LONDON Oct 6 - The original waxwork heads of the Beatles used on the Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album cover have been discovered at London’s Madame Tussauds waxworks museum.
The props were presumed missing for nearly 40 years but were found hidden away in a store room.
Now they are being put up for sale and are expected to fetch up to STG80,000 at auction.
Only the heads of John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr have been found.
But Madame Tussauds have found another vintage waxwork of Paul McCartney in their collection which is being used to complete the set.
Auction house Cooper Owen will conduct the sale at Tussauds in central London on October 27.
Other props from the iconic 1967 album cover will also be up for auction.
They are a portrait bust of actress Diana Dors and a Shirley Temple doll wearing a top which bears the words: Welcome the Rolling Stones.'' The cover was designed by artist Peter Blake, who came up with the concept of a crowd of celebrities standing behind the band. Most of the figures, which include Marilyn Monroe, Albert Einstein and Laurel and Hardy, were cardboard cut-outs. The Beatles waxworks, wearing black suits, were placed to the left of the real-life band. In July, Cooper Owen held an auction of Beatles memorabilia which saw John Lennon's handwritten manuscript for All You Need Is Love fetch STG600,000. Company founder Louise Cooper said: Following the sale in July that achieved incredible prices for Beatles memorabilia, Madame Tussauds realised they could have some very valuable pieces.
``Luckily for everyone, the pieces turned up safely in an old storage room, when they could have been lost forever.’’
The sale on October 27 is not limited to the Beatles.
The Rolling Stones first ever recording contract, signed on the band’s behalf by Brian Jones, is expected to fetch STG20,000.
And the original copyright agreements for the Beach Boys’ Poor Boy are expected to fetch STG5,000.