A telegram from Eurovision star Lulu begging George Best to go easy on her native Scotland in an upcoming international is set to go under the hammer in London next week.
The item is part of a two-day sporting memorabilia auction at Graham Budd Auction Rooms and sits alongside items relating to other greats such as Pele, Thierry Henry and Dave Bassett.
In the 1960s, the Manchester United and Northern Ireland legend Best briefly dated the Scottish pop star, who represented the UK in the 1969 Eurovision Song Contest in Madrid with the song “Bang-a-Bang”.
The telegram was sent from London to the hotel Best was staying at in Belfast the night before NI played Scotland in October 1967.
The message reads, “I know you should win but against Scotland are you kidding? Love Lulu” and features a wildlife drawing by illustrator Harry Titcombe.
Billy Bingham’s side did win the fixture at Windsor Park, with a 67th minute goal from David Clements enough to seal the victory.
YouTube footage from the game shows Best played a starring role. He is understood to have held onto the telegram for several years afterwards.
A telegram sent to George Best by Eurovision singer Lulu in 1967
The item, which is expected to sell for between £350-£550, became available following the recent death of the collector, who bought the item directly from the footballer as part of a larger collection.
Also among the items at auction is a 1953 school report filed by Nettlefield Primary School in east Belfast, which is valued at between £500 and £800.
The report details some of Best’s test scores, including a “very good” assessment for both needlework and punctuality.
It also proclaims the footballer to be the “neatest worker in the class” and deems his character to be “excellent”.
A copy of George Best’s 1953 primary school report from Nettlefield Primary School in Belfast
Some of his secondary school reports from Grosvenor High School also feature in the collection, with a price tag of £1,000-£1,500.
A selection of handwritten letters from Best to his parents also included in the lot appear to back up his teacher’s “neatest” claim.
Sent from his accommodation in Cholrton, south Manchester, in the earlier days of his career, the letters carry a distinctly personal touch and are set to fetch between £4,000 and £6,000.
David Convery, Head of Sporting Memorabilia at Graham Budd Auctions said some of the more personal items were unusual to find in a sporting memorabilia lot.
“I’ve never seen anything like it before,” he told the Belfast Telegraph.
“With a football memorabilia sale, obviously there are lots of caps, badges, medals, boots, all of that, but something like this doesn’t come up very often.
“The real poignant thing is the letters; he wrote home about games to his mum and dad. It’s a real personal collection and it came from George directly.
“I’ve sold tens of thousands of lots of memorabilia in my time but I can’t think of too many telegrams amongst that.
“Lulu and George were ‘besties’, but unfortunately he beat Scotland that night 1-0, so it didn’t really work.
“It’s sadly not worth a huge amount of money but it’s a nice thing to have in your collection, it’s definitely quirky.”
David Convery. Pic: Graham Budd Auctions
Mr Convery said items relating to George Best held the same mystique for collectors as those related to greats like Pele and Diego Maradona.
“Maradona, Pele are the same; people remember how fantastic they were and George was a superstar back then. He was the bad-boy and people get on board with that,” he said.
“I saw him play at Hibs many years later, but at the height of his powers he would have been incredible.
“It’s nostalgia; remember the guys that tend to buy this stuff are of a certain age and would remember George playing at his height.”
Other lots in the auction linked to Best, who died in 2005 aged 59, include his first pair of football boots and a Player of the Year trophy, worth £30,000-50,000, presented to him by the Football Writers Association.
The auction will take place at Graham Budd Auction Rooms on December 3 and 4.