, with an estimated value of £6,000.){kind=link}
A letter from John Lennon to Phil Spector blaming The Who drummer Keith Moon and singer-songwriter Harry Nilsson for urinating on a console at an LA recording studio is up for auction in London tomorrow (March 21), with an estimated value of £6,000.
The three musicians shared a studio in Los Angeles during Lennon’s infamous ‘Lost Weekend’ in the early 1970s, and Lennon was moved to complain to his producer about their behaviour after Capitol Records threatened to evict them.
Titled ‘A Matter Of Pee’, the letter is written in red felt tip pen on lined paper, and was given by Lennon to session guitarist Jesse Ed Davis, who played on 1974’s ‘Walls And Bridges’ and 1975’s ‘Rock’N’Roll’. The letter is being sold via Cooper Owen Music Media Auctions of London, reports The Telegraph.
Lennon wrote: “Phil – Should you not yet know it was Harry and Keith who pissed on the console. Jerry now wants to evict us or that’s what Capitol tells us. Anyway tell him to bill Capitol for the damage if any. I can’t be expected to mind adult rock stars nor can May [Pang, Lennon’s personal assistant] besides she works for me not A+M. I’m about to p..s off to Record Plant [another recording facility] because of this crap.”
Auctioneer Louise Cooper said: “This is a rare note in that it mentions so many well-known figures from the era… The note will be of huge interest to Lennon and Beatles fans around the world. And the provenance is excellent, coming as it does from Lennon’s session guitarist Jesse Ed Davis.”
Moon, Lennon and Nilsson were noted hellraisers. Moon died in Nilsson’s flat in 1978 after overdosing on pills that were meant to curb his alcoholism.
The letter is being sold alongside a set of Lennon’s doodles, including a self-portrait with Nilsson, a drawing of Jesse Ed Davis sitting on a tram in Palm Springs, a mountain scene and a picture of a seated figure with a balloon.