John Lennon's toilet up for auction

John Lennon's toilet and one of his rarest albums will be among the highlights of an auction of Beatles memorabilia next weekend. A mono-sound copy of Two Virgins, which he recorded with Yoko Ono, is expected to fetch at least £2,500.

When the avant garde LP was released in November 1968 it was notable for being sold in brown paper bags because the sleeve controversially featured a naked picture of the famous couple on the cover. Although a limited release of 5,000 stereo versions of the album were available in shops, fans had to write to the record label to purchase a mono copy. The exact number of mono copies sold is not known, but auction organisers say it is likely to be a "couple of hundred".



The sale, part of the 33rd annual Beatles convention in Liverpool, is attracting record levels of interest. Bids are also being invited for Lennon's toilet from Tittenhurst Park, his Berkshire home between 1969 and 1972.

Lennon told a builder, John Hancock, to keep the porcelain lavatory and "use it as a plant pot" after he had installed a new one. It was stored in a shed at Hancock's home for 40 years until he died recently. The toilet is estimated to fetch £750 to £1,000. The auction organiser, Stephen Bailey, said: "The toilet might be worth something, and it might not, but it is certainly one of the more unusual items we've sold."