Beatles' first contract with Brian Epstein up for auction
The contract in which the Beatles signed up Brian Epstein as their manager is going under the hammer next week with a guide price of between £300,000 and £500,000.
It's the only management contract signed between The Beatles and Epstein after the band attained its final line-up, and was signed just before the release of their first single.
"Without this contract, and the relationship it represents, it seems inconceivable that The Beatles could have achieved all that they did: 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," says Sotheby's, which is handling the sale.
"He was, as Paul McCartney has acknowledged, the Fifth Beatle, and the band began to crumble after his sudden death in 1967. Lennon said: 'We loved him and he was one of us'."
The contract is signed by all four members of the band - as well as by Harold Hargreaves Harrison and James McCartney, the fathers of Paul and George, as they were under 21 at the time.
John Lennon had to make two shots at a signature, signing it in the wrong place the first time.
The band members 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". Epstein gets 10% commission on the band's earnings up to £400 a week, 20% between £400 and £800 and 25% above that.
"Perhaps the band could have found a cheaper manager, but they would never have found anyone who would commit to The Beatles with the fervency of Epstein," comments Sotheby's.
The contract goes under the hammer on Tuesday, as part of the Sotheby's 'Rock & Pop sale' in London. Also up for grabs are the grand piano used in almost all of ABBA's studio recordings between 1973 and 1977, as well as a variety of Bob Dylan material, including the revised typescript lyrics for 'It's a Hard Rain's Gonna Fall'.
Just last week, the first recording contract ever signed by the Beatles - for a recording of a rock and roll version of 'My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean' in 1961 - sold for over $93,000 in New York.
And the week before, Ringo Starr himself announced plans to sell a wide range of Beatles memorabilia including John Lennon's guitar and George Harrison's car, with part of the proceeds going to charity.
Read more on AOL Money:
George Harrison and Ringo Starr jackets from Help! up for auction
Bob Dylan lyrics fetch record price
Gigantic record collection sells for £70,000
