A letter from John Lennon to Paul McCartney showing strains in their relationship when the Beatles were breaking up could fetch up to £80,000 sterling (€127,400) at auction next week.
The Christie's auction also features collectables associated with U2, Elvis Presley, the Rolling Stones, Madonna, The Who, Janis Joplin and Buddy Holly.
The draft Lennon letter is a highlight of the pop and collectable guitars auction in London next Thursday, October 4th. Although not dated, John Lennon is believed to have drafted it to Paul and Linda McCartney in 1970 or 1971.
Characterised by spelling mistakes, deletions and expletives, the letter shows Lennon's mood at the time, fluctuating from fury to hurt at the Beatles's alleged treatment of him and Yoko Ono.
It shows disdain for Linda McCartney, frustration and exasperation over various matters, and yet a very real affection for Paul McCartney.
Lennon penned the six-page draft at Tittenhurst Park, his Berkshire mansion, seemingly in response to a letter sent to him from Linda McCartney. Her letter criticised Lennon for unfavourable remarks he had made publicly about Paul McCartney and the Beatles.
The auction house does not know whether Lennon actually sent the letter or any later draft of it to Paul and Linda McCartney.
Lennon records his disenchantment with aspects of the fame achieved by the Beatles, such as their acceptance in 1965 of MBE awards, an award he returned in 1969. He writes: "I do remember squirming a little - don't you Paul - or do you - as I suspect still believe it all? (sic)"
Lennon writes somewhat ambiguously to McCartney: "Of course, we changed the world - but try and follow it through - get off your gold disc and fly." In the last page, he documents the circumstances that he perceived as prevailing at the time the Beatles broke up and why he remained quiet about leaving the group.
"Paul and Klein both spent the day persuading me it was better not to say anything, asking me not to say anything because it would hurt the Beatles and let's just let it petre (sic) out, remember? The ***** asked me to keep quiet about it, noting of course the money angle is important - to all of us."
A second John Lennon letter, this one to his cousin Leila, which shows the singer as affectionate, nostalgic and homesick, is expected to fetch between £12,000 and £15,000.
Meanwhile, a 1968 Lennon letter to Canon Verney of Coventry Cathedral, concerning Lennon and Yoko Ono planting two acorns there, is expected to make £8,000.
U2 features in the auction with a Trabant two-door saloon car body used by the Irish group to promote their 1992 album Achtung Baby. Originally from 1970s Czechoslovakia, it is expected to make £2,000 to £3,000.
Other items in the auction include a 1958 autographed letter from Elvis Presley to his girlfriend Anita Wood, saying he intended to marry her.
Estimated at £6,000 to £8,000, it was penned from Germany while he was in the US army and is accompanied by a note from Ms Wood saying she dated Elvis from 1957 to 1961.
A promotional display of the Rolling Stones's psychedelic album cover for the 1967 Their Satanic Majesties Request is estimated at £2,000 to £3,000.
The three-dimensional vinyl image shows the group as a band of sorcerers, each depicted as their alter ego.
An appointments' diary used by Madonna from April 1988 to January 1989, pitted with entries like "workout", "massage", "leg wax", "studio" and "photo shoot with Herb Ritts", is expected to make £3,000 to £4,000.
Meanwhile, a letter by Janis Joplin to her fiancΘ Peter Le Blanc written in October 1965, depicting the singer in a homely, domesticated mood, is expected to realise £1,200 to £1,500.
jmarms@irish-times.ie
