A letter penned by John Lennon defending the Beatles' covers of black American music has sold for £12,000 at auction.
Lennon wrote the letter to a journalist from the New York Times in 1971 to defend the group after an article which accused the band of ripping off black artists on tracks like 'Twist'n'Shout' and 'You Really Got A Hold On Me'.
The handwritten letter on American Airlines notepaper, said: "Money, Twist'n'Shout, You Really Got A Hold On Me, etc, were all numbers we used to sing in the dancehalls around Britain, mainly Liverpool.
"It was only natural that we tried to do it as near to the record as we could - I always wished we could have done them even closer to the original.
"We didn't sing our own songs in the early days - they weren't good enough - the one thing we always did was to make it known that there were black originals, we loved the music and wanted to spread it in any way we could."
He ended: "It wasn't a rip-off. It was a love-in."
It sold to a UK bidder in a rock and film memorabilia sale held at Bonhams in Knightsbridge, west London.
A black felt hat which Lennon wore in the last official Beatles photoshoot at Tittenhurst Park failed to sell. It had been expected to fetch up to £20,000.
Lennon Letters Sell For 12 Grand
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