BEATLES LYRICS I SAVED FROM THE BIN ARE MY GIFT TO THE NATION

The Fab Four’s biographer is thrilled to see his unique collection of memorabilia in safe hands for ever as part of a new government tax incentive

Hunter Davies at home with some of his Beatles collection

By Hunter Davies

Many years ago, when the world was young and vinyl ruled, I used to sit in the Abbey Road studio, watching the Beatles at work.

At the end of a session, I would pick up their odd scraps of paper – the lyrics of a song they had been working on, scribbled on the back of an envelope or a telephone bill. I would ask if I could have it, as it might be useful to me in writing the band’s biography (the only one they would ever authorise, as it turned out). They always said yes, as the cleaners would just burn the scraps along with the other bits of rubbish left on the floor.

The Beatles showed little interest in their own jottings because their only concern was the recorded song. Once George Martin and his little helpers had done all the technical stuff, they reckoned the job was done.

Don’t forget that this was between 1966 and 1968 – from Revolver to the White Album – and John, Paul, George and Ringo were still in their twenties. You tend not to think ahead at that age, and certainly not about phoney concepts such as posterity.

Today, handwritten Beatles lyrics to A Day in the Life and All You Need is Love – neither of which I own – fetch up to £1 million each at auction. The reason I kept the lyrics that I salvaged from the studio floor was because I keep everything. Like many men, I am a hoarder. 
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