Who Broke Up The Beatles?

First off, let's get one thing clear: I was not a member of The Beatles. I was not part of the band, or did I even know any of them while the band was together. Heck, I wasn't even alive when they were a band! So whenever I make statements regarding The Beatles, they are based on information that I have been collecting in my music-geek brain over the last 27 years. There is a lot out there that is pure myth (like Ringo didn't play drums on the recordings - anyone who believes that is stupid), but there are some things you can easily research and find the truth on. And you always have to take into account one major factor; Paul McCartney has been alive 27 years after John Lennon died, and he'll be damned if he'll let anyone pretend he wasn't the greatest of the all The Beatles.

That, I'll say, is one of the toughest parts of reading about The Beatles; most are huge supporters of Paul McCartney and take whatever he says as being gospel. Why did the 3 remaining members never reform? Because Paul said "No" - despite George publicly saying that he would never put himself under Paul again. Paul said Let It Be... Naked was exactly how The Beatles always wanted it to sound, so it must be the case. Never mind the fact that both John and George stated the original was the best you could make of the crappy recordings they had made, or that Paul actually just suffered an ego blow that lasted 30 years because for one time he and George Martin didn't have final control over an album. And according to Paul, George walking out on the band was all John's fault. Interviews with George where he straight out says he was sick of Paul (and even wrote a song about him when he went home - Wah Wah. Damn awesome song, too) are not considered to be accurate.

So anyway, in my opinon, one of the biggest misunderstandings in The Beatles' History is how they split and the blame being firmly placed on the shoulders of one Yoko Ono. So in order for me to prove that she is not the one to blame (well, not in the way most blame her), let's go back in time...

Firstly, it is true that Yoko did come between John and Paul. Paul did not approve of John leaving his wife for another woman, and this he made no secret of. I mean, he even went over to Cynthia's house to play "Hey Jude" for her and Julian, to show them he was on their side. So to say she came between them is true.

On a side note, I guess Paul felt that his engagement being called off due to his unfaithfulness, and then meeting Linda Eastman, was a much more reasonable situation.

But that last point is what was the real beginning of the end for The Beatles; Paul met Linda Eastman

The Beatles were in need of new management; with Brian Epstein dead and The Beatles in charge of their own affairs, nothing was getting done properly and everyone was fighting. So John sought out the notorious Allan Kovac, while Paul recommended Eastman & Associates, a firm owned and operated by Linda's Father. Citing this would give Paul favourable treatment, the rest of the band refused to sign with Eastman and eventually The Beatles signed with Allan Kovac.

This was a large blow to Paul's ego; it was like John, George and Ringo were all saying "you are not out leader - we don't have to do what you tell us to do!" and would become the basis of Paul's lawsuit against his former bandmates in 1970. And, again in my opinion, is what really began the break-up of The Beatles.

Until this, Paul had a measure of control over the band and was able assert himself. But as the others also gained more confidence in themselves, they were more willing to stand up to his demands, until eventually he decided that if he wasn't going to be the star of the group, then he was better off on his own, and in April 1970 announced he was leaving The Beatles. I've always loved how him quitting was the end, even though the others had already quit in the last 2 years; Ringo walked out while recording the 'white' album after Paul took over drumming duties for Back in the U.S.S.R, George left when Paul was telling him how to play guitar, and John quit 6 months earlier because he was basically sick of everything. I've always found it interesting that in each of these previous cases, they were talked in to returning to the group. Yet no one tried to persuade Paul to stay...

So there you have it - a rather brief glimpse into my view on why The Beatles' split. Of course, after this Paul went on to form Wings where he was able to lord his musical talent over a bunch of average musicians (including the below average abilities of Linda) and make rather average 70's pop music (though I admit some of it was pretty good), so I'm sure he made the right decision.

Unfortunately, it also took one awfully messy lawsuit against John, George and Ringo... but that's for another blog.