NEW YORK (AP) — The Beatles' first recording contract was signed in Hamburg, Germany, where the band honed its craft performing in the city's boisterous nightclub district.

The 1961 recording session produced the single "My Bonnie." The tune was released only in Germany and never hit the top charts. But the song led directly to the Beatles' discovery back home, a contract with EMI and their first hit, "Love Me Do."

Heritage Auctions will auction the six-page contract in New York on Sept. 19 for an estimated $150,000.

It's the centerpiece of a Beatles collection spanning the band's entire career. It's being sold by the estate of Uwe Blaschke (OO'-vah BLASH'-Kah), a noted German Beatles historian who died in 2010.

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