John Lennon’s handwritten lyrics for A Day In The Life sell for $1.2m

John Lennon handwritten lyrics for The Beatles’ song ‘A Day In The Life’ have sold at auction for $1.2 million.

The lyrics sold to an unidentified telephone bidder at Sotheby’s in New York, and exceeded the pre-sale estimate of $500,000-800,000. The sheet once belonged to The Beatles’ assistant Mal Evans.

John Lennon's handwritten lyrics for A Day In The Life

The single sheet of paper contains Lennon’s rough draft of the final song on 1967’s Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, including various revisions, written with a felt marker and ball point pen.

On the other side the lyrics are written again more neatly and with fewer corrections, along with the line “+ I love to turn you on”, seemingly added at a later date.

The highest amount ever paid for Beatles lyrics at auction was $1.25 million for ‘All You Need Is Love’, which was sold in 2005 at Cooper Owen in England.

Last updated: 12 April 2018
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