The Beatles' first contract with coach Brian Epstein is expected to bring up to �250,000 when it is auctioned off in London adjacent month.
Epstein's personal copy of the narrow, dated January 24, 1962, bears the signatures of the Fab Four and two of their fathers, since McCartney and Harrison were under 21 at the time.
The sums byzantine are dwarfed by the contract's estimated value today. Epstein would receive a quarter of the band's earnings - but only if they each made over �200 per workweek. If they had failed to rake in those kinds of riches, he stood to make just 20%, dropping to 15% if their earnings dipped below �100.
As a sign of his dedication, Epstein refused to sign the contract himself until he had delivered their first record contract, and only felt able to put pen to paper following the deal with EMI on October 1, 1962 for the tone ending of Love Me Do.
But upon the release of the Beatles Anthology book in 2000, the surviving band members revealed that Epstein had originally wanted them to sign a �50 per-week lifelong cover, with Epstein keeping the rest of their royalties for himself.
As well as arranging publicizing and publicity, the contract requires Epstein to advise the "artists" on all matters concerning clothes, make up, and the presentation and construction of the artists' acts. Epstein had already proved successful in this respect - on his advice, the band ditched their leather jackets and blue jeans in favor of sharp suits and the now-iconic haircuts.
Epstein, who ascertained the band at the infamous Cavern Club in Liverpool, was to remain a key figure in the Beatles' success until his premature death next an o.d. of sleeping pills in 1967, at the age of 32. He was troubled by the need to hide his homoeroticism from the public oculus, a national the ring referenced with the song You've Got To Hide Your Love Away.
Also included in the auction is the pianoforte used by the Beatles for their recording of Hey Jude and by David Bowie in his Ziggy Stardust period, which is expected to fetch up to �400,000.
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