Two letters that appear to signal the end of The Beatles are up for sale, with an asking price of over half a million dollars.
Last week, we passed the 50-year anniversary of The Beatles’ final live performance. Taking place atop the rooftop of Apple Corps in London, this was the beginning of the end for the band, with their formal breakup taking place just over a year later in April of 1970.
As we now know, this period was marred by a number of problems between the band’s members, including infighting, clashing personalities, and a desire from Paul McCartney to release a solo record.
However, a pair of letters that are now up for sale appear to indicate that the band’s troubles had begun in early 1969.
As Rolling Stone reports, two legal letters sent by The Beatles are up for sale through the Moments in Time website.
The first of these letters is dated January 1969 and is signed by all four members of the band, as well as Apple Corps’ Neil Aspinall.
The letter is addressed to John Eastman (who would become Paul McCartney’s brother-in-law in March when he married Linda Eastman), and states that “we retain you and authorise you to act on our behalf in negotiations in respect of all contracts proposed.”
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Check out The Beatles’ letter that are up for sale:
The second letter is dated from April of 1969, and was sent to Lee Eastman (Paul McCartney’s then father-in-law) to dissolve their business relationship.
“This is to inform you of the fact that you are not authorized to act of to hold yourself as the attourney [sic] or legal representative of ‘The Beatles’ or of any of the companies which the Beatles own or control,” it states.
The letter itself was signed by all of The Beatles except Paul McCartney, who opted to stick with the management of Eastman & Eastman, while the remainder of the band went with The Rolling Stones’ manager Allan Klein.
“We recognize that you are authorized to act for Paul McCartney, personally, and in this regard we will instruct our representatives to give you the fullest co-operation.”
The January 1969 letter is currently asking for $225,000, while the April letter is up for $325,000. As Rolling Stone notes, the later correspondence previously went up for sale back in 2005, where it fetched £48,000.
Dubbed the “split letter” at the time, it was eventually snapped up by a private collector who has undoubtedly seen their investment increase in size over the years.
Check out The Beatles’ ‘Across The Universe’:
