John Lennon’s drawings for world's first rock music video go on display

Drawings created by John Lennon and artist Stephen Verona which were used in a promotional film to accompany the Beatles hit I Feel Fine in the 1960s, are on display at the Liverpool Beatles Museum. Pictures: Peter Byrne/PA Wire

Drawings created by John Lennon for what some believe was the world’s first rock music video have gone on display in a museum.

The pop art images, which Lennon worked on with artist Stephen Verona, were used in a promotional film to accompany the Beatles hit I Feel Fine in the 1960s.

The 240 drawings were sold by Christie’s at auction for over $58,000 in 2000 before being separated.

Ten of them have now gone on public display at Liverpool Beatles Museum after being spotted by collector Joseph O’Donnell at an auction.

 O’Donnell, 29, from Tynemouth, said: “I’m a big Beatles fan and I spotted these at an auction in London, where they weren’t really made a big deal of.

“I thought I would have a go at bidding on them, although I thought it might go a bit crazy, and I managed to get them at a reasonable price.

“Each artwork features a different word from the song and I was able to piece them together to make a full sentence.” 

The drawings on display show the lines 'baby says she’s mine' and 'in love with her' as well as two singular artworks for the words 'and' and 'I'.

Lennon collaborated with American artist and filmmaker Verona, who died in 2019, after a chance meeting in a London nightclub.

In a later interview, Verona said the two of them sat at the kitchen table of his Manhattan apartment to colour in the images using felt tip markers, while smoking.

O’Donnell, who eventually plans to sell them on, wanted to loan them to the museum to allow other fans to see them together.

He said: “I think interest in the Beatles will never go away.

“Someone has to be the best, it’s as simple as that. There has to be a greatest band in the world and it’s the Beatles.” 

'Each artwork features a different word from the song and I was able to piece them together to make a full sentence,' says Joseph O'Donnell.

The drawings on display show the lines “baby says she’s mine” and “in love with her” as well as two singular artworks for the words “and” and “I”.

They were unveiled at the museum on Thursday and will be on display for several months.

A drawing created by John Lennon and artist Stephen Verona.