.
The drawings were created by John Lennon and artist Stephen Verona and contained all of the lyrics to The Beatles’ song ‘I Feel Fine’ with each word and drawing on its own piece of paper.
The 240 total drawings, or ‘cells’, were then made into a film, forming what is now largely considered the first music ‘video’ before the term was ever coined.
Speaking about the drawings in a previous interview, Verona recalled: “I met John Lennon in London while directing a commercial.
“We started doodling drawings on a table, and I suggested making a film from them.
“That became the Beatles’ first animated music video - I Feel Fine. It was two minutes long, made from 240 drawings”.
In 2000, Stephen Verona consigned the complete set of 240 original animation drawings to Christie’s in New York, where they sold for $58,750 before being separated and dispersed across the globe.