Beatles’ ‘birth certificate’ with a £250k price tag

Aug 13 2008 by Mike Chapple, Liverpool Daily Post

The Beatles' first signed contract with manager Brian Epstein _220

THE so called “Holy Grail of all Beatles memorabilia” – the band’s first signed contract with manager Brian Epstein – is expected to fetch at least £250,000 at auction.

The historic document, arguably the most important music contract of all time, is the late manager’s personal copy. The first copy was originally signed by John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr on January 24, 1962.

But Epstein refused to ink his name until he fulfilled his pledge to secure them their first recording contract which he finally did nearly nine months later when the deal with EMI’s Parlophone label to release their first single Love Me Do was confirmed on October 1.

This second five-year contract also contains the signatures of Harold Hargreaves Harrison and James McCartney, George and Paul’s respective fathers who had to give additional consent on behalf of their sons as they were under 21. The lot also includes a supplementary agreement signed by all parties on January 22 1963.

It is being sold by the Fame Bureau, the world’s biggest dealers in rock and film memorabilia.

“You'd probably say I would say that, but this really is the Holy Grail when it comes to Beatles memorabilia,” said the Bureau’s managing director 60-year-old Ted Owen, who previously set up the record breaking sales of Lennon’s “Imagine” piano for £1.5m and the auction of the lyrics for All You Need is Love.

“It gives me shivers down the spine looking at it because it’s a historical document of such significance. I can almost see them there with Paul and George’s dads perhaps in Brian's NEMs office in Liverpool and how excited they must have been.”

Mr Owen, who said that the contract would have probably originated from the estate of Brian’s late mother Queenie, added that Beatles memorabilia is still the most sought after in the world.

“Over 30 years since they split and they are still the number one collectables. The material increases in value continually and anything, particularly anything containing all the Beatles signatures, has literally doubled in price in just a couple of years.”

Also being auctioned at the Idea Generation Gallery in London on Thursday, September 4 is the Trident Studios Bechstein Grand Piano, used in the recording of the Beatles’ White album and the number one single Hey Jude, which were released 40 years ago.

John Lennon’s engraved lyrics to the song Sexy Sadie and the model of screen cowboy Tom Mix which stood between the real John Lennon and the waxwork Macca on the Sgt Pepper sleeve complete the Beatles artifacts which will be auctioned.

mikechapple@dailypost.co.uk