A rare photograph of the Beatles which saw the Fab Four pose with an unsuspecting man sleeping on a park bench is among the star lots of a global online auction which is set to break the £1 million mark.
The Ultimate Charity Auction, which ends at 4pm on Wednesday 13th December, has attracted glittering prizes from household names in sport, celebrity and lifestyle.
Among the perfect presents and money-can’t-buy experiences is a chance to own a rare collection of Beatles images donated by renowned photographer Tom Murray.
Included in the imagery is a photo entitled ‘Nowhere Man’ which captures a gentleman asleep on a bench, unaware that he is surrounded by – and then photographed with – the Beatles.
Tom, who took the photo as part of his ‘Mad Day Out’ series of Beatles images in the summer of 1968, explained: “We were taking photos in the park near St Pancras Station when we came across this man asleep.
“The boys were all in a great mood and thought it would be funny to stage this photo without ever waking him up.
“I tried to find the man a few years ago but I have never been able to trace him, so I have never known whether he realises how close he was to the Fab Four.”
The photographs are considered by experts to be the very best colour images from that day with the set completed by ‘Martha My Dear’, ‘Flower Power 2’, Ready, Steady, Go’ and ‘Untitled 2’.
Tom, then 25 years old, was given an assignment to spend a day snapping the Beatles while working at the Sunday Times Magazine.
Dubbed a ‘Mad Day Out’, the photos have become iconic music memorabilia as well as subsequently raising more than £1.4 million for national and local charities with various prints from the day auctioned and donated.
The Ultimate Charity Auction has raised more than £980,000 for national and local charities since it was launched in 2012.
This year’s star items also include a meet-and-greet with Sir Alex Ferguson in his private lounge at Old Trafford, a chance to star in the next instalment of Football Manager or to record your own single in a renowned Buckinghamshire recording studio.
Other fantastic include front row seats and lunch with Jeremy Kyle, a VIP experience for four people at the Badminton Horse Trials and a Sky Sports Gillette Soccer Saturday experience.
This year, the beneficiaries of the Ultimate Charity Auction will be the League Manager Association Charity – In The Game, and the GeeWizz charitable foundation, headed by veteran fundraiser and auction founder Gina Long MBE.
In particular, the auction will support those battling mental health problems in football and, through GeeWizz, young people and families living with a disability or cancer.
Auction founder Gina Long MBE said: “The Ultimate Charity Auction has always captured the imagination of both donors and those bidding on the fantastic money-can’t-buy prizes.
“We are on course for another fantastic auction raising thousands of pounds for some very worthwhile causes.
“We would urge people to help us spread the word as money raised from the auction will really make a difference to the lives of the people we support.”
To view all the fantastic auction prizes, please visit www.charitystars.com/ultimatecharityauction
Where possible, please link CharityStars.com to http://www.charitystars.com to help direct donors to the website and help raise as much money as possible for well-deserving causes.
For all press releases it would be good for CharityStars to be written as CharityStars.com throughout and for the first mention to be hyperlinked to the homepage.
About CharityStars.com:
CharityStars.com was founded in 2014 with a passion and aim to change the nonprofit sector and continue its mission to help charities raise money. Since launching, more than 1,000 global celebrities and brands have chosen to work with CharityStars.com, including Andy Murray, Lionel Messi, Jessie J, Joss Stone, David Coulthard and Sir Bobby Charlton, plus over 400 nonprofit organisations, such as Save the Children and Oxfam. Last year Berkeley University named the company one of the most “impacting Social Enterprises globally”.
For further information please contact:
Carla McAlpine – carla@mediaticaworld.com – +44 7584 037 687
Peter Allen – peter@mediaticaworld.com – +44 7729 354626
The star auction items at this year’s Ultimate Charity Auction includes…
Meet the legendary Sir Alex Ferguson at Old Trafford
VIP experience for two at FC Barcelona’s Camp Nou
Be immortalised and star as a player and manager in Football Manager 2018
VIP Tottenham Hotspur match experience and stay in 5* hotel
VIP package for four to the Mitsubishi Badminton Horse Trials
Watch Jeremy Kyle show and then enjoy backstage tour and lunch with Jezza
World famous photographs of The Beatles by renowned Tom Murray
Guests of Ant and Dec at Saturday Night Takeaway Live
Record your own single at the renowned Lark’s Tongue Studio
Watch Gillette Soccer Saturday Live and meet Jeff Stelling and the team
Ultimate Manchester United VIP matchday experience
Watch PSV Eindhoven play at Philips Stadium plus hospitality
Enter the annual LMA football tournament at St George’s Park
VIP Everton FC experience with training and lunch
Signed Manchester United shirt personally donated by Jose Mourinho
Be a mascot with Leicester City VIP experience
Signed shirt by Premier League giants Manchester City
Ultimate Ipswich Town matchday experience
Exclusive Swansea City VIP matchday experience with meet-and-greet
Win Nike kit for your team plus England shirt signed by Gareth Southgate
VIP experience with Norwich City
