Memo that marked end of the Beatles to fetch thousands at auction

By James Gamble

A historic legal document that marked the end of the Beatles is set to go on sale - and is expected to fetch more than $100,000 (£73,000).

The December 1974 breakup contract, signed by all four members, formally ended the Fab Four's contractual obligations as a band.

The document also settled royalties disputes for John Lennon and George Harrison's solo projects.

Although the band's business dissolution was not legally formalized until January 1975 at the High Court in London, the memo served to summarize the larger contract.

The two-page memorandum marks the moment Lennon, Harrison, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr definitively marked the end of one of the greatest bands in the world.

The document is being sold by auctioneers Goldins next month, with bids already topping $100,000 (£73,400).

The contract, dated December 29, 1974, is signed twice by Lennon and Harrison, who were also acting as Directors of Apple Corps Ltd, as well as once by Paul and Ringo.

Relations in the band were strained during their last few years of existence, with tensions famously flaring during the recording of the White Album in 1968.

The collapse of the group, as well as the members' post-breakup interactions, were further stressed by failed business ventures and complicated legal arrangements with EMI/Capitol Records and Apple Corps over individual and group song royalties.

The band members never quite got a handle on their finances following the death of manager and 'fifth Beatle' Brian Epstein in August 1967.

The songs and albums mentioned within the breakup memorandum were all released under the Apple label.

The "Lennon Titles" mentioned in the document include the singles "Give Peace a Chance", released by the Plastic Ono Band in July 1969, "Cold Turkey", released by the Plastic Ono Band in October 1969, "Instant Karma!", released by Lennon/Ono with the Plastic Ono Band in February 1970, and the Plastic Ono Band live album Live Peace in Toronto 1969, released in December 1969.

The "Harrison Titles" include the George Harrison solo albums Wonderwall Music, released in November 1968, and Electronic Sound, released the following May.

Lennon officially quit the band in September 1969, but the news was kept a secret from the rest of the world for business reasons until McCartney publicly announced the band's breakup in a press release for his first solo album on April 10, 1970.

Royalties and songwriting credits were legally disputed for years, and the official dissolution of the band's legal partnership could not even be formalised without all band members willingly present to sign the contract, which Lennon refused to do.

It was not until December 29, 1974, when Lennon finally agreed to sign the agreement whilst at Walt Disney World in Florida with son Julian and then-girlfriend May Pang, that all band member signatures were obtained.

Following the date, with the month and day written in blue ballpoint pen, all four Beatles have penned their signatures on the appropriately labelled lines on the second page of the document.

Harrison, McCartney, and Ringo Starr used the blue pen, whilst Lennon used a black fibre-tip marker.

Directly underneath these four signatures is a sub-signature section specifically for Lennon and Harrison as directors for and on behalf of Apple Corps Limited, with each penning their respective signatures on the appropriate lines using their respective pens.