On June 25, 1967, as the Summer of Love was coming to its peak, hundreds of millions of folks from around the globe tuned in to watch Our World, the very first international television production beamed worldwide via then-state-of-the-art satellite technology. Featuring musicians, artists, and creatives from 14 countries, the event was a cultural and technological marvel… and the headliners were none other than The Beatles themselves. It was on that night that they debuted their anthemic hit, “All You Need Is Love.”
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Now, part of that historic evening is going up for auction—at this year’s annual Beatles Auction in Liverpool, the Aphrodite statue that stood behind John Lennon during the performance will be listed for sale.
The 5-foot classical-style statue survived through the years thanks to Beatles engineer Geoff Emerick, who was there at the Our World taping and took Aphrodite home with him as a souvenir. It sat in his garden for nearly 45 years before being moved to storage—Emerick then passed away in 2018. Now, the statue is expected to bring in between $20,000 – $27,000.
The Our World taping unfolded during a pinnacle moment in world history. The Beatles had just released Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band and the hippie counterculture movement was spreading rapidly across the Western world (especially in opposition to the Vietnam War). Accordingly, the guest list at the taping was a who’s who of ’60s icons: Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Keith Moon, Eric Clapton, Graham Nash, and more were all there. The broadcast was also underscored by the fact that five countries (including the Soviet Union) pulled out of participating as an act of protest over the Six-Day War between Israel and several Arab states, which had just concluded. All of these forces brewing at once, Lennon’s declaration of love came across loud and clear and became a resonant force throughout pop culture for decades to come.
The auction will happen on August 28. Read more about it HERE.
