Did John really want to leave The Beatles?

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by FernandaDireit, Jan 12, 2018.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. FernandaDireit

    FernandaDireit Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    brazil
    Hi, we all know that John told the others he wanted a divorce from The Beatles in september 1969, but do you guys think he was really sure about it? Everything to me is so confusing because I suspect that John being John if he really wanted to, he would just quit it right away. Also, he was very ambivalet about recording with the Beatles again between September 1969 and the beggining of 1970. And why he was so mad at Paul for doing it in April 1970 if it was just what he wanted? Everything is so confusing, I think deep down John didnt want to leave the band and neither did Paul. He just announced when he felt pushed to a corner.
     
    Tord, 905, Sean and 1 other person like this.
  2. FernandaDireit

    FernandaDireit Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    brazil
    “The Beatles split up? It just depends how much we all want to record together. I don’t know if I want to record together again. I go off and on it. I really do.
     
    Hall Cat likes this.
  3. rhythmicreviews

    rhythmicreviews Active Member

    Location:
    England
    They all wanted to call it quits. You could tell on Let it Be - as it may not be a bad album, it's still their worst and they were practically falling apart. They managed to pull it off because they knew they were nearing the end of them as a band. Yes, John appeared to be the most dedicated to the band towards the end, it's ultimately because of John and Paul that the band split. If George and Ringo said anything, they would have been laughed at.
     
    white wolf, andrewskyDE and ccbarr like this.
  4. WaxHammer

    WaxHammer Forum Resident

    Location:
    Emeryville, CA
    Interesting premise. He may have been grandstanding, then they called his bluff. Sad ending.
     
    ccbarr likes this.
  5. klockwerk

    klockwerk Forum Resident

    Location:
    Ohio USA
    I think John was definitely the cutest Beatle.
     
    GentleSenator likes this.
  6. Monasmee

    Monasmee Forum Ruminant

    Location:
    Albuquerque NM
    John seemed to be an all-or-nothing kinda guy who took tremendous risks which was a big part of what made The Beatles so successful. After all, the fabs' freedom of expression keep evolving with each and every album.

    That John continued this dynamic beyond the group in attempts to transcend the trappings of unprecedented fame is not surprising.

    Sad part is he could have had the best of both worlds but I believe it was too late in his mind imo.

    Or as John might say, "free as a bird...."
     
    Last edited: Jan 12, 2018
    ccbarr likes this.
  7. Hey Vinyl Man

    Hey Vinyl Man Another bloody Yank down under...


    The OP is a brand new user - this was her first post - and she probably didn't realize how often this particular question has been covered before here. Go easy, you were new once too (and I don't think ANY of us were aware on our first visit how prone this place is to turning every thread into a debate about the Beatles!).
     
  8. Yes Maybe.
     
  9. Michael

    Michael I LOVE WIDE S-T-E-R-E-O!

    he blew his mind out when he met YOKO...yes.
     
    Purple Jim and ccbarr like this.
  10. DesertChaos

    DesertChaos Forum Resident

    All well and good, but I'd just say that the short waiting time one has here before having posting privileges is a good time to review the forum rules. As well, on virtually *any* forum it's just good decent etiquette to look before posting as some topics really get done to death (on every forum). In defense, trying to search this place on Lennon/Beatles threads must be a nightmare! :)
     
    ToneLa and Hey Vinyl Man like this.
  11. rswitzer

    rswitzer Forum Resident

    Location:
    Golden, CO USA
    My 2 cents. I think after September '69 John was ambivalent about the Beatles continuing as a group. I DO think he, George, and Ringo wanted the Apple contract to continue for the duration of the contract, even though it meant splitting their "Apple" income 4 ways, essentially evenly. Even if they continued only as solo artists. Paul decided that no group - no Apple contract and in Dec. '70 sued to dissolve the contract. Unfortunately, dissolving the contract would be expensive (taxes) to all. That's a big reason why J,G, & R were so pissed at him. (Also because Paul somewhat unintentionally stole John's thunder in April 1970.) I also think they were genuinely disappointed that Paul took this dramatic step. From their perspective, Klein was doing just fine and an even split of their income was justified after all they'd been through together.

    I really think the other 3 would have let things ride until 1976 if Paul hadn't sued. Maybe they would've done some other things together, maybe not. The likelihood that Klein was ripping them off is yet another issue, not to mention Yoko, and Paul wanting his in-laws to represent them, etc, etc..

    I can see both sides of this argument . . . but I'm a Libra :)
     
    Last edited: Jan 12, 2018
    ccbarr likes this.
  12. ccbarr

    ccbarr Forum Resident

    Location:
    Iowa, USA
    John was mad as he viewed the Beatles as his band, and only he could announce the end of the band. So when Paul upstaged him, I think it hurt his ego. At least that is what I've always thought, could be wrong though. Welcome to the forum!
     
  13. Sixpence

    Sixpence Zeppelin Fan

    Location:
    Connecticut
    Two major changes during 1968 and 1969, John and Yoko were inseparable (particularly in the studio) which rubbed the rest of The Beatles the wrong way and John, George and Ringo insisting on Allen Klein as manager.

    The Beatles would have ended (IMO) in 1967 if it were not for Magical Mystery Tour. The death of Brian Epstein scared John. He was shell-shocked and was quoted as saying 'What do we do next?'
     
    Purple Jim, tommy-thewho and ccbarr like this.
  14. O Don Piano

    O Don Piano Senior Member

    And so was John! I think that some days he wanted OUT, other days he was OK to continue with it. Probably in the way you described as he was aware, or Klein made him aware, of the itinerant tax problems with dissolving a very successful business partnership.

    They just needed a year or two break. But that wasn't done then, like it is now.

    And ultimately, it's good they didn't not continue. The phenomenon and unmatched catalog remains untarnished.
     
  15. O Don Piano

    O Don Piano Senior Member

    And that would have made true their stock answer during the touring days to the question, "How long until the bubble bursts?"
     
  16. AFOS

    AFOS Forum Resident

    Location:
    Brisbane,Australia
    Imagine if twitter was around back then - would have imploded
     
  17. andrewskyDE

    andrewskyDE Island Owner

    Location:
    Europe
    By the way, new members actually can't create a thread when they wrote just less than 3 messages before. Or did that change recently?
     
    DesertChaos likes this.
  18. abzach

    abzach Forum Resident

    Location:
    Sweden
    Let It Be is one of their best albums and you don't know what you're talking about.
     
    Hey Vinyl Man likes this.
  19. The Ole' Rocker

    The Ole' Rocker Forum Resident

    Location:
    Ontario, Canada
    Yeah. In 1966, tripping on lysergic and distancing himself from friends he could not relate to due to his newfound beliefs, and the unrelenting atmosphere of their touring dates that was consequenting his sanity, I think more than ever Lennon was seeking reinvention, dissociation, peace, all of which he found from not bearing the grudge and title: “Beatle.” “It’s getting hard to be someone, but it all works out/It doesn’t matter much to be.” (Lennon/McCartney. “Strawberry Fields Forever.” Magical Mystery Tour. November 27th, 1967). I think that line conveyed how he felt about being “someone,” i.e. an idol. He was fed up, but he never found release. The only time he had “...nothing to get hung about” (Lennon/McCartney. “Strawberry Fields Forever.” Magical Mystery Tour. November 27th, 1967) was when he was a child with no commitments to fame and outlandish reception. Also, another Beatles thread, on the Steve Hoffman Music Forums? You could not just refer to a few biographies?
     
  20. jefferyuniverse

    jefferyuniverse Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Iowa
    Let It Be wasn't the last project they recorded together. It was scrapped and they regrouped for Abbey Road. The medley is basically their goodbye. Either way, it proved that they had more gas in the tank if they decided to continue.
     
    andrewskyDE likes this.
  21. Dillydipper

    Dillydipper Space-Age luddite

    Location:
    Central PA
    There was no need to be cruel to this dead horse. They could have just ridden on a faster horse, and merely beat him metaphorically...
     
    DesertChaos likes this.
  22. omnisonic

    omnisonic Forum Resident

    Location:
    Portland, Oregon
    Yes and...

    Billboard Magazine,
    Paul McCartney 'Man on the Run' Excerpt (6/9/14)

    In private, The Beatles had fallen out and apart, prompting McCartney's state of panic and depression. The critical episode had come at a meeting at the label they had founded, Apple Records, on Sept. 20, 1969. Three of the band members (George Harrison was away, his mother having just been diagnosed with cancer) had convened at the office to ink their names on a new distribution deal with Capitol Records, their label in the United States. On that day, McCartney had attempted to rah-rah-rah his downbeat colleagues into recapturing their fire. He suggested they tour small clubs, where the band — which had last performed for a paying audience more than three years before — could turn up unannounced or billed under a pseudonym.
    He argued that this might help them get back in touch with who they were.

    "I think you're daft," a scowling John Lennon responded, before announcing, "I'm leaving the group. I want a divorce."

    Following this jaw-dropping declaration, the three signed the contract "in a bit of a daze," according to McCartney. All involved would look back on this as the moment when the illness affecting The Beatles finally became terminal.
     
    tommy-thewho likes this.
  23. tommy-thewho

    tommy-thewho Senior Member

    Location:
    detroit, mi
    After Brian died it was only a matter of time.
     
    Purple Jim likes this.
  24. AFOS

    AFOS Forum Resident

    Location:
    Brisbane,Australia
    The "nothing to get hung about" comes from his aunt Mimi telling him not to go inside Strawberry Fields to which John replied "they can't hang me for it"

    It's all subjective but not many would agree. For me there are a handful of classics and the rest are ordinary songs or just filler. A dreary album
     
    stevenson66g likes this.
  25. Hey Vinyl Man

    Hey Vinyl Man Another bloody Yank down under...

    Not many would agree, true, but I'm one who does. The last three are my three favorites, and LIB in particular is the kind of album that can get me through a rainy night.
     
    abzach likes this.
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.

Share This Page

molar-endocrine