Beatles Contract Sells For Over Four-Times Estimated Value

A Beatles performance contract reflecting the British band's support for the American civil rights movement now has a new owner. And that owner paid significantly more than what was initially expected.  The document was signed on March 24th, 1965 for the band's August performance at Cow Palace in Daly City, California.  It sold at an auction in Los Angeles Tuesday for just over 23-thousand-dollars.  It was initially valued at three-and-five-thousand-dollars.  The contract, which was signed by The Beatles' manager Brian Epstein, states that the band would "not be required to perform in front of a segregated audience."  It also guaranteed that the group would receive 40-thousand-dollars for the performance, and have at least 150 uniformed police officers on the scene to provide protection.

The contract wasn't the only time The Beatles took a stand against segregation in America.  In 1964, during their first U.S. tour, the band only performed at Jacksonville, Florida's Gator Bowl after city officials allowed an integrated audience into the stadium.

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