Lot 1043
THE BEATLES
An extraordinary typed D.S. "John Lennon" and "R Starkey" 1p. 4to., [London], January 1969, a notice addressed to Apple Corps Ltd. appointing the father and brother of Paul McCartney's future wife Linda Eastman. The document reads, in full: "To Whom it may concern, Please be advised that we have retained the firm of Eastman & Eastman, of 39 West 54th Street, New York, 100[0]9, as our attorneys. You will please forward Eastman & Eastman all documents in connection with our affairs and furnish with them all information which they may require. We trust you will afford Eastman & Eastman every courtesy". Interestingly, there are spaces left for both Paul McCartney and George Harrison to sign (indicated in type) but they failed to do so. There is also space left for a representative of Apple Corps Ltd. to sign. The document came to the present owner in 1980 from the papers of legendary manager Allen Klein, who managed Apple for much of 1969 as the group was disintegrating.
January 1969 was a tumultuous month for the Beatles and in many respects, it marked the beginning of the end. George had stormed out of a recording session on January 10 and the other members were barely on speaking terms. Although their record sales were skyrocketing, business was not particularly promising either. The highly-touted Apple Corps Ltd. had become a money pit with a bloated staff and payroll to match. The company had branched into films, retail, and even consumer electronics. In addition, Apple was paying out huge grants to virtually any artist with a modicum of an idea for a project. Authors Allan Clayson and Spencer Leigh described the situation most aptly: "Out of his depth, a Beatle might commandeer a room...stick to conventional office hours and play company director until the novelty wore off. Initially, he'd look away from the disgusting realities of the half-eaten steak sandwich in a litter bin; the employee rolling a spliff [of] the best Afgan hash; the typist who spans out a single letter (in the house style, with no exclamation marks!) all morning before 'popping out' and not returning until the next day....'We had, like, a thousand people that weren't needed.' snarled Ringo, 'but they all enjoyed it. They were all getting paid for sitting around. We had a guy there just to read the taro cards...It was craziness'". The sad state of affairs was well under wraps until John Lennon remarked, off the record, to the editor of Disc and Music Echo that "if it carries on like this, all of us will be broke in the next six months".
If the Beatles could agree on one thing, it was that they needed someone to staunch the bleeding at Apple. Paul suggested his soon-to-be father and brother-in-law, Lee and John Eastman, two international copyright attorneys from New York with extensive experience in the music business. Lee sent his son John to London in late January to meet with the Beatles. He recommended the Beatles streamline Apple, axe the unprofitable and dormant divisions; buy out Dick James and the Epstein family (who controlled Brian Epstein's share of NEMS); and purchase NEMS as well (as they controlled the Beatles record royalties) using a £1 million loan from EMI against future royalties. The Beatles liked what they heard and agreed to retain the Eastmans as general counsel for Apple and gave them the green light to begin negotiations. However, John Lennon did not trust the college-educated John Eastman, a preppy Kennedy-esque figure whom he saw as an establishment type with little in common with Liverpool street kids like themselves. Additionally, John also feared that the Eastmans would give Paul an unfair advantage in light of his relationship with Linda Eastman.
At about the same time, record executive Allen Klein had seen John Lennon's remarks concerning the money-losing Apple Corps and decided to make a run at managing the Beatles. Klein had made his bones in the music business by auditing record labels looking for unpaid royalties performing accounting miracles for the likes of Bobby Darin, Sam Cooke and the Rolling Stones. Two days after the Beatles' famous rooftop concert of January 26, Klein met with John and Yoko and quickly gained their trust. John saw in Klein a financial wizard and a powerful ally against what he perceived to be the McCartney-Eastman juggernaut. Without even consulting the other members of the band, John immediately resolved to retain Klein to handle his personal affairs. The next day John proposed to the Beatles that Klein be retained to run Apple Corps. and turn the ailing firm around. Paul had heard of Klein's reputation and wanting nothing of it. But George and Ringo were intrigued by Newark, New Jersey-born Klein's straight-talk. "Because we were all from Liverpool, we favored people who were street people," George Harrison remarked and added, "As John was going with Klein, it was much easier if we [he and Ringo] went with him too". Paul continued in his opposition to Klein and thought the all-for-one ethic that had governed all Beatles decision-making up to that point would win the day. But the other three pressed and outvoted Paul -- the first time this ever happened. Paul relented and agreed that Klein could perform an audit of Apple if the Eastmans were retained as general counsel. The compromise was a flawed one as the Eastmans were expecting, apart from acting as general counsel, to be cutting major deals for the Beatles, something Allen Klein had expected to do as well.
Within days fights broke out between the two camps. One particularly contentious meeting in early February saw John, Yoko, and Klein berating Lee Eastman, who had finally flown out from New York to handle the affair personally. Allen Klein ripped into Eastman describing him as a "fool" and "a shithead". Learning that Lee Eastman had changed his name from Epstein years ago in order to climb the New York social ladder, Klein insisted on calling him "Lee Epstein". Unable to endure more abuse, Eastman snapped at Klein: "You are a rodent... the lowest scum on earth!" Interestingly Klein's account of the event was a bit different. According to his 1970 affidavit in Paul McCartney's suit breaking up the band, it was Eastman who "launched an attack on my personal integrity...alleged that I had a bad reputation in general...I also invited him to make specific charges or criticisms which would enable me to answer them, but he did not do...I suggested that the position of John Eastman should be that of legal adviser to The Beatles and all their companies. He rejected this on the ground that he did more than an English lawyer normally does...". Two days later The Beatles appointed Klein's company (Cameo-Parkway) to "look into the affairs of The Beatles...At this meeting John Eastman agreed that he would, after all act as legal adviser...".
With a green-light from The Beatles, Klein rolled into Apple - firing anyone who was not shouldering their weight (and even a few that were), shutting down unprofitable divisions and getting a handle on the company's poorly kept books. It was mostly likely in this context that Klein obtained the present document appointing the Eastmans as general counsel, an amateurish document demonstrating the inept workings inside Apple. Like the rest of the company, the document was an exercise in lax office practices with a vague date "January 1969", only two signatures from the Beatles, and none from Apple's management. The fact that only Ringo and John signed the document is intriguing given John's initial misgivings about the Eastmans and his subsequent open hostility to them as allies of Paul McCartney. By this point Lennon was more than ready to leave the Beatles. Indeed Yoko Ono had been pushing him away from the group, urging him to pursue more serious 'artistic' music (e.g. screaming, etc.). In September 1969 Lennon had decided to call it quits, but as a favor to Klein, he did not announce it publicly. This was a smart move on Lennon's part as Klein was negotiating a new and more favorable contract for the Beatles with EMI: a deal that was successfully concluded in the spring of 1969. The conflict between the Eastmans and Klein continued to tear The Beatles apart. Now with Klein in charge, McCartney felt increasingly alienated from the group and began to drift further away. In the end, the Eastmans would represent Paul in his 1970 lawsuit breaking up The Beatles.
File holes at top center, some light creasing, minor foxing, else very good condition. An extraordinary piece from the final days of the Beatles.
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