A rare Beatles record described as a “Holy Grail item” is being auctioned after being found in a lof

10-inch pressing of Till There Was You and Hello Little Girl could be seen as the record “that sparked The Beatles’ success

The record that launched The Beatles, One of the rarest and most collectable of all Beatles records is expected to sell for over £10,000 when it comes up for sale Photo by Peter Byrne/PA Wire

A rare Beatles record described a “Holy Grail item” is being auctioned after being found in a loft in Formby.

The 10-inch pressing of Till There Was You and Hello Little Girl lay forgotten in the home of Les Maguire for decades.

Maguire, the keyboardist in fellow Merseybeat act Gerry and the Pacemakers, said it could be seen as the record “that sparked The Beatles’ success”.

The acetate bears the handwriting of the Fab Four’s manager Brian Epstein.

The record - labelled as being the work of "Paul McCartney & The Beatles" - was pressed at the HMV store in Oxford Street, London Photo by PA

The record will be sold at Omega Auctions in Warrington on Tuesday March 22 and will be broadcast live online for worldwide bidding.

The collectors’ item has been locked away in Maguire’s loft, carefully wrapped in paper, for more than 50 years.

A conservative estimate is that the 78 RPM record - the first Beatles disc to be pressed - will fetch upwards of £10,000 when it is auctioned, although it is such a rare item it is difficult to predict what the sale price will be.

The record - labelled as being the work of “Paul McCartney & The Beatles” - was pressed at the HMV store in Oxford Street, London, and presented to future Beatles producer George Martin at the EMI record label in a bid to secure the band a recording contract.

The record was kept in the home of Gerry and the Pacemakers band member Les McGuire for 50 years Photo by PA

Maguire, 74, of Formby, was given the disc by Epstein in 1963 after it had been returned to him by Martin.

Maguire described the record as “a special piece” and “a one-off”.

“I’ve never been a big fan of memorabilia, but people seem to like it,” he said.

“It’s no good to me so I’ve given it to my granddaughter, who is hoping to buy a house after passing her accountancy exams. I hope it goes for a good price.”

Despite initial reticence from Martin, The Beatles would sign to EMI in 1962 before going on to become the biggest band of all time.

Maguire described the record as "a special piece" Photo by PA

Ian Shirley, editor of Record Collector Rare Record Price Guide, described the disc as a “Holy Grail item”.

He said it would “fascinate Beatles collectors worldwide” and would “no doubt attract bids from those with deep pockets”.

Story and photos by Southport Visiter - Andrew Brown