I want to hold your hair.
As part of Heritage Auctions’ music memorabilia and posters sale this weekend, an old Beatles mushroom head wig from 1964 will go under the hammer.
“This is the only /authentic/ Beatle wig and it fits all head sizes,” advertises the listing of the Fab Four rug, which comes in its original packaging.
The hairy tribute, which retailed for $3.99 in 1964, features cut-out portraits of all the Beatles’ faces at the top and could fetch up to $1,000.
“Most wigs were taken out of the packaging and worn by Beatlemaniacs everywhere,” said Garry Shrum, 73, head of music memorabilia at Heritage Auctions. “It’s rare to find a wig still in the packaging with the heads intact and not torn off.”
He noted that the unidentified sender was a Fab Four fan from London.
The “ball of fur in the package” “doesn’t get the respect it deserves because people think it’s silly,” Shrum added.
The 60-year-old curls are a reminder of that time. “Everything revolved around the music, and of course the media at that time was only concerned with her hair, her appearance and her antics on stage,” he noted.
Countless artists have cited The Beatles’ appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show as an inspiration for their recording careers, including Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel, Tom Petty and Nancy Wilson.
When the Beatles made their historic debut on The Sullivan Show – in Studio 50 on Broadway – on February 9, 1964, they did so in front of 700 screaming fans and 73 million television viewers.
The Beatles may have fueled the British Invasion of the 1960s, but the wigs were made by Lowell Toy Mfg. Corp. in the Bronx.
The auction will take place on Sunday.
