The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Beatles sacking letter up for sale
Aletter written by The Bea t les ’ manager following the sacking of the band’s original drummer is going under the hammer.
Brian Epstein signed up Pa u l Mc C a r t n e y, Jo h n Lennon, George Harrison and Pete Best – the band’s first drummer – on January 24 1962, after hearing them play.
But only months later he fired Best and replaced him with Ringo Starr.
The letter which is up for sale was part of a tranche of communications Epstein sent to “secret Beatle” Joe Flannery, a key figure in the Fab Four’s rise to fame.
Flannery, who died last year aged 87, was the band’s booking manager from 1962-63, during the early history of the Fab Four.
On September 8 1962, Epstein wrote to tell him he had released Best from his contract.
He had told the Liverpool drummer three weeks earlier that he had to leave the band.
The letter has been kept by Flannery’s family and is now being sold by his nephew.
Epstein wrote: “I read from the Merse y Beat (L i v e rpoo l mu s i c publication) Pete Best has now joined The All Stars.
“I have sent, today, to him a certificate of release from his obligations under contract to myself.”
Epstein added that he sent “our sincere wishes for Pete’s and the group’s continued success”.
Best previously spoke of how Epstein had told him at a meeting that he was being sacked and replaced by another drummer.
“I went in happy as Larry. The last thing on my mind was that I was going to get kicked out of The Beatles,” he told a BBC documentary.
“He (Epstein) said ‘Pete, I don’t know how to tell you this – the boys want you o u t . . . I t ’s already been arranged that Ringo will join the band on Saturday.’
“To me, it was like disbelief...I’ll wake up in the morning and this will be all gone.”
The collection, going under the hammer at Omega Auctions, also includes notes, post The Beatles, from Sir Paul to Flannery.
Au c t ionee r Pau l Fairweather said: “The letters themselves show a close working relationship be tween Flanner y and Epstein in the group’s early days, and we’re excited to see how Beatles collectors and fans will respond on the day.”
Vinyl records and more memorabilia will also be up for sale at Omega Auctions, in Ne w t o n - l e - W i l l o w s , Merseyside, on Tuesday October 27, with the items expected to fetch a total of £15,000.