Connect with us

Published

on

A rare hardback copy of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone has been sold for £10,500 at an auction – having been purchased for only 30p.

The winning bid, which was well above its estimated value of £3,000 to £5,000, came online from Los Angeles.

Published by Bloomsbury in 1997 with a laminated board cover, the book is one of only 500 first edition first impressions and, of those, one of only 300 sent to libraries.

It also has an o missing from the word Philosopher’s on its back cover.

The novel was initially snapped up at the bargain 30p price by an anonymous man from Staffordshire after being withdrawn from Wolverhampton Library.

The buyer died at the beginning of the year and the auctioneers behind the sale, Richard Winterton, had to rummage through hundreds of boxes of his belongings to find it.

It still carries its library identification sticker, a spine sticker with the letter J, and withdrawal stamp.

More on Harry Potter

Harry Potter book auction. Pic: Richard Winterton Auctioneers
Image:
Pic: Richard Winterton Auctioneers

Auctioneer Richard Winterton said: “We’re absolutely delighted with this result.

Harry Potter book auction. Pic: Richard Winterton Auctioneers
Image:
Richard Winterton. Pic: Richard Winterton Auctioneers

“The first in the original series of books by JK Rowling, this copy has clearly been well-read and still has its library identification sticker, spine sticker with the letter J, withdrawal stamp and 30p selling price.”

The book’s high estimation was partly down to its “much-loved condition” as a former library book.

Read more Harry Potter news:
Harry Potter books to be transformed into decade-long TV series

Daniel Radcliffe welcomes first child

To identify a first edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone check the publisher is Bloomsbury and the latest date listed in the copyright information is 1997.

The print line on the copyright page must read “10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1” and check for that missing Philosopher’s “o”.

There is also a typo on page 53 where the item “1 wand” appears twice – once at the beginning and once at the end.

Continue Reading

Entertainment

Kanye West’s Yeezy online shopping platform taken down over swastika T-shirts

Published

on

By

Kanye West's Yeezy online shopping platform taken down over swastika T-shirts

Kanye West’s Yeezy online shopping platform has been taken down after selling T-shirts featuring a swastika.

The rapper, also known as Ye, used a Super Bowl commercial on Sunday to send people to his website to buy the clothing emblazoned with the Nazi symbol – an image often used by the extreme-right.

The ecommerce platform Shopify, which hosts many online shops and businesses, has deactivated his site and his domain name yeez.com is being sold for $98,999 (£79,692).

Shopify said in an emailed statement to Sky News’ sister channel NBC News: “All merchants are responsible for following the rules of our platform. This merchant did not engage in authentic commerce practices and violated our terms so we removed them from Shopify.”

West’s representative is yet to respond to a request from NBC for comment.

The white T-shirts featured a black swastika on the front and were the only items for sale on the front page of yeezy.com.

No text or explanation accompanied the item, just the letters “HH-01.” They were available for $20 (£16).

More on Kanye West

Initially, West’s site showed a notice from Shopify which said the store was “unavailable”.

screengrab of yeez.com, Kayne's website which host shopify has taken down after it featured T-shifts featuring a swastika
Image:
yeez.com was taken offline by Shopify, the e-commerce platform which was hosting his shop

But the site now redirects to the registrar GoDaddy, the platform which manages yeez.com, where a page shows the domain name is for sale.

GoDaddy has not yet responded to questions about the sale and whether it was enforced by the company or initiated by West.

Screenshot showing yeez.com domain is for sale on godaddy
https://www.godaddy.com/forsale/yeez.com
Image:
The domain name yeez.com can be bought for $98,999 (£79,692)

The decision to sell the T-shirt triggered widespread criticism, including from the Anti-Defamation League (ADF) which posted a statement on X on Monday, describing the shirt sales as further proof of West’s antisemitism.

The organisation, formed to combat anti-Jewish bigotry and discrimination, explained that the swastika was adopted by Hitler and “continues to threaten and instil fear in those targeted by antisemitism and white supremacy”.

The ADF also said the T-shirt was labelled on Kanye’s website as ‘HH-01’ – suggesting this was code for “Heil Hitler”.

Read more from Sky News:
Steve Bannon avoids jail after admitting fraud
Ukraine targets fuel used by Russian military
Armie Hammer addresses cannibalism claims

West has in recent days been posting antisemitic messages on X, as well as writing “I love Hitler” and “I’m a Nazi”. His account then had a “sensitive content warning” added to it before he posted a final message.

“I’m logging out of Twitter,” he wrote. “I appreciate [X owner] Elon [Musk] for allowing me to vent.”

After his account was deactivated on Monday, his spokesperson Milo Yiannopoulos issued an explanation.

“Ye is an intergenerational artist and icon who continues to redefine the limits of creativity and free expression. He has deactivated his X account for the time being,” he said in a statement.

The Campaign Against Antisemitism was joined by Friends star David Schwimmer in calling for Elon Musk to remove West from X over a string of offensive posts.

One of the most successful figures in hop-hip, West built up a fashion brand called Yeezy which began as a collaboration with Adidas. But the German sportswear giant cut ties with him in 2022 over his antisemitic remarks and eventually reached a settlement in October.

Continue Reading

Entertainment

Lisa Riley reacts to Peter Kay’s ‘upsetting’ gig jibe

Published

on

By

Lisa Riley reacts to Peter Kay's 'upsetting' gig jibe

Lisa Riley has reacted to reports that Peter Kay likened a heckler to her, insisting she’s “not offended”.

The Bolton comedian was performing his Manchester gig on Saturday night when a woman was removed by security guards after shouting “We love you Peter”. Kay is said to have likened her to Riley as she was being taken out.

The audience member has said she is “annoyed and upset” about the comments.

“To go to a show and feel like you’re having the mick taken out of you because of your weight, I was just a bit shocked,” she told the Manchester Evening News.

“The whole arena was laughing, I think they thought it was part of the show but there was a nastiness to his voice. It was like he was trying to get the crowd against me – it just wasn’t nice, to be honest.”

Riley, 48, is best known for playing Mandy Dingle in Emmerdale and also fronted You’ve Been Framed in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Appearing to respond to her impromptu mention during the show, Riley posted a picture on Instagram on Monday which read: “Keep calm and laugh”. She added the message: “It’s a laugh, it’s funny!!!”

She then followed it up on Tuesday with a post on Instagram which said: “Please draw a line under this now. I am not offended, never was offended. I love Peter Kay to pieces. Laughter is my favourite medicine”.

Kay was also understood to have thrown two men out of the same gig after one repeatedly shouted “garlic bread,” which is one of Kay’s catchphrases.

Kay told ITV’s Good Morning Britain he had taken action against hecklers as they were ruining the show for others, and it was “no longer fair” to the other audience members.

In response to his likening of one audience member to Riley, he said in a statement to the show: “I didn’t realise it was an insult. She did look remarkably like Lisa Riley, I didn’t realise that was an insult”.

One audience member told the Manchester Evening News that Kay had “shouted” at the hecklers for “a good three to five minutes” during the show.

They said the audience was mixed in their reaction: “Some couldn’t believe it and were obviously annoyed and others were laughing, either thinking it was part of the show or going along with it.”

Read more:
Barcelona player denies inappropriately touching rival during match
Mystery over claims of shaved cats

Kay, 51, who has been performing his record-breaking Better Late Than Never Again tour since 2022, recently performed his 100th show at the AO Arena – the same venue the three hecklers were expelled from.

Tickets to watch the show start at £35, but go up to about £350 for top-notch seats.

Sky News has contacted representatives for Kay for comment.

Kay is currently scheduled to perform his tour into spring 2026.

Continue Reading

Entertainment

Pilot killed as Motley Crue frontman’s jet crashes at Arizona airport

Published

on

By

Pilot killed as Motley Crue frontman's jet crashes at Arizona airport

A pilot has died after a private jet owned by Motley Crue frontman Vince Neil crashed into another plane at an airport in Arizona.

Neil was not on board at the time of the collision, which happened off the runway at Scottsdale Airport on Monday afternoon.

Neil’s girlfriend Rain Andreani and her friend suffered injuries which are not thought to be life-threatening.

They were taken to hospital with the jet’s co-pilot, who was also injured.

Emergency responders work on Vince Neil's plane after the collision. Pic: AP
Image:
Emergency responders work on Vince Neil’s plane after the collision. Pic: AP

“While details are still emerging, our hearts go out to the families of both the pilot who lost his life and the passengers who suffered injuries,” Motley Crue said in a statement.

“Motley Crue will announce a way to help support the family of the deceased pilot – stand by for an announcement very soon”.

Rain Andreani broke five ribs in the crash and the dogs the women were travelling with survived, TMZ reports.

More from US

Read more from Sky News:
Teacher admits stabbing girl, 7, to death
Nationwide power outage blamed on monkey
Dozens of unexploded WW2 bombs found in playpark

Firefighters work around the site of a crashed Learjet at Scottsdale Airport after it collided with a parked plane Monday, Feb. 10, 2025, in Scottsdale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Image:
Pic: AP

Neil’s jet was arriving from Austin, Texas, when one of its two sets of landing gears failed.

The Learjet veered off the runway after landing and crashed into a Gulfstream 200 business jet.

Neil’s lawyer said the singer is “grateful for the critical aid of all first responders assisting today”.

The Federal Aviation Administration said the incident was under investigation.

Motley Crue enjoyed major success throughout the 1980s, selling more than 100 million records.

Vince Neil fronted the rock band from their formation in 1981 until he left in 1992.

He later reunited with the band in 1996 and fronted them until they retired in 2015, and again from the band’s 2018 reunion onwards.

Continue Reading

Trending