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Historic Beatles Drum Set Hits Auction Block

By Hayden Wright

(RADIO.COM) – "Love Me Do" is the single that launched the Beatles into millions of homes and hearts in 1962, and the drum kit from its recording sessions could soon be yours for no less than $150,000. Nate D. Sanders Auctions has listed the instrument in California for that staggering opening bid.

The kit is an especially unusual piece of Beatles memorabilia because Ringo Starr never played it. Instead, Andy White, the "fifth Beatle" who filled in for Starr during the recording of "Love Me Do," laid down iconic beats on the instrument. At the time the track was recorded, Starr had been hired but had not yet joined the band's musical lineup.

"This is a piece of rock history," auction house manager Michael Kirk told Reuters. "There is only one drum kit that was there that day that this first track was laid down – the track that launched the Beatles."

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