Not long after the Beatles broke up in 1970, fans wanted them to get back together. It was on the minds of people until the tragic death of John Lennon in 1980.
Offers were made over the years, very memorably when Saturday Night Live producer Lorne Michaels offered them a laughably paltry $3,000.
But the most legitimate offer (with an eye-opening amount) came from mega promoter Bill Sargent in 1976, offering $50 million to reunite onstage. And we have incredibly rare documentation of the offer in our upcoming auction on August 8th.
AUCTION PREVIEW: This is an 8 ½” x 11″ Mailgram from Western Union responding to the offer sent to Ringo Starr and dated January 29, 1976.
This was “a confirmation copy of a previously phone-delivered telegram” sent to Starr from Sargent. The offer was for the Beatles to reunite for two concerts on July 5th and July 6th, 1976 at an unnamed location in the United States for $50 million to the group.
The message stipulates the members could perform individually as long as the Fab Four plays together for at least 20 minutes. At its conclusion, the estimated amount of gross revenue for the concerts was $200 million.
Promoter Sargent was later known as a pioneer of pay-per-view events. He had plenty of experience in his career about going big, but for John, Paul, George, and Ringo, they had all moved on with individual careers and had no interest in performing together again as the Beatles. Having them together again would be like a step back for them, yet a lightning rod of nostalgia for fans, adding fuel for a prolonged reunion.
Yet it’s fascinating to see how far certain people to experience the Beatles again. A sum of $50 million is still enormous, but even crazier for 1976, factoring inflation in. With this Mailgram, you see this was not some fluke, or a made-up number.
PREVIEW the Western Union Mailgram in the 2020 August 8 – 9 Entertainment & Music Memorabilia Signature Auction – Dallas #7221.