A 1959 Martin D-28-E Acoustic/Electric guitar, serial #167874, in natural finish. Formerly owned and played extensively by guitarist and songwriter Tony Sheridan, one of the Beatles’ earliest collaborators and the only non-Beatle to chart with the band as lead singer on a single. An original member of Vince Taylor and the Playboys, Tony Sheridan and the Jets would play in Hamburg during the summer of 1960, presumably when Sheridan would have crossed paths with The Beatles, who spent August through December in the city.

Sheridan began working with the Beatles in 1961, with the band backing him on the singles “My Bonnie” and “The Saints.” George Harrison and John Lennon penned the song “Cry for a Shadow” first included on Sheridan’s “Mister Twist.” The guitar has been used on numerous recordings with the Beatles, and Sheridan has been photographed performing with The Beatles using this D-28-E. It’s extremely likely that Lennon and Harrison have played this guitar at some point during those years.

Sheridan famously bludgeoned the guitar with a microphone while performing on stage, resulting in cracks, breaks, and eventual repairs. Ted “Kingsize” Taylor performed those repairs in 1966 and was given the guitar in payment. Kingsize was one of a handful of musicians close with The Beatles at the time, and used the guitar in his own musical career. He has been photographed with the guitar and it was used to record a number of hit songs including The Animals’ “House of the Rising Sun.” Taylor kept the guitar until his death in 2023.

The Martin D-28-E features a 25.4” scale length mahogany neck with a 20 fret ebony fretboard. A spruce top with Brazilian rosewood back and sides, ebony bridge, tortoise shell pickguard, and multi-ply binding. Two DeArmond pickups, three way toggle switch, and volume and tone controls for each pickup. Output jack on lower treble-side bout.

Includes original case with “Star Club Hamburg” stencils as seen on the cover of Tony Sheridan & The Beat Brothers Veedeboom Slop Shop (1964). It also comes with the original control knobs (stored in the case) in addition to the large, white ones currently found on the guitar which Sheridan preferred. Additionally, a copy of Tony Sheridan and The Beatles The Legend Begins (Hallmark, 1996) on compact disc, and a DVD copy of The Beatles with Tony Sheridan: The Beginnings in Hamburg (UMG, 2003).

Ivory Declaration TJRLB76R.

The Beatles, Guitars & Instruments