Beatles' First Record Contract Up For Sale

The Beatles' first recording contract has been put up for auction.

The document - which is being sold by the estate of late Beatles historian Uwe Blaschke, who died in 2010 - will be sold at New York's Heritage Auctions on September 19 and is expected to make $150,000 (£95,600).

The six-page contract was signed by Sir Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison and original drummer Pete Best in Hamburg, Germany, where they honed their craft and created the single 'My Bonnie', and although the song was never a hit, their stint in Germany led to them signing to EMI the following year.

Beatles expert Ulf Kruger explained: ''Not many people know that the Beatles started their careers in Germany.

''The Beatles had their longest stint in a club in Hamburg at the Top Ten Club. They played there three months in a row, every night. The style they invented in Liverpool, they cultivated in Hamburg.''

Dean Harmeyer, Heritage's consignment director for music memorabilia added: ''Without this contract all of the pieces wouldn't have fallen into place.''

Other items of memorabilia from the band include a Swiss restaurant menu signed by the band while they were filming 'Help!' in 1965, valued at $12,000 (£7,650) and a 1962 copy of 'Love Me Do', estimated to be sold for $10,000 ($6,375), which was the first single recorded with Ringo after drummer Pete Best was dismissed.