A STEINWAY grand piano that has been played by Sir Paul McCartney and Jools Holland was sold yesterday for £12,000.
It went under the hammer at an auction of Tyne Tees Television equipment, at its former studios in City Road, Newcastle.
The sale attracted 100 people, while another 150 around the world were bidding online.
The piano, which featured on music show The Tube, went to a mystery bidder, but the show's neon sign was bought by Tyne and Wear Museums for more than £1,000.
It plans to make it the centrepiece of an exhibition to celebrate 50 years of ITV later this year, although the official anniversary was yesterday.
A set of studio cameras went for £24,000, while two studio chairs used by presenters Mike Neville and Bob Johnson were sold for £100 each.
Other equipment, such as cameras, lighting gear and technical equipment went to developing countries in Africa and eastern Europe, where new television companies are being formed.
Tyne Tees Television managing director Graeme Thompson said: "It has been a very successful sale and it is nice that the equipment is going on to another life with another broadcaster.
"It is outdated for our needs, but you become attached to things, so we would rather they were put to use than wasted by being stored in a cupboard."
The auction is part of the £6m move to studios known as The Watermark, near Gateshead's MetroCentre
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