A BEATLES box set gifted by Paul McCartney for two Scottish families affected by the Manchester Arena attack has raised more than £3300 at auction.
Eilidh MacLeod, 14, died while her friend Laura MacIntyre, 15, was seriously injured in the attack at the Ariana Grande concert on May 22.
Soon after the tragedy McCartney donated a special Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band 6 Disc Super Deluxe (50th Anniversary Edition) box set which was auctioned at Bonhams in London yesterday.
The musician has agreed to personally dedicate and personalise the box set of the Beatles album to the successful bidder and his gesture has been described as “amazing and brilliant” by the girls’ parents.
It sold for £2700 but the auctioneers waived the commission fee and donated the buyer’s premium, taking the total to £3375.
The auction took place in the run-up of the 40th anniversary of one of McCartney’s Wings songs, Mull of Kintyre, reaching number 1 at Christmas in 1977.
Eilidh, from Barra in the Outer Hebrides, was one of 22 people who died in the bombing at Manchester Arena.
Her parents Roddy and Marion MacLeod said: “We are extremely grateful for Sir Paul’s kind gesture.
“Eilidh was a keen piper and Mull Of Kintyre is such an iconic song for the pipes – so this donation is especially poignant and fitting.
‘’People’s generosity has helped us greatly in the aftermath of our loss and we can’t thank them enough. Hopefully this auction will be well supported.”
Laura has returned to the island’s Castlebay Community School after spending many weeks in hospital being treated for serious injuries.
Her father Michael MacIntyre said: “This is an amazing and brilliant gesture by Paul McCartney in donating this personalised Sgt Pepper album for auction to help Laura’s recovery and her future. We are grateful to Sir Paul and the many others who have helped financially.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here