The Beatles Story: A Love Me Do demo worth £10k and the woman who dated two of the Fab Four

The Beatles Story at the Royal Albert Dock has been giving fans of the Fab Four a chance to show off their treasures and get them valued by experts in celebration of the 60th anniversary of the Fab Four's debut single Love Me Do.

The waterfront attraction asked anyone with Beatles or Merseybeat memorabilia to attend a free valuation. The experts appraised attendees' artefacts at Tracks, a specialist Beatles auction house, based in Chorley.

A signed copy of Love Me Do has been unveiled at The Beatles Story exhibition. It's owned by co-founder Bernadette Byrne, once a close acquaintance of the band. When she was 17 and working at a hairdressers she visited The Cavern Club on her lunch breaks.

Bernadette said: "It was just so exciting being a teenager at The Cavern in those days. I can't believe how long ago it was. A lot of the fans of the time didn't always have money to buy records, but I made sure I bought it as soon as it came out.

“It was so easy to get to talk to the Beatles in those days. As soon as I got my hands on it, I got them to sign it. As my husband will tell you, I'm a bit of a hoarder and hang onto things. I'm so glad I did now."

‘I dated Paul and George’

"I was lucky enough to date Paul McCartney and George Harrison. I chatted to George a few times, and he gave me a lift home. That happened a few times, and then one time I came home from work, and there was a note pushed through my door asking me to ring him."

Alongside Bernadette's record is a rare copy of the single. The item is one of only 250 that was made for radio stations following the band's rejection from Decca records.

Record with Paul McCartney misspelled worth £10k

Marketing Manager at The Beatles Story, Diane Glover, said: "The first record that you're looking at is a rare demo of the Love Me Do release. It was actually donated anonymously to the British Heart Foundation, and it was sold at auction for £10,000, which is great for the charity.

“It's rare as well because it has the misspelling of Paul's name on there. It's great that we've got that on display at The Beatles Story."

The world's largest permanent Beatles exhibition takes visitors on an immersive journey through the lives, times, culture and music of the world's greatest band.