Pictures: Beatles contract with Brian Epstein

Beatles First Contract With Brian Epstein (www.zimbio.com)



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Is this the most-important document in pop history?: The contract that joined the Beatles with manager Brian Epstein goes under the hammer for £500,000
- Contract between Beatles and Brian Epstein up for auction in London
- Legendary document set to fetch between £300,000 and £500,000
- It's signed in October 1962, days before release The Beatles' first single
By SARA MALM FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED:  24 September 2015

The contract between The Beatles and their manager Brian Epstein is set to fetch up to £500,000 at a London auction this month.
The document, signed by all four members of the band, is the only managerial contract signed by both the final line-up of the Beatles -  and their manager.
Signed in October 1962, the contract was finalised just days before the release of the band's first single, Love Me Do.


For sale: The contract that launched the Beatles, binding together John Lennon, George Harrison, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr with manager Brian Epstein, is set to fetch £300,000 - £500,000

The contract is between Brian Epstein and The Beatles, signed by John Winston Lennon, George Harrison, James Paul McCartney, and Richard Starkey (Ringo Starr).
As Paul and George were under 21, their fathers, Harold Hargreaves Harrison and James McCartney, were also summoned to co-sign the contract.

The contract states that The Beatles agree to 'appoint the Manager to act as such Manager throughout the world ... for a period of 5 years from the 1st day of October 1962', signed by Brian Epstein as company Director and Clive Epstein as company Secretary, then signed by all other parties including all four Beatles.
'Without this contract, and the relationship it represents, it seems inconceivable that The Beatles could have achieved all that they did,' Sotheby's writes on its website.
'It took more than inspired musicianship and song-writing to remake popular music, and the presentation, direction, and internal harmony of the Beatles all owed a huge amount to Brian Epstein.'


Legends: The Beatles, from left to right George Harrison, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, manager Brian Epstein, and John Lennon, at London Airport in 1964




Launching The Beatles, The contract is signed by John Winston Lennon, George Harrison, James Paul McCartney, and Richard Starkey (Ringo Starr), just days before they released Love Me Do


Fathers' support: As Paul McCartney and George Harrison were under 21, their fathers, Harold Hargreaves Harrison and James McCartney, were also summoned to co-sign the contract.

The contract is part of with the Sotheby's 'Rock & Pop sale' on London on Tuesday, and is expected to fetch between £300,000 and £500,000.
Highlights of the sale include the 'ABBA Grand' piano, used in almost all of ABBA's studio recordings 1973-1977, as well as instruments, clothing and manuscripts from the collection of the legendary bassist Jack Bruce,  and Eric Clapton's Fender Stratocaster in Daphne blue.
The sale also features a strong selection of Bob Dylan material, including the revised typescript lyrics for 'It's a Hard Rain's Gonna Fall', a highly important working draft (lot 71). This follows the success of our New York A Rock and Roll History sale last year, where Bob Dylan's autograph manuscript for 'Like a Rolling Stone' set a new record for not just material by Dylan but for any popular music lyrics sold at auction.