An adapted Beatles record sleeve has been declared he world's most valuable record cover, reports The Telegraph
The limited edition artwork for their Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band LP which features the faces of Capitol Records music executives in the place of the Fab Four, is valued at around £70,000 according to a new study by Record Collector Magazine.
The original image was created by Jann Haworth & Peter Blake but was reworked in for Christmas in 1967 to celebrate the success of the album.
Only around 100 are thought to have been made, with just three known copies in the hands of collectors.
The album is among five Beatles sleeves featured in a top 10 compiled by Record Collector which is due to be published in the December edition of the magazine.
Ian Shirley, editor of the Rare Record Price Guide 2012, who compiled the list, said: "While pristine records and inserts are vital to securing a top price, the numbered sleeve is the main attraction. The hunger to collect low numbers remains undiminished amongst Beatles fans."
Record Collector editor Ian McCann said: "Every so often I get asked why vinyl persists as a music medium despite it being archaic and inconvenient compared to MP3.
"One of the answers is the artwork: people like to hold a vinyl record, look at the sleeve, take in the information and the photo on the cover. That is something that an MP3 will never be able to compete with."
The full list is published in the December Record Collector, on sale tomorrow. The top 10 is as follows:
1. The Beatles - Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band [limited edition Capitol version] (1967) £70,000
2. The Beatles - The Beatles (1968). Numbers 1-10 £7,000
3. Madrigals - Magic Key To Spanish Volumes 1 and 2 (1953) £3,500; The Nation's Nightmare (1951),£3,000
4. The Beatles - Introducing The Beatles (1964) £3,000
5. The Beatles/Frank Ifield - England's Greatest Recording Stars: The Beatles & Frank Ifield On Stage (1964) £3,000
6. Tinkerbell's Fairydust - Tinkerbell's Fairydust (1969) £3,000
7. AC/DC - 12 Of The Best (1978) £3,000
8. The Beatles - Yesterday And Today (1966) £2,000
9. Dark - Dark Round The Edges (1972) £2,000
10. Hank Mobley - Hank Mobley (1957) £2,000
Related Lick Library products:
Learn to play The Beatles
Learn to play The Beatles Vol.2