The Beatles break-up: Lost legal notes have just been found in a cupboard

3 December 2024, 10:18

A unique insight into the disintegration of The Beatles

Few stories in rock and roll have been pored over as much as the break-up of The Beatles.

From their final live show to the death of Brian Epstein, to Ringo Starr and George Harrison walking out (and coming back), there have been countless books, articles and films about how the Fab Four fell apart.

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And now over 300 of pages of legal documents have been unearthed that will offer an insight into the Beatles split like no other, the Liverpool Echo reports.

Denise Kelly from auctioneers Dawsons said that these papers were used by lawyers during the HIgh Court battle that saw the break-up made legally official in 1974 – four years after they had actually parted ways.

"These unique and detailed documents are fascinating and once I began to read them, I just couldn't put them down until I had read every page," she said.

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"Even though John, Paul, George, and Ringo had grown tired of being The Beatles and wanted to record and perform as individual artists, this must have been a difficult time for each of them, especially having had such a close friendship and successful partnership."

She added: "As I read the minutes of meetings notes which included discussions between the legal teams and accountants, I wondered how on earth they were going to sort everything out, and at times I could sense panic in the room as more and more complexities came to light.

"One of the lawyers even suggested during one meeting when they had gone round and round and round in circles, 'Would it be easier if The Beatles just retired?'.

"It has crossed my mind that if I were a scriptwriter, these documents would be all I'd need to tell the real story of what led to one of the best-selling bands in history splitting up and going their separate ways.

"The characters, dialogue and time of events are all there and ready to reference."

The papers were only found in the last year following the death of the seller's brother. They will be auctioned on December 12 with an expected price of £8,000.