MUMBAI: The iconic pop band Beach Boys’ original song manuscripts of 150 tracks are expected to fetch a high price of around 7 million pounds at an auction in London.

The archive, spanning the first 20 years of the Beach Boys' career and consisting of thousands of documents, was found by chance in a garage. The vast collection of archives includes original, hand-written musical arrangements for hits like Surfin USA , God Only Knows, California Girls and I Get Around. There is printed sheet music for other classics like Good Vibrations, Fun, Fun, Fun and Don't Worry Baby.

It also includes handwritten lyrics, recording contracts and copyright certificates signed by Brian Wilson and Mike Love, royalty cheques and personal letters. Apart from that, there are more than 60 behind-the-scenes photos of the hugely successful American rock band, many of which have never been seen before.

Found in a storage unit at a garage, the documents have been put up for auction at London's Hard Rock Cafe next week. The archive will be displayed in New York on 15 April and at London's Hard Rock Cafe on 18 April. Reports state that all the documents are original and were mostly created in the 1960s.

A music company found the archive after it paid a few hundred pounds in a blind auction for the contents of a Florida lock-up. It is believed that the collection was placed there for safe-keeping by a band associate in late 1970s and then simply forgotten about.

The archive is being sold as a single lot and has been billed as one of the most important ever auctions of pop memorabilia. It is being sold by British auctioneers the Fame Bureau, with sealed bids invited until 15 May.