An undated draft of an angry and revealing letter written by John Lennon to Paul and Linda McCartney after the Beatles' 1970 split failed to sell yesterday (Oct. 4) at an auction in London. Christie's auction house set a minimum price of $96,000. The top bid was only $77,000.
It is not known if the expletive-filled, six-page letter was ever revised or sent to the McCartney's. The text of the letter -- which was put up for auction by an undisclosed seller -- captures Lennon's bitterness during the Fab Four's demise, and his anger at his bandmates' treatment of Yoko Ono. "I hope you realize what ... you and the rest of my kind and unselfish friends laid on Yoko & me since we have been together," Lennon wrote.
He also predicted that the McCartney marriage would be over within two years, and railed at the hype surrounding the Beatles' achievements. "Do you really believe that most of today's art came about because of the Beatles?" he wrote. "I don't believe you're that insane Paul ... Didn't we always say we were part of the movement -- not all of it? Get off your gold disk and fly."
Despite the vitriol, Lennon signed the letter, "Inspite (sic) of it all, love to you both, from us two."
Christie's pop memorabilia expert, Sarah Hodson, expressed disappointment and said the letter was "very, very special." "Obviously we would expect it to sell again," she said.
Copyright 2001 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
It is not known if the expletive-filled, six-page letter was ever revised or sent to the McCartney's. The text of the letter -- which was put up for auction by an undisclosed seller -- captures Lennon's bitterness during the Fab Four's demise, and his anger at his bandmates' treatment of Yoko Ono. "I hope you realize what ... you and the rest of my kind and unselfish friends laid on Yoko & me since we have been together," Lennon wrote.
He also predicted that the McCartney marriage would be over within two years, and railed at the hype surrounding the Beatles' achievements. "Do you really believe that most of today's art came about because of the Beatles?" he wrote. "I don't believe you're that insane Paul ... Didn't we always say we were part of the movement -- not all of it? Get off your gold disk and fly."
Despite the vitriol, Lennon signed the letter, "Inspite (sic) of it all, love to you both, from us two."
Christie's pop memorabilia expert, Sarah Hodson, expressed disappointment and said the letter was "very, very special." "Obviously we would expect it to sell again," she said.
Copyright 2001 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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