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Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay is now the proud owner of John Lennon’s personal piano.
Irsay, 59, purchased the instrument upon which Lennon wrote most of the songs from Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band for $718,750 from the auction website GottaHaveRockandRoll.com. The bidding for the piano, which was built in the 1870s, opened at $575,000 and the site estimated it would sell for between $800,000 and $1.2 million.
“I’m elated to now be the steward of John’s ‘Sgt. Pepper’ upright piano,” Irsay wrote on Twitter after making his pricey purchase. “It’s a responsibility I take seriously, with future generations in mind. #GettingThemBackTogether #Beatles.”
The piano reportedly comes with a plaque reading: “On this piano was written: A Day in the Life, Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, Good Morning, Good Morning, Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite, and many others. John Lennon. 1971.”
In addition to the keys, Irsay has a guitar collection that goes about 200 deep, including axes owned by Jerry Garcia, Bob Dylan and George Harrison. In 2016, Irsay bought Prince‘s distinctive “Yellow Cloud” guitar at auction for $137,500. The year before, he bought Ringo Starr’s drum set for $1.75 million.
According to TMZ, Irsay wants to open a museum in Indianapolis for all the music memorabilia he’s purchased.
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