Handwritten letter from John Lennon to Eric Clapton going up for auction

A rare handwritten letter by John Lennon to Eric Clapton is set to go up for auction in Spain in December.

International Autographs Auctions Europe SL will auction off the eight-page document from the 1970s, which seems to be a draft of a note in which The Beatles legend writes of a new band he wants to start and personally asks Clapton to join.

In the letter, Lennon describes the project as a “nucleus group” featuring musicians like Klaus Voorman, Jim Keltner, Nicky Hopkins and Phil Spector, and says that Clapton’s addition would “bring back the balls in rock ‘n’ roll.”

The letter was written during the time when Clapton was infatuated with George Harrison’s wife Pattie Boyd, and Lennon suggests the new band would help relieve some of the pressures he was dealing with. Clapton eventually married Boyd after she divorced Harrison.

Although Lennon never names the group in the letter, he was likely referring to the Plastic Ono Band, for which Clapton was one of the rotating members. 

The auction is set to take place Dec. 5. More info can be found at autographauctions.eu.

In other Beatles news, Capitol Records has announced a collaboration between The Beatles and the clothing company Online Ceramics for a new capsule collection celebrating the 60th anniversary of the band’s arrival in America. The collection is available for preorder now.

Plus, a special screening of the new documentary Beatles ’64 will take place Dec. 5 at the Paley Center for Media in New York, with the film’s director, David Tedeschi, and others on hand for a panel discussion following the screening. Beatles ’64 will stream exclusively on Disney+ starting Nov. 29.

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