All You Need Is Cash for Lennon Lyrics

LONDON – All you need is love — and a whole lot of cash. John Lennon's (search) handwritten lyrics for "All You Need is Love," salvaged from his music stand after The Beatles' (search) final television appearance in 1967, have sold at auction in London for $1 million.

It was among a trove of Lennon memorabilia that fetched a total of $1.75 million during a sale at London's Hippodrome nightclub Thursday.

The tunic of a World War I military bandsman, worn by Lennon for a 1966 Life magazine photo shoot — and a possible inspiration for the group's look on the cover of "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" (search) — sold for $175,000,

The sale included youthful paintings and handwritten lyrics, jackets, eyeglasses and even furniture from the late former Beatle's home.

The most valuable items were gathered over the course of 25 years by an anonymous American collector. Auctioneer Cooper Owen, a company that specializes in music and film memorabilia, said it was "the most definitive collection of John Lennon memorabilia ever assembled."

Cooper Owen managing director John Collins said the items stood out for their "rarity, importance and cultural significance."

A piano from Lennon's New York apartment fetched $245,000, and watercolors painted by Lennon when he was 11 were bought for $123,000.

A pair of his signature round granny glasses, which came in a box addressed to "Mr. John Lennon," went for $97,000.

There was no immediate information on who bought the items.

Cooper Owen director Ted Owen said the "All You Need is Love" manuscript was "the Holy Grail of Beatles lyrics."

"It's probably one of the few remaining Beatles lyrics in private collectors' hands, and one of the most important musical manuscripts in existence," Owen said. "It was the anthem of the peace movement ... the anthem of 1967."