When did John decide to leave The Beatles/what was the "final straw"?

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by The Doctor, Dec 5, 2017.

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  1. The Doctor

    The Doctor Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Philidelphia, PA
    I know he announced his intent to depart in late September 1969 but as of January 1969 he seems to have wanted the band to continue on....When was the turning point for John where he decided he wanted "a divorce" as he put it? Was the final straw, if any? His exit seems kind of abrupt....
     
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  2. Lance Hall

    Lance Hall Senior Member

    Location:
    Fort Worth, Texas
    John said the songs were getting to "bit-y" meaning (I think) they were pasted together musical bits (Paul) and not straight performances.

    Paul wanted to create music.

    John wanted to play music.
     
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  3. The Doctor

    The Doctor Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Philidelphia, PA
    What do you mean? Both created music during/after the breakup....?
     
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  4. Chris from Chicago

    Chris from Chicago Experience is simply the name we give our mistakes

    When it was time to move on. And it was time. For all of them.
     
  5. The Doctor

    The Doctor Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Philidelphia, PA
    Yeah but my question is what flicked the switch for John? He went from being into it in January 1969 to wanting out in September. The others don't seem like they were too ready to quit but John's decision kind of forced that. What happened between January and September that changed John's mind, is basically my question?
     
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  6. Daniel Plainview

    Daniel Plainview God's Lonely Man

    Which is precisely why he toured the world after the Beatles broke up.
     
  7. Spear and Magic Helmet

    Spear and Magic Helmet Forum Resident

    Location:
    Nashville, TN
    When John met Yoko, he found a artistic collaborator who was superior to Paul and he found a romantic partner superior to Cyn. He didn't need the Beatle bit anymore.
     
  8. mBen989

    mBen989 Senior Member

    Location:
    Scranton, PA
    I think playing the Toronto Pop Festival was definitely the push point.
     
  9. ralph7109

    ralph7109 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Franklin, TN
    When he didn’t get his way about everything.

    If Cold Turkey was embraced as a single by the others, it would have been a Beatle single.

    If Paul and Ringo dropped everything, rushed over and recorded Instant Karma with him, it would have been Beatle single.

    In an alternate timeline, the Beatles ended even earlier when Paul didn’t help with the Ballad of John & Yoko.
     
  10. Rfreeman

    Rfreeman Senior Member

    Location:
    Lawrenceville, NJ
    Their not agreeing to record Cold Turkey perhaps?
     
  11. Lance Hall

    Lance Hall Senior Member

    Location:
    Fort Worth, Texas
    Just what John said. "BIT-Y"

    He's talking about all the songs that were a patchwork quilt of "bits" where Paul does his "bit" then John does his "bit" then George does his "bit" and the song radically changes form beginning to end as opposed to straightforward songs like "Yer Blues" or "Come Together."

    John used the term "bit" in multiple interviews.

    "by the end it got too BIT-y"
    "it was you that got the tambourine BIT wrong that ruin my life"
     
  12. The Doctor

    The Doctor Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Philidelphia, PA
    Sounds like a control thing. Like having to share songs bugged him. If "I Got a Feeling" was an example of a "bit-y" song, I liked that approach.
     
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  13. Crimson Witch

    Crimson Witch Roll across the floor thru the hole & out the door

    Location:
    Lower Michigan
    The greatest tragedy, of course, is that we can't just simply ask John.
     
  14. The Doctor

    The Doctor Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Philidelphia, PA
    Am I right in assuming that the others didn't really want to quit until after John did?
     
  15. Morton LaBongo

    Morton LaBongo Forum Resident

    Location:
    Manchester NH
    This. It was just time for all four of them to go on. Yeah, they may have squeezed out one more album, and there have been threads speculating what these likely songs would have been, but ultimately they ended together at the right time. Sorry my memory is not working well at this moment but I know it was either John or Paul who said something like "I didn't leave The Beatles... The Beatles left The Beatles."
     
  16. The Doctor

    The Doctor Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Philidelphia, PA
    I figured he might've spoken about it somewhere when he still had time...Far from a Beatles expert here but I know a lot of people here are.
     
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  17. ralph7109

    ralph7109 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Franklin, TN
    Depends on your definition of “quit”.
    John did it first - privately.
    Paul did it last - publicly.
     
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  18. The Doctor

    The Doctor Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Philidelphia, PA
    I mean, if John hadn't quit, would the others have basically? Did all of them want out to some degree, or did John's decision kind of force the others to say "yeh, it's over"?
     
  19. john lennonist

    john lennonist There ONCE was a NOTE, PURE and EASY...


    Agree :agree:

    If John hadn't done it, George would've bailed before long.


    And then of course Paul, after they all agreed to keep it secret, announced the break-up to promote his solo album.



    :biglaugh:

    John was the controlling one, eh?

    Have you seen "Let it Be"?

    Have you noticed that Ringo played all the drums on John's first solo album?

    And that George played on John's second album?

    And that neither of the latter two played with Paul for over five years (or something like that)?

    .
     
    Last edited: Dec 5, 2017
  20. Tristero

    Tristero In possession of the future tense

    Location:
    MI
    The demise of the Beatles was probably unavoidable after they stopped touring and Brian Epstein died. It was just a matter of time. Both George and John were disenchanted with all of the demands that came with being a Beatle. Once John found Yoko, there was no going back. He had found his ideal new collaborator and he didn't want to answer to Paul anymore. I'm oversimplifying, of course, but that's the long and short of it.
     
  21. Lance Hall

    Lance Hall Senior Member

    Location:
    Fort Worth, Texas
    That's two half written songs married into one song that they performed as a single song live.

    No bits. No spending 6 weeks dropping in solos and bits and altering the arrangement mid song or heavily editing.

    In the end John relented to Paul and helped with Abbey Road building the medley which was as "bit-y" as anything before.
     
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  22. mando_dan

    mando_dan Forum Resident

    Location:
    Beverly, MA
    Smart move - that would been the worst Beatles single by a country mile.
     
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  23. ralph7109

    ralph7109 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Franklin, TN
    Paul would have stayed if John stayed.

    Not sure about George - he would have come back after a hiatus or stayed if offered equal partnership.

    Ringo would have been up for whatever with whoever, whenever.
     
  24. Lemon Curry

    Lemon Curry (A) Face In The Crowd

    Location:
    Mahwah, NJ
    But he was asked, and we have his thoughts on this.

    I've written this in other threads but I see John as a Winston Churchill character. He fought the "war" and willed the Beatles to be successful. Once they became the greatest act on earth, that role was done. He continued being an artist, but it was just his songs with the Beatles back-up group.
     
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  25. adm62

    adm62 Senior Member

    Location:
    Ottawa, Canada
    When McCartney quit.
     
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