HOLLYWOOD - Rodolfo Vazquez, the 44-year-old owner of "The Cavern Club Buenos Aires" in Argentina, has been recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as having the world's largest Beatles collection, Reuters reports. He started his collection -- which includes 5,612 albums, autographs, photos, tickets, books, posters, toys and comic strips -- at age 10 when he received the album Rubber Soul as a gift.
"I turned into a collector after John Lennon was shot in 1980. I probably had 1,000 objects then, including articles, books and albums, but everything was incomplete,'' Vazquez told Reuters.
Vazquez's collection attracted 25,000 visitors to his 1997 ''30 Years of Sergeant Pepper'' exhibit in Argentina's capital.
But now he has other plans in mind, as he will host the inaugural ''Semana Beatle de Latinoamerica'' (Beatles Week) on Oct. 8-14.
"I'd like people to gather outside my bar on the night of October 9 to sing 'Imagine' in honor John Lennon's birthday. His sister (Julia Baird) will be there,'' he said.
"I never met John Lennon. That's a dream that will never be realized,'' a somber Vazquez added, as he held an autographed 1972 photo of the Beatles member shot dead in December 1980.