John Lennon’s angry 1971 letter to Paul McCartney heading to auction

The emotionally charged letter John Lennon wrote to Paul McCartney in 1971 is to be sold at auction.

ET Canada reports that the note, written in the wake of the Beatles’ split, is expected to sell for over $30,000 (£24,855).

Auctioned by memorabilia firm Gotta Have Rock and Roll, the bidding starts at $20,000 (£16,570).

John’s letter was written in response to a 1971 interview Paul gave to music magazine Melody Maker, in which Paul shared his thoughts on John and Yoko Ono, the band’s breakup, and more, according to the auction information.

Paul’s interview itself was reportedly a response to John’s single How Do You Sleep?, which featured lyrics including “the only thing you done was yesterday”, “the sound you make is muzak to my ears”, and “those freaks was right when they said you was dead”.

After Paul’s interview, John sent his three-page letter – addressed to his former Beatles bandmate – to Melody Maker, asking that it be published.

After beginning the letter “Dear Paul, Linda et al the wee McCartney’s”, John pinned the Beatles’ split on Paul.

“If you’re not the aggressor… who the hell took us to court and s**t all over us in public? Who was buying up Northern Songs shares behind my back?” the singer wrote in one passage. “Who’s the guy threatening to ‘finish’ Ringo and Maureen, who was warning me on the phone two weeks ago?”

John also took issue with Paul’s request to meet without their relative spouses, writing: “I thought you’d have understood BY NOW that I’m JOHNANDYOKO.”