A rare Beatles single from 1963 is tipped to fetch up to £1,000 when it goes up for auction near Chippenham next Friday (February 25).

Martin Hughes of Wessex Auction Rooms at Draycot Cerne says it is one of his best-ever finds.

The promotion record of From Me To You is one of only 200 sent to DJs and journalists and is the more unusual because it bears the songwriting credit McCartney-Lennon.

Apart from From Me To You and its predecessor Please Please Me, every other release by The Beatles was credited Lennon-McCartney.

The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald: A rare find.A rare find.

The rare record was distributed ahead of the public release of the single on April 11, 1963. From Me To You became The Beatles first number one in the official UK singles charts, where it stayed for seven weeks. At the time a single cost 37p.

“This is absolutely one of my best random finds,” said auctioneer and records specialist Martin Hughes.

“I was sorting through a collection of about 200 Beatles 7-inch singles, which, as with most Beatles singles, are worth very little, perhaps £1 each, and then I found this! It is one of probably only 200 and my estimate will be £700-1,000.”

Martin added: “When we do sell high-value vinyl record singles at Wessex Auction Rooms they usually come from someone who knows what they have and are bringing their prized possession to ‘cash in’ – such was the case with our Sex Pistols single that we sold for £16,000.”

“But what is fantastic in this case is that this was a true ‘find’ amongst a collection of 150 Beatles singles and EP’s that collectively only have a value of £150-200 as they are so common. 

“The vendor had no idea that this was lurking in the box, so that is another great feeling as an auctioneer, to be able to make someone’s day.  It worries me to think they almost sold the collection to a dealer for £70!” 

“Seeing that magic ‘A’ on an early Beatles single is an absolute dream.  It’s just to clearly signify that it is the A side of the demo and therefore the side that the DJ should be playing first.

“I see many demo singles, thousands every year, but simply being a demo doesn’t make it valuable and sometimes an ex-DJ will bring in a collection of 40 or 50 demo’s that are only worth £50 as a group. 

“As with all vinyl record collecting, value is not just dependent on rarity, but also artist and genre.  You can bring me as many Cliff Richard or Jim Reeves demos as you like but I’m afraid they just won’t have any value.

“But I have researched and authenticated this one and I was very pleased to confirm that it is the real deal.”