Beatles tell of yesterdays

Get back: The Beatles work together once more

The three surviving Beatles have reunited to write the story of their extraordinary years with the band.

Sir Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr are collaborating on the book, which will take the form of a joint autobiography giving a faithful account of the legendary band.

"It will dispel some of the myths and put the record straight, as every Tom, Dick and uncle of a friend has been writing books on the Beatles since 1963," Sir Paul told the Sunday Telegraph.

Hundreds of statements made by John Lennon will be woven in to the three men's accounts, to complete the picture.

John Lennon: His writings have been "woven in"

His widow, Yoko Ono, will also get a quarter share of the expected £1bn profits, the paper says.

The book, 360 pages long, has taken six years to write and is predicted to go on sale in the autumn.

The three surviving Beatles, now in their late 50s, are said to have provided 1,200 photographs, many of them previously unpublished.

Sir Paul McCartney's spokesman, Geoff Baker, said: "There have been around 300-400 books about the Beatles written, and in all but a few exceptions, the authors have never even met any of them."

The way they were: Beatles in the early days

He said the book, the Beatles Anthology, was "the last word" on the Beatles.

"We're talking a huge volume of work, it's encyclopaedic - it weighs something like two kilos," he said.

Mr Baker added: "They hope it will put the record straight on a few things, for example the break-up of the band, that Paul was actually the last to leave."

The autobiography will also disclose new information about the group's drug-taking, their sexual exploits and rivalries.

Yoko Ono: Will receive a "quarter share of profits"

And Yoko Ono's influence will come under the spotlight. Many fans blamed her for luring Lennon away from the band.

The book will speak about more recent pressures, according to the Telegraph, disclosing that, four years ago, the three Beatles turned down an offer of £113m to perform 17 concerts.

The Beatles Anthology is said to be due for publication in the UK and the USA, with translations into dozens of languages, including Chinese.

Worldwide sales projections are put at more than 20 million.