Forgotten in a cupboard since the 1970s, legal documents which shed new light on the end of the Beatles will be sold next week by the British auction house Dawsons.
Estimated at 5,000 pounds (6,000 euros), they will go on sale on December 12.
Among them are copies of meeting minutes from a Beatles advisor, court summonses and a copy of the group's original partnership deed from 1967.
While creative differences, the pressure of fame and John Lennon's wife, Yoko Ono, were blamed for the “Fab Four's” breakup, these documents shed light on the numerous legal battles that also weighed on the life of the band.
Among them, the one launched by Paul McCartney against the decision of the other members to hire Allen Klein as manager, after the death of Brian Epstein.
There followed a battle before the High Court in London, launched by McCartney against the group, and which revealed Klein's mismanagement.
“It would be almost impossible to overstate the complexity of the various legal arrangements entered into by Messrs. Lennon, McCartney, Harrison and Starkey (Ringo Starr),” one of the documents reads.
The issue of music and film royalties as well as Klein's inability to produce annual accounts for the tax authorities are at the heart of the issues which have torn the group apart.
“Even though John, Paul, George and Ringo were tired of being the Beatles and wanted to record and perform as individual artists, it must have been a difficult time for all of them,” comments Denise Kelly, head of Dawson's entertainment and popular culture department.
The breakup was announced in 1970 by Paul McCartney but the legal separation process was not finalized until 1974.
From the document formalizing their separation to their first recording contract, auctions around the Beatles have multiplied in recent years.
The interest continues. On Thursday, a letter written in 1971 by John Lennon to his compatriot Eric Clapton will be put up for sale by Christie's. It testifies to his desire to turn the page on the Beatles to create a new group with Clapton.
