Paul McCartney’s handwritten lyrics to The Beatles’ classic song “Hey Jude” sold for $910,000 on Friday through Julien’s Auctions.

Reuters notes that the winning bid was nine times higher than the original estimate. "It’s obviously a very iconic song that everyone’s familiar with,” Julien’s Auctions music specialist Jason Watkins says about McCartney's scribbled lyrics from 1968. “These handwritten lyrics were used in the studio as a guide when they were recording it.”

Also sold at the auction for $200,000 was a vintage bass drumhead with The Beatles’ logo on it that the band used during their first North American tour in 1964. More than 250 items of Beatles memorabilia were offered up in total at the online auction, which marked the 50th anniversary of the band’s breakup.

Marianne Faithfull, the singer and actress who dated Mick Jagger during London's swinging '60s, is hospitalized and reportedly "barely able to speak" after getting infected with coronavirus. 

Page Six notes that friends are particularly concerned about the 73-year-old's prospects because she's already survived bouts with hepatitis C and breast cancer.

Meanwhile, Duran Duran bassist John Taylor said Sunday that he's "feeling okay" after being diagnosed with COVID-19 three weeks ago. The 59-year-old compared the illness to a "turbo-charged flu," adding, "I am speaking out to answer to the enormous amount of fear being generated by the pandemic, some of it entirely justified, and my heart goes out to everyone who has had to deal with real loss and pain. But I want to let you know that it isn’t always a killer, and we can and will beat this thing.”

On Sunday, Queen Elizabeth gave a rare television address to her country about the coronavirus outbreak, according to The New York Times. 

“I am speaking to you at what I know is an increasingly challenging time,” the Queen said. “A disruption that has brought grief to some, financial difficulties to many, and enormous changes to the daily lives of us all.”

The queen thanked both healthcare workers and those staying at home. “I hope in the years to come, everyone will be able to take pride in how they responded to this challenge,” the Queen said, “and those who come after us will say that the Britons of this generation were as strong as any. That the attributes of self-discipline, of quiet good-humored resolve and of fellow-feeling still characterize this country.” Her remarks were recorded at Windsor Castle.

Her son, Prince Charles, and the prime minister, Boris Johnson, both tested positive for the coronavirus. As of Sunday night, more than 40,000 Britons had as well. 

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