It was the news fans dreaded, and the four men who comprised The Beatles kept it from them for as long as possible. But Paul McCartney shattered the illusion in 1970 with a series of comments that made it impossible for fans to harbor any more illusions.
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McCartney timed these comments to coincide with the press behind his 1970 solo debut album, entitled simply McCartney. Here is how Beatles fans read the news (oh boy) and rued the day.
A Confusing Timeline
1969 was the last year of The Beatles, and what a busy, tumultuous one it was. They recorded and released one album (Abbey Road). In addition, they recorded enough material for another album (Let It Be), but the bad feelings surrounding the album’s creation caused it to be pushed back for future release (along with the documentary movie made with it).
Because Let It Be was still in the pipeline, and because Abbey Road had proven such a triumph, Beatles fans could still hold out hope for the Fab Four to bring their magic into the ’70s. But they mostly didn’t know the drama that was going on behind the scenes. (And they conveniently ignored the lyrics in Abbey Road that seemed to hint at the end of the group.)
In September 1969, just a few days before Abbey Road was released, John Lennon surprised Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr at a band meeting by announcing he was leaving the group. (George Harrison was absent.) While shocked, the men agreed they would hold off announcing the news so as not to negatively affect the commercial prospects of the albums to come.
McCartney Jumps the Gun
Paul McCartney sank into a deep depression in the immediate aftermath of Lennon’s announcement. Although he couldn’t deny relations within the group had deteriorated, he still believed they could pull back together. His wife Linda helped him snap out of it by convincing him to record, which he did. The end product, played and sung completely by Paul, was the McCartney album.
It’s possible McCartney would have stuck to the plan about holding off on the announcement of the group’s breakup. But he had become infuriated by the request of the other three members that he delay the solo album’s release so it wouldn’t interfere with Let It Be. He chased Ringo Starr, who had come to deliver the request, out of his house in a fit of rage.
Upon the release of McCartney, he decided to shun interviews and instead include a press release about the album to answer any questions about it. Although he stopped short of saying The Beatles were permanently kaput, he made it clear they wouldn’t be working together anytime soon. And he did answer no to a question (which he had written himself) wondering if he and John Lennon would ever write together again.
The Reaction
It’s hard to say if McCartney’s announcement had the desired effect. While it certainly brought attention to the solo album, it was perhaps unwanted attention. After all, the largely DIY effort wasn’t meant to be any broad statement to compete with The Beatles’ former material. But the public and music press still graded it harshly.
It also cast a poorer light on Let It Be, which was released a few weeks after McCartney. Instead of hearing the album as a rough-and-ready collection of off-the-cuff songs from the group, fans listened to it with the context of the breakup in mind and heard all the cracks in the facade.
Nonetheless, there was never going to be a good time to tell the world The Beatles were no more. Paul McCartney ripped the Band-Aid off in that moment, revealing one of the harshest wounds from which music fans have ever attempted to recover.
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