April 10th 1970, McCartney announces that he is leaving the Beatles

It was 38 years ago today that the Beatles officially called it quits.

Does anyone know the date in 1969 of their last photo shoot?

 

August 22, 1969:
http://www.nemsworld.com/beatles/tit/tit.htm

 

Didn't "Dave Dee" leave several months before?

 

Lennon: "...the cartoon is this: four guys on a stage with a spotlight on them. Second picture: three guys onstage, breezing out of the spotlight. Third picture: one guy standing there shouting, 'I'm leaving.'"

 

Those pictures at the table tell more than a thousand words.

 

Okay, I was two and a half years old when this happened, so I don't have the context of hearing this at the time. But I have read McCartney's "self-interview," and I don't really remember him coming right out and saying in so many words, that he's leaving the Beatles. What he did say was that he'd done a solo album, the songs would be credited to "McCartney alone" because to credit them Lennon-McCartney would be "a bit daft," and that he's taking a "break" from the Beatles. ("Temporary or permanent? I don't know.")

I've always felt that I missed something out of that interview. (I do like his quote where he says "playing with yourself is difficult but satisfying.")

 

The annocment was low key a few months before. In a short interview in Life magazine about his "death" Paul let it slip the Beatles thing "was over" but noone noticed..at least I did but not a peep in the news or even any of my friends caught it. I found a link a few months ago and posted it on a Paul Death Hoax thread here. I will see if I can find it.

 

Surely a member will have a link of the self-interview posted soon. But to me, AFAICR reading it on the Web, it was not that equivocal, and esp. coming from McCartney! Perhaps also it was more that the press took hold of it as breaking news (it was only available in the promo LP kits to the press actually), and no one, including the Beatles administration, denied that it was a break-up.

 

Oh you're so right! As long as R, P & G remain unseated, J is seated at the "master's end" with arms on the table... Once they're seated, he backs up and put his feet on the table!

...And thanks to the poster for the great set of final Beatles photos I had never seen before!

 

It was probably for the best.

 

All of the photos speak volumes - like how George is off on his own in several of them.

 

About a week or maybe 10 days later, Jim Henson paid yet one more tribute to The Beatles (perhaps on the trail of this breaking news) on the Ed Sullivan Show: the Muppets in full Beatles later day dress, hats and beards mimed to Come Together (the original Beatles track, not a Muppet cover)! I have seen this, and was pretty excited about it! Very sadly, for some reason, it got excluded from the Muppets at Ed Sullivan DVD... I am still waiting for the "YouTube historic miracle"...

 

Is April 10 the day the Beatles offically called it quits or the day McCartney quit? Maybe it's nit picky but I thought the two events were different.

 

McCartney calls it quit... Then Lennon goes bananas about it (I should have done it first, etc.)... McC sues the other three in '71. I think the officical legal dissolution only happened in '74.

 

Agreed-
the photos really give it away!

 

Thanks for the link. Great photo's....

 

I STILL believe Paul when he says he saved the Beatles from Klien. I don't think I've ever heard J, G or R talk about how and why they decided to sue Klien. AND, When Paul said, in "Many Years From Now", that George was the only one to pull him aside, and say, "Thanks for getting us out of that.", you can tell he was still expecting a little more respect from John and Yoko for being right about him.

 

Thanks for the link, those are some nice pics.

 

Can we really place a single date on the dissolution of the Beatles? It's probably more accurate to say it was a long time in coming, with many variables at fault.

Perhaps McCartney was the first of the Fabs to say it out loud, but the strain can be traced back to the White Album, when Ringo left the band. Or when George brought Billy Preston into the Let It Be sessions. Or, really, any number of things.

 

Not difficult at all, and still satisfying, albeit in an "unfullfilling" sort of way.

 

I can still remember hanging out with my oldest brother in the first house I ever lived in down in Santa Clara during that time period. My brother was listening to his radio in his room and keeping an ear open to the latest reports on Paul's saying The Beatles were done. To this day, I can still very clearly recall him telling me that he thought Paul was a big baby. He's now 50 and I'm in my 40's. If he still had the interest in music like he did back then, I'd now have him read the out of print book Apple To The Core to help him understand why Paul did the things he did and that he wasn't being a baby at all. My God! The pressure those poor souls went through back then. Plus, I'll never forgive Klein for what he did to contribute to the breakup even though, obviously, it wasn't the only factor.

 

Those are good points but it's still an interesting anniversary date. It started the public idenification of the Beatles as solo artists - which is mainly what I think Paul was really trying to do.

 

So what is the TRUTH?

I always read that John wanted to leave earlier but was presuaded to stay on, for a bit, and was pissed when Paul announced 'first' in conjunction with his first solo album coming out in tandem (almost) with Let It Be... The whole thing was just plain butt ugly, but then how could it not be with all that money, talent, and egos floating around and away...

 

The truth about who did what? ParloFax got it right in summary. Paul was the first to go to the press with a straight: "I'm leaving."

In some respects it makes me think that Paul had bigger balls than Lennon. Standing up to Klein, leaving the band without any real known future. Pretty ballsy.

 

I noticed nobody had actually posted the press release yet, so here it is

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FROM: Paul McCartney
DATE: April 9, 1970


Q: "Why did you decide to make a solo album?"

PAUL: "Because I got a Studer four-track recording machine at home, practiced on it (playing all the instruments)- liked the results, and decided to make it into an album."

Q: "Were you influenced by John's adventures with the Plastic Ono Band and Ringo's solo LP?"

PAUL: "Sort of, but not really."

Q: "Are all songs by Paul McCartney alone?"

PAUL: "Yes, sir."

Q: "Will they be so credited: McCartney?"

PAUL: "It's a bit daft for them to be Lennon/McCartney-credited, so 'McCartney' it is."

Q: "Did you enjoy working as a solo?"

PAUL: "Very much. I only had me to ask for a decision, and I generally agreed with me. Remember, Linda's on it too, so it's really a double act."

Q: "What is Linda's contribution?"

PAUL: "Strictly speaking, she harmonizes, but of course it's more than that, because she's a shoulder to lean on, a second opinion, and a photographer of renown. More than all this, she believes in me- constantly."

Q: "Where was the album recorded?"

PAUL: "At home, at EMI (no. 2 studio), and at Morgan Studios. (Willesden!)"

Q: "What is your home equipment-- in some detail?"

PAUL: "Studer four-track machine. I only had, however, one mike, and as Mr. Pender, Mr. Sweathenham and others only managed to take six months or so (slight delay) I worked without VU meters or a mixer, which meant that everything had to be listened to first for distortion, etc, then recorded. So the answer-- Studer, one mike, and nerve."

Q: "Why did you choose to work in the studios you chose?"

PAUL: "They were available. EMI is technically very good and Morgan is cozy."

Q: "The album was not known about until it was nearly completed. Was this deliberate?"

PAUL: "Yes, because normally an album is old before it even comes out. (aside) Witness GET BACK."

Q: "Why?"

PAUL: "I've always wanted to buy a Beatles album like people do and be as surprised as they must be. So this was the next best thing. Linda and I are the only two who will be sick of it by the release date. But we love it really."

Q: "Are you able to describe the texture or feel of the album?"

PAUL: "Home, family, love."

Q: "How long did it take to complete- from when to when?"

PAUL: "From just before Christmas, until now. 'The Lovely Linda' was the first thing I recorded at home and was originally to test the equipment. That was around Christmas."

Q: "Assuming all the songs are new to the public, how new are they to you? Are they recent?"

PAUL: "One was from 1959-- 'Hot As Sun.' Two are from India-- 'Junk' and 'Teddy Boy.' And the rest are pretty recent. 'Valentine Day,' 'Momma Miss America' and 'Oo You' were ad-libbed on the spot."

Q: "Which instruments have you played on the album?"

PAUL: "Bass, drums, acoustic guitar, lead guitar, piano, organ, mellotron, toy xylophone, bow and arrow."

Q: "Why did you play all the instruments yourself?"

PAUL: "I think I'm pretty good."

Q: "Will Linda be heard on all future records?"

PAUL: "Could be. We love singing together and have plenty of opportunity for practice."

Q: "Will Paul and Linda become a John and Yoko?"

PAUL: "No, they will become a Paul and Linda."

Q: "Were you influenced by their work?

PAUL: "No."

Q: "Will they or who will receive the first copies?

PAUL: "The press."

Q: "What has recording alone taught you?"

PAUL: "That to make your own decisions about what you do is easy, and playing with yourself is very difficult but satisfying."

Q: "Who did the cover?"

PAUL: "Linda came up with and took the photos, and she and I designed tha album cover.

[The following question was not part of the original press release, but appears in some sources on the web.]

Q: "Is it true that neither Allen Klein nor ABKCO have been nor will be in any way involved with the production, manufacturing, or promotion of this new album?"

PAUL: "Not if I can help it."

Q: "Did you miss the other Beatles and George Martin? Was there a moment when you thought, 'I wish Ringo were here for this break?'"

PAUL: "No!"

Q: "Assuming this is a very big hit album, will you do another?"

PAUL: "Even if it isn't, I will continue to do what I want, when I want."

Q: "Are you planning a new album or single with the Beatles?"

PAUL: "No."

Q: "Is this album a rest away from the Beatles or the start of a solo career?"

PAUL: "Time will tell. Being a solo means it's 'the start of a solo career...' and not being done with the Beatles means it's just a rest. So it's both really."

Q: "Is your break with the Beatles temporary or permanent, due to personal differences or musical ones?"

PAUL: "Personal differences, business differences, musical differences, but most of all because I have a better time with my family. Temporary or permanent? I don't know."

Q: "Do you foresee a time when Lennon/McCartney becomes an active songwriting partnership again?"

PAUL: "No."

Q: "What do you feel about John's peace effort? The Plastic Ono Band? Giving back his MBE? Yoko?

PAUL: "I love John and respect what he does, but it doesn't really give me any pleasure."

Q: "Were any of the songs on the album originally written with the Beatles in mind?"

PAUL: "The older ones were. 'Junk' was intended for 'Abbey Road,' but something happened. 'Teddy Boy' was for 'Get Back,' but something happened."

Q: "Were you pleased with 'Abbey Road'? Was it musically restricting?"

PAUL: "It was a good album. (No. 1 for a long time.)."

Q: "What is your relationship with Klein?"

PAUL: "It isn't. I am not in contact with him, and he does not represent me any way."

Q: "What is your relationship with Apple?"

PAUL: "It is the office of a company which I partly own with the other three Beatles. I don't go there because I don't like offices or business, especially when I am on holiday."

Q: "Have you any plans to set up an independent production company?"

PAUL: "Yes, McCartney Productions."

Q: "What are your plans now? A holiday? A musical? A movie? Retirement?"

PAUL: "My only plan is to grow up!"


and Derek Taylor's press release on April 10th

Spring is here and Leeds play Chelsea tomorrow
and Ringo and John and George and Paul are alive and well and full of hope.
The world is still spinning and so are we and so are you.
When the spinning stops —that'll be the time to worry, not before.
Until then, the Beatles are alive and well and the beat goes on, the beat goes on.—