Julien's Auction estimated a sale price of $300,000 to $500,000 for Ringo Starr's Ludwig Oyster Black Pearl three piece drum kit but Jim Irsay, owner of National Football League (NFL) team Indiana Colts, proved that he definitely loves The Beatles when he outbidded everyone and paid a whopping $2.25 million just to get his hands on it.
The drum kit was donated by Ringo Starr and Barbara Bach in order to raise funds for their Lotus Foundation charity which focuses on social welfare projects including projects on but not limited to helping the abused, homeless, people with cancer related diseases and animals in need. Julien's held the auction in Beverly Hills from Dec. 3-5, offering more than 1,300 items from the couple, including Starr's personal copy of the 1968 "The Beatles" album.
Irsay's actual bid was at $1.75 Million but commission and other fees increase the total price to $2.25 Million; however, the well-known rock aficionado and collector does not seem to mind the expense much because he finally completed the set of musical instruments from the iconic English rock band.
The Colts' owner admitted having panicked prior to outbidding everyone when the Julien's auctioneer mistakenly asked for bids at $10 Million instead of $1 Million. "I thought some billionaire madman might say 'I have $10 million, what the hell," Irsay said. However, the mistake was immediately corrected and the bidding heated up with Irsay topping all other bids.
As of his latest purchase, Irsay is now the proud owner of three guitars owned by John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison and Ringo Starr's iconic drum kit with a bonus of Lennon's Rickenbacker gifted to Starr after tension within the group rose.
Some may think Irsay is crazy for wanting Ringo Starr's heavily used drum kit badly, but he has a good reason that many Beatles fans no doubt share. "I was 11 years old when the Beatles broke up... and there was always this dream of the Beatles getting back together... It took over 4 million dollars and 45 years, but we finally got them back together. I know it's a symbolic thing, but it really means a lot to me," he explained.
