A BEATLES drumhead used on their first US TV appearance has become one of the band’s most expensive pieces of memorabilia.
Drummer Ringo Starr used the bit of kit on the Ed Sullivan Show in February 1964 as the Fab Four propelled themselves to global superstardom.
The drumhead sold at auction on Thursday in New York for £2,173,095 – making it the most pricey drum set ever sold.
It is also the most expensive item belonging to Sir Ringo to ever be flogged.
Earlier in the auction, another drum kit used by the 85-year-old between 1963 and 1964 sold for £1,804,700.
Other Beatles items to be sold during the auction include a Broadwood upright piano used by John Lennon when he wrote Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds.
It was estimated to fetch around £450,000, but instead sold for £2,448,968.
Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour’s Fender Stratocaster was also among the record-breaking sales, fetching £11million to become the most expensive guitar ever sold.
The guitar was sold after just 21 minutes of bidding at a rock memorabilia auction in New York on Thursday.
Pink Floyd legend Dave played the lucrative instrument on some of the band’s most famed albums, including The Wall, The Dark Side of the Moon and Wish You Were Here.
Nicknamed the “Black Strat,” the guitar was his instrument of choice between 1970 and 1983 and featured on every album he recorded during that time.
The president of auction house Christie’s, Julien Pradels, said: “Lot after lot, we felt like we were making history.”
