As legend has it, Paul McCartney gave an interview in the November 1971 issue of British music magazine Melody Maker — and some of his comments displeased John Lennon. And if you're John Lennon, you're going to do exactly as expected: wield that mighty pen and turn it against your writing partner in a scathing letter.
Now, said three-page letter — and historical artifact of Beatles beef — is up for auction via Gotta Have Rock and Roll, where it is expected to fetch at least $30,000 USD.
The Fab Four had been broken up for about a year at the time Lennon would have penned the letter, having given him some time for his frustration and resentment to fester.
Lennon berates McCartney for being indecisive over their decision to part ways, and accuses him of being ungrateful — re: legal battles over money, of course ("If you're not the aggressor [as you claim], who the hell took us to court and shit all over us in public?") — taking issue with his dismissal of the song "Imagine" in a particularly brutal passage, writing: "So you think 'Imagine' isn't political, it's 'working class here' with sugar on it for conservatives like yourself!!"
In addition to both George Harrison and Ringo Starr getting roped into the spat, McLennon insisted on bringing their wives into their tumultuous relationship, with Lennon commenting in the postscript on McCartney's mention of leaving Yoko and Linda out of the dispute, writing: "I thought you'd have understood BY NOW, that I'm JOHNANDYOKO."
Being the petty legend that he was, Lennon also sent the letter to Melody Maker's then-editor Richard Williams with a plea for him to publish it. It appeared in the magazine a few weeks after McCartney's interview ran.
You can see scans of Lennon's hand-annotated pages below, and read the full thing on the lot listing if you too live for drama.
Last year, two rare handwritten Beatles setlists went up for auction.
Now, said three-page letter — and historical artifact of Beatles beef — is up for auction via Gotta Have Rock and Roll, where it is expected to fetch at least $30,000 USD.
The Fab Four had been broken up for about a year at the time Lennon would have penned the letter, having given him some time for his frustration and resentment to fester.
Lennon berates McCartney for being indecisive over their decision to part ways, and accuses him of being ungrateful — re: legal battles over money, of course ("If you're not the aggressor [as you claim], who the hell took us to court and shit all over us in public?") — taking issue with his dismissal of the song "Imagine" in a particularly brutal passage, writing: "So you think 'Imagine' isn't political, it's 'working class here' with sugar on it for conservatives like yourself!!"
In addition to both George Harrison and Ringo Starr getting roped into the spat, McLennon insisted on bringing their wives into their tumultuous relationship, with Lennon commenting in the postscript on McCartney's mention of leaving Yoko and Linda out of the dispute, writing: "I thought you'd have understood BY NOW, that I'm JOHNANDYOKO."
Being the petty legend that he was, Lennon also sent the letter to Melody Maker's then-editor Richard Williams with a plea for him to publish it. It appeared in the magazine a few weeks after McCartney's interview ran.
You can see scans of Lennon's hand-annotated pages below, and read the full thing on the lot listing if you too live for drama.
Last year, two rare handwritten Beatles setlists went up for auction.
