In New York, sold the first contract The Beatles to record a song

At an auction in New York for $ 93750, the first contract with a record company, signed by members of the legendary British band The Beatles, was sold, representatives of the Heritage auction house, which had bid, reported.

This six-page document, written entirely in German, was concluded in 1961 between the Beatles and the German producer Bert Kempfert, who represented the record company Polydor. The price for which the contract was sold to an anonymous buyer, who participated in the Internet bidding, was lower than the estimated value of the lot, which was $ 150 thousand.

Heritage's Director of Valuation and Sales, Dean Hoermaer, said the contract is "a unique document and perhaps the most valuable document relating to the group ever put up for auction."

In fact, he said, "The Beatles didn't even know exactly what they were signing." “They were very young and excited. George Harrison was 18 years old at the time, Paul McCartney was 19 years old, and John Lennon was 20 years old. This was their first chance to go into a professional studio with a professional producer and record a song for a real record company,” Hoermaer said.

The signature on the document was also put by Peter Best, who was the drummer in the band until 1962, later Ringo Starr replaced him.

Kaempfert, who wanted to release a rock 'n' roll record in Germany, noticed The Beatles and another British artist, Tony Sheridan, while they were performing at a nightclub in Hamburg. He invited them to the studio, offering them to record an old children's song, “My Bonnie,” which schoolchildren in Germany learn by heart. “Kaempfert felt that the song would be immediately recognized and well received, even though it would be performed in English in the rock and roll style with electric guitars and drums,” Hoermaer noted.

The musicians recorded the song in June 1961 in Hamburg and released it in Germany in October of the same year. “It turned out very new, dynamic. The song became a hit, although not the biggest one,” said a representative of the auction house. “Now it is no longer known exactly how many records were sold, because such records were not kept there at that time.” According to him, The Beatles received 330 German marks (about $80 at the time) for their work.

In total, the 300 lots related to The Beatles and included in the collection compiled by German producer Uwe Blaschke are put up for auction in New York. Among them: photos, records, autographs, various documents.