The Beatles, Brian Epstein “Whaddon House” Renn Upright Piano 1963. For Sale

All proceeds head to the Victor Sound Foundation in support of music history and education!The Story Of THE BEATLES’ WHADDON HOUSE PIANOThis wonderfully unassuming British Renn upright piano spent the height of Beatlemania inside Whaddon House, William Mews, Knightsbridge, London - the remarkable 5 unit residential building that became home to Brian Epstein, George Harrison, Ringo Starr and members of their intimate social circle during the Beatles’ meteoric rise. John Lennon & Paul McCartney also had guest rooms at Brian’s unitThis wasn’t an instrument that one of the Beatles happened to encounter once.This piano was part of their private world.Purchased in 1963 by Hollywood actor Kerwin Mathews - American star of The 7th Voyage of Sinbad - and his longtime partner Tom Nicoll, the piano occupied their home within the extraordinary little community that developed around Brian Epstein at Whaddon House. Brian’s close friends (Kerwin and Tom) represented the birth of the modern LGBTQ community in what was soon to become the Swinging 60s London.Because Homosexuality was illegal at this time in the UK, much of what is known is lost to time.Thus, Brian Epstein - Mathews and Nicoll were not simply neighbors who happened to live near the Beatles. They were part of the legendary social life of the small building. Nicoll’s obituary would later remember his years socializing with the Beatles 1963-1966, around him at Whaddon House.For a few extraordinary years, Whaddon House became one of the centers of the Beatles’ private London world.Brian Epstein occupied the penthouse apartment - the entire top floor of the 5 unit building. George Harrison and Ringo Starr lived on the floor below. John Lennon and his wife were a regular presence in Brian’s apartment, where he had a room available to him, while Paul McCartney likewise stayed, visited and socialized there.The Beatles came and went.Friends came and went.And the piano, with some very well-used wheels - came and went with them!It was rolled around Whaddon House as needed into different rooms and gathering spaces and for the parties for which the building became famous - where all four Beatles are known to have played it.During quieter times, the piano was commandeered for songwriting sessions.THE PARTIES AT WHADDON HOUSE:These weren’t ordinary apartment parties.At the absolute height of Beatlemania, Brian Epstein’s Whaddon House gatherings brought together an astonishing cross-section of 1960s London.One of the most celebrated took place in August 1964, with guests including John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Judy Garland, Cilla Black, George Martin and others.The festivities became so extensive that a temporary ballroom was erected on the roof - this piano (a lightweight upright piano compared to most American pianos) provided the soundtrack.Later, Whaddon House was also where the Beatles assembled before traveling to Buckingham Palace to receive their MBEs in 1965.Through this extraordinary period, this little Renn piano was there- not behind glass, but being played and used to workshop songwriting ideas, liven the party, and relax the mood after a night of clubbing out in London.A piano played casually by four young musicians who happened to be changing popular culture forever.AN EXTRAORDINARY PIECE OF EARLY PROVENANCEPerhaps one of the most charming parts of the piano’s history is the small brass plaque applied in the late 1960s that remains attached above its keyboard.It reads:“This piano, owned by Kerwin Mathews in 1963 at Whaddon House, William Mews, Knightsbridge, London, was played by Ringo Starr and likely each of the other Beatles who shared the building.”The plaque considerably predates today’s market for museum-grade Beatles memorabilia.And its wonderfully cautious wording tells its own story - Mr. Kerwin Mathews was significantly older than the Fab Four; and he gifted this piano to his friend - a real estate agent and a Ringo Starr/Beatle fan - for having helped him move in the late 1960s from the UK to AmericaKERWIN MATHEWS & TOM NICOLLThe story of the piano is inseparable from the two men who originally purchased it;Actor Kerwin Mathews met British Photographer Tom Nicoll in London in 1961. Their relationship would endure for approximately 46 years, until Mathews’ death in 2007. Tom Nicoll, would be well known as an originator of the ‘Leather Biker Daddy‘ archetype in Gay media and both men were trusted confidantes of Brian Epstein, himself a member of the elite LGBTQ community of Swinging London.SUPPLIED BY HARRODS - LONDONThe piano itself is a wonderful survivor of its place and period. Built under the British Renn name, it retains an original