A letter which was written by John Lennon to Eric Clapton suggesting that they form a new band, is going under the hammer.
This first draft of the letter which was written by Lennon, was scribed on 29 September 1971, and includes several deletions and markings.
The final draft of this letter has not been seen in public, while it also remains unknown if the original draft differs from the final copy.
It was written by Lennon after he performed with Clapton and Yoko Ono for a brief period in the Plastic Ono Band, just before The Beatle’s official split.
Following this, Clapton suffered a downward spiral, which saw him battle a drug addiction.
“Eric, I can bring out something great”
In this letter, John Lennon mentioned Clapton’s problems, without addressing them directly, as well as pitching the idea of forming a musical alliance.
“Eric, I know I can bring out something great, in fact greater in you that had been so far evident in your music. I hope to bring out the same kind of greatness in all of us, which I know will happen if/when we get together”, Lennon wrote in the letter.
According to Lennon, this band would have also included Jim Keltner, Klaus Voorman, Phil Spector, and Nicky Hopkins. These musicians all performed with the Plastic Ono Band at some stage.
It also emerged that Clapton subsequently turned down this offer from Lennon.
This letter will go up for auction via International Autography Auctions Europe SL next week (December 5). Bidders can register for this letter now, and is expected to fetch for between €100,000 and €150,000.
The letter had previously gone up for auction in 2012 for €22,728.
Back in October, a new book written by Elliot Mintz claimed that Yoko Ono was warned that John Lennon’s life was “in danger” before his death. More on this from Nova here.
