Long-lost legal documents hidden in a closet shed light on the Beatles’ breakup

While creative differences, the influence of stardom and John Lennon’s girlfriend Yoko Ono are blamed for the Fab Four’s split, the documents reveal the numerous convoluted legal disputes that also weighed on the band.

The documents, discovered in a closet where they had been stored since the 1970s, include copies of the Beatles’ advisor’s meeting minutes, court documents and a copy of the band’s original 1967 partnership deed.

They show that after manager Brian Epstein’s death in 1967, the band discovered that money was missing and that they were being pursued by tax authorities.

Another damaging legal battle ensued when Paul McCartney defied other band members’ decision to hire Allen Klein as their new manager.

The files uncovered document the subsequent High Court litigation that McCartney initiated against the band in London in 1970 and which brought Klein’s mismanagement to light.

“It would be almost impossible to exaggerate the actual complexity of the various legal arrangements entered into by Messrs. Lennon, McCartney, Harrison and Starkey (Ringo Starr),” it said in notes on one document.

Other legal difficulties the band faced included deciding when Pete Best left the group and Ringo Starr joined, film and music rights royalties, and Klein’s inability to submit invoices to tax authorities.

“Although John, Paul, George and Ringo were tired of being The Beatles and wanted to record and perform as individual artists, this must have been a difficult time for each of them,” said Denise Kelly, Dawson’s head of entertainment and division for popular culture.

“I could sense panic in the room as more and more complexity came to light. One of the lawyers even suggested during a meeting as they kept going in circles, “Would it be easier if the Beatles just retired?”

McCartney said in 1970 that he was no longer working with the group, but the legal process to break up the band was not completed until 1974.

A 1971 letter from Lennon to fellow British musician Eric Clapton, to be auctioned on Thursday, revealed his desire to forge a new path after the Beatles and invited him to join a “core group” with super-producer Phil Spector .

The documents will be offered in Dawson’s upcoming Entertainment & Memorabilia auction on December 12 and are expected to sell for more than £5,000 ($6,353).