One of the key characteristics that defined The Beatles early in their career was that they were a single unit. It wasn’t John, Paul, George, and Ringo; it was just The Beatles. This was, of course, due to their tight-knit friendship, but as the years rolled by, external forces seemed to interfere with their friendship and professional partnership, ultimately ending the band. However, despite these forces, The Beatles stayed true to a pact they had made before their breakup.
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For a moment, put aside the last three or so years of The Beatles’ career. Put aside Yoko Ono, creative control, the death of Brian Epstein, financial disputes, and just recall how close friends they were. As a matter of fact, Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones called them the “four-headed” monster because of their tight-knit bond. As a result of that tight-knit bond, The Beatles made an admirable promise to each other that both solidified the end of the iconic rock band, but also kept their historic legacy intact. The promise was that if one band member quit, then The Beatles would not go on without them.
If One Beatle Was Done, Then All The Beatles Were Done
As most devout fans know, it’s unclear as to who was the first person to officially leave the band. However, as shown in Peter Jackson’s TV documentary, The Beatles: Get Back, during the Let It Be sessions, Harrison gets up from his post and merely states, “I think I’ll…I’m leaving the band now…Get a replacement.” For context, after this comment, Harrison did return to the sessions five days later.
Even though Harrison said to get a replacement, he subverted that statement in the documentary, The Beatles Anthology. He stated in the doc, “We always had a thing between the three of us, the four of us at that time, but if any one of us wasn’t in it, we weren’t going to get Roger Waters and go out as The Beatles or Dave Gilmour. So, therefore, the only other person who could be in it was John.”
Needless to say, The Beatles held up that pact, as no alterations were ever made to the original lineup. While this promise was seemingly made in solidarity with one another, it served another major purpose. The preservation of their legacy. After all, could you imagine if Eric Clapton or Jeff Beck joined The Beatles? It just wouldn’t seem right, right?
Photo by Richard Mitchell/Shutterstock
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