NEW YORK (AFP) – The first recording contract signed by the Beatles, which set the career course for the legendary band, was sold Saturday, Sept. 26 at a New York auction conducted by Heritage for $93,750, inclusive of 25% buyer’s premium. LiveAuctioneers provided Internet live-bidding services for the sale.

The future Fab Four signed the six-page contract in 1961 in Germany, where the band’s small club shows in Hamburg resulted in their first recorded single, “My Bonnie,” a modern version of a children’s song.

The song — under the band name “Tony Sheridan and the Beat Brothers” because the producer doubted “The Beatles” would work in the German market —
never became a hit but drew enough requests back in the band’s hometown of Liverpool that it caught the attention of local record store owner Brian Epstein.

He signed on to become the band’s manager and, making use of his connections, the following year the Beatles recorded “Love Me Do,” their first single under their name.

“Had they not spent this time in Hamburg, they may have not become the musical force that they did. And had they not recorded ‘My Bonnie,’ they may have never come to the attention of Brian Epstein,” said Dean Harmeyer, consignment director at Heritage Auctions which sold the contract and other Beatles memorabilia.

The winning bid was placed online by an anonymous bidder.

Other items that sold at the New York auction — which coincidentally took place within earshot of a German American parade on Fifth Avenue — included a
postcard from Hamburg sent by drummer Ringo Starr to his grandmother and a menu autographed by all four Beatles during a 1965 trip to Austria.

An autographed first pressing of the “Love Me Do” 45 r.p.m. record sold for $25,000 including the buyer’s premium, well above the estimate.

The Beatles memorabilia went up for sale after the 2010 death of Uwe Blaschke, a German expert on the band and collector.

View the fully illustrated catalog from the Sept. 26, 2015 Heritage auction online at LiveAuctioneers.