Builder who found Paul McCartney’s piano designs in a skip set to win £2,000

The ‘psychedelic’ piano was designed by 1960s art collective BEV

A builder who found Paul McCartney’s “psychedelic” designs in a skip could win £2,000 at auction.

Andy Clynes from Oldham noticed the papers had been thrown out with other waste while leading a team at a mill near Manchester in 1999.

Clynes kept the papers in his loft for 20 years after taking them out of the skip and only recently decided to get them valued.

Designed in 1967 by art collective BEV, the sketches of the music icon’s piano will be put on sale at Omega Auctions on 24 March where they are set to fetch £2,000.

Other sketches pulled from the skip will be auctioned at a separate sale later this year, where they are expected to earn £10,000.

The 54-year-old told the Press Association: “I picked them out of the skip. The case burst open as it was thrown in. It was raining and I just picked up what I could. I imagine there was a lot more there but it was damaged.”

As well as McCartney’s recognisable designs, they include work for The Kinks, after the collective were commissioned to work on the covers of their album Sunny Afternoon.

Despite finding the sketches, Andy is still at a loss to explain why they were there in the first place.

“It could have been an art studio at some time or another,” he said.

“I’ve had them for 20-odd years. You put things away and forget about them and then something triggers your mind.

“I haven’t planned what I’ll do with the money yet but I was surprised about the value.”

He added: “I Googled ‘Paul McCartney’s piano’ and when I looked at the drawing it was very similar.”

Auctioneer Paul Fairweather said: “It’s fantastic that such an important archive was recovered and even better for our vendor that it should prove a lucrative decision to save them from the skip.”

“The designs of BEV encapsulate the optimism, excitement and free spirit of collaboration that ensures that the late 1960s endure in the popular consciousness even to this day.”