The Beatles, Lennon, Harrison and Starr signed legal letter

http://www.cooperowen.com/asp/fullCa...8370&saletype=




The Beatles, Lennon, Harrison and Starr signed legal letter re. Lee Eastman representation, 1969
An important letter providing documentary evidence of one of the major catalysts behind the break-up of The Beatles, signed John Lennon, George Harrison and R Starr, dated 18th April 1969. The single page typed letter, addressed to Mr Eastman of Eastman and Eastman, 39 West 54th Street, New York, New York 10019 was sent by Lennon, Harrison and Starr, to formally notify Lee Eastman that he was ...not authorized to act or hold yourself out as the attorney (sic) or legal representative of "The Beatles" or of any of the companies which the Beatles own or control.., the letter details further that the three signatories ... recognize that you are authorized to act for Paul McCartney, personally, and in this regard we will instruct our representatives to give you the fullest cooperation.. The letter further requests that Eastman forward all Beatles related documents, correspondence and files to ABKO Industries Inc. 1700 Broadway, New York, N.Y.. The letter is signed Very Truly yours, John Lennon in red felt pen, R. Starkey in blue ballpoint pen and George Harrison in brown felt pen.

Estimate £ 55,000-75,000

Although it is largely thought that the decline of The Beatles as a group began after the unexpected death of Brian Epstein in 1967, it was the realisation in 1969 that Apple was in financial chaos, causing the Beatles' money to be disappearing quickly that spurred Lennon and McCartney in particular to look for a firm hand to take over the management of the Beatles' affairs. Lennon arranged to see Allen Klein whom he'd initially heard about through Epstein and then via his friends The Rolling Stones, who Klein represented. In 1970 in his famous interview with Jann Wenner, Lennon described how he engineered the situation which enabled him to get Klein involved with The Beatles: 'I manoeuvre people That's what leader's do. I sit and make situations in which it's a benefit to me with other people... I had to do a job to get Allen into Apple... I... [Created} a situation around Apple and the Beatles in which Allen could come in . He wouldn't have got in unless I'd done it....' Once John had opted for Klein to manage him, George and Ringo followed suit. Paul, however was opposed to Klein and proposed instead, his partner Linda's music lawyer father Lee Eastman, and her brother John. Lennon, Harrison and Starr considered that the Eastmans' close relationship with McCartney would bias the balance of The Beatles' partnership in McCartney's favour. As such things became acrimonious resulting in a three against one division formalised by this document.

Allen Klein and Lee Eastman's inability to even attempt to co-operate with one another for the good of The Beatles succeeded in broadening the division between the two opposing factors within the group even further. By this stage in 1969 The Beatles were all going in different musical directions, and as Ringo recalled '...The enthusiasm was just waning... It was like the wind -down to a divorce. A divorce doesn't just happen suddenly; there are months and years of misery until you finally say 'Oh let's end it.' The Beatles' partnership was finally dissolved in court just under five years later on January 9th, 1975.
literature:
Beatles,The 'The Beatles Anthology', London: Cassell & Co. 2000 pp. 324-329
Wenner, Jann S. 'Lennon Remembers', USA: Verson, 2000, pp. 34-35
Goldman, Albert 'The Lives of John Lennon, New York:, 1988, pp. 391-407