Lot Essay
These signatures were obtained at Buckingham Palace on October 26th, 1965 by a fellow recipient of an M.B.E. on the occasion of The Beatles' M.B.E. Investiture ceremony. The Beatles were the first rock group to make the honours list, and their inclusion in the Queen's birthday honour's list on June 11th, 1965 outraged some exisiting members of the Order of the British Empire who returned their medals in protest.
When asked by a news reporter what their reaction was to the news of the award The Beatles replied:
Ringo: There's a proper medal as well as the letters, isn't there? I will keep it to wear when I'm old. It's the sort of thing you want to keep.
John: I thought you had to drive tanks and win wars to win the M.B.E.
George: I didn't think you got this sort of thing for playing rock 'n' roll music.
Paul: I think it's marvellous. What does this make my dad?
When asked why he thought they'd be awarded the medal Lennon replied: I reckon we got it for exports, and the citation should have said that. Look, if someone had got an award for exporting millions of dollars worth of fertilizer or machine tools, everyone would have applauded. So why should they knock us?
Lennon was actually a reluctant recipient of this award he said later
..Taking the M.B.E. was a sell-out for me....[Brian Epstein] and a few other people persuaded me that it was in our interests to take it, and it was hypocritical of me to accept it... But I'm glad, really, that I did accept it - because it meant that four years later I could use it to make a gesture....
On November 25th, 1969 John returned his M.B.E. medal to Buckingham Palace, it was accompanied by a letter which read ..Your Majesty, I am returning my M.B.E. in protest against Britain's involvement in the Nigeria-Biafra thing, against our support of America in Vietnam and against 'Cold Turkey' slipping down the charts. With love, John Lennon of Bag.
When asked by a news reporter what their reaction was to the news of the award The Beatles replied:
Ringo: There's a proper medal as well as the letters, isn't there? I will keep it to wear when I'm old. It's the sort of thing you want to keep.
John: I thought you had to drive tanks and win wars to win the M.B.E.
George: I didn't think you got this sort of thing for playing rock 'n' roll music.
Paul: I think it's marvellous. What does this make my dad?
When asked why he thought they'd be awarded the medal Lennon replied: I reckon we got it for exports, and the citation should have said that. Look, if someone had got an award for exporting millions of dollars worth of fertilizer or machine tools, everyone would have applauded. So why should they knock us?
Lennon was actually a reluctant recipient of this award he said later
..Taking the M.B.E. was a sell-out for me....[Brian Epstein] and a few other people persuaded me that it was in our interests to take it, and it was hypocritical of me to accept it... But I'm glad, really, that I did accept it - because it meant that four years later I could use it to make a gesture....
On November 25th, 1969 John returned his M.B.E. medal to Buckingham Palace, it was accompanied by a letter which read ..Your Majesty, I am returning my M.B.E. in protest against Britain's involvement in the Nigeria-Biafra thing, against our support of America in Vietnam and against 'Cold Turkey' slipping down the charts. With love, John Lennon of Bag.