“One of the holy grails of historic Beatles guitars”: George Harrison’s Futurama – which starred in over 300 early Beatles shows, including the Fab Four’s historic Hamburg tour – is heading to auction
The oddball electric – which originally went up for auction back in 2019 – was also used on the Fab Four's first official Polydor recordings, having featured heavily during their early Cavern Club gigs
(Image credit: Astrid Kirchherr photographic print of The Beatles / Adam Kenrick)
George Harrison’s historic Futurama – which he played extensively across more than 324 Beatles performances – is going up for auction for a second time.
Julien’s Auctions announced the sale during an official unveiling event today (Thursday 3 October) in Liverpool, during which it called the oddball electric guitar “one of the holy grails of historic Beatles guitars”.
Indeed, the Resonet Futurama’s pedigree and significance in the annals of Beatles history is well-known. Harrison first bought the sunburst six-string from Hessy’s Music Centre in Liverpool (the same retailer where John Lennon bought his first Vox amp) in the late 1950s.
It quickly became one of Harrison’s main guitars, before the arrival of his Gretsch Duo Jet in 1962 eventually relegated the Futurama from his starting lineup.
After that, it was passed on to a new custodian, but by the time the Futurama changed hands, it had already been used in over 300 shows, including some of the Beatles’ legendary early Cavern Club gigs.
(Image credit: Julien's)
Not only that, it had also been used by Harrison alongside Paul McCartney and co. for the Fab Four’s Hamburg tour at the start of the ’60s. During that first visit to Hamburg, the band played 106 nights – and Harrison used the Futurama for all of them.
The Futurama would also return to Hamburg for the band’s final visit to the city in 1962, and featured across a number of high-profile homecoming shows in Liverpool during the start of the decade.
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As well as a prolific live instrument, the Futurama was also a key studio tool, and was used to help track The Beatles’ first official recordings for Polydor between 1959 and 1961. Namely, it can be heard on Ain’t She Sweet and Cry For a Shadow.
“George Harrison’s Futurama guitar was The Beatles’ north star and one of his most loved instruments in his collection of legendary and prized guitars,” says Martin Nolan, Executive Director/Co-Founder of Julien’s Auctions.
(Image credit: Matt Parker / Future)
“This mythic guitar aptly named Futurama was played during the early Beatles’ countless ground breaking performances from their halcyon nights at the Cavern Club in Liverpool to their famous Hamburg Days where they honed their sound and style and the future of Beatlemania literally took off.”
The neck is well worn and stained – as well it might be, following 324 shows in sweaty clubs in Hamburg and Liverpool (Image credit: Matt Parker / Future)
As mentioned, the guitar itself is a quasi Strat replica, with a quirky double-cut design and a sunburst colorway that is paired with a maple neck and fretboard.
“If I’d had my way, the Strat would have been my first guitar,” Harrison himself once said of the Futurama. “I’d seen Buddy Holly’s Strat … on the Chirping Crickets cover, and tried to find one, but in Liverpool, in those days, the only thing I could find resembling a Strat was a Futurama.
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(Image credit: Julien's)
(Image credit: Julien's)
(Image credit: Julien's)
(Image credit: Julien's)
“It was very difficult to play, had an action about half an inch off the fingerboard, but nevertheless it did look kind of futuristic.”
However, as Julien's co-founder and Executive Director Martin Nolan notes, the fact it was such a difficult instrument to handle meant it actually had a profound impact on Harrison's playing.
“It did shape him as a guitarist,” Nolan tells Guitar World. “It wasn't an easy guitar to play, and once he cracked it – once he could play that – he pretty much could pick up any other guitar that was even less 'futuristic' and play.
“They played 100-and-something shows in Hamburg in 1960 and another 92 in 1961, and then they were back in ’62 – and you're playing that guitar!”
In the mid-1960s, the Futurama was donated to Beat Instrumental Magazine, and ended up staying with the publications editor, Sean O’Mahoney. In 2019, it went up for auction at Bonhams, but failed to meet its reserve price. Phil Hylander of Seven Decades ended up purchasing the guitar outright.
Julien’s is expecting better fortunes this time around, though, having set an estimated sale window of $600,000–$800,000.
The case still has a Hamburg sticker on it, dating back to one of the Beatles' fateful residencies in the German city (Image credit: Matt Parker / Future)
Matt is a Senior Staff Writer, writing for Guitar World, Guitarist and Total Guitar. He has a Masters in the guitar, a degree in history, and has spent the last 16 years playing everything from blues and jazz to indie and pop. When he’s not combining his passion for writing and music during his day job, Matt records for a number of UK-based bands and songwriters as a session musician.
