Source: Music in Minnesota 

The Beatles were an English rock band in 1960 in Liverpool that comprised of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr. The band is still regarded as one of the most influential bands of all time. Their sound, which was rooted in skiffle, beat, and 1950s rock and roll, innovative incorporated elements of classical music and traditional pop; the band later explored music styles ranging from ballads and Indian music to psychedelia and hard rock. The band split up in 1970.

In a recent interview with BBC Radio 4’s "This Cultural Life", Paul McCartney shared that it was John Lennon who wanted to disband The Beatles. "I didn’t instigate the split,"  McCartney said. "That was our Johnny". These remarks ended the long debate amongst the fans of the band on who was responsible for the break-up of the band, and there was a large section of people who believed that McCartney was the one. But McCartney said Lennon’s desire to "break loose" was the main driver behind the split.

The singer continued that the confusion about the break-up was allowed to circulate because their manager, Allen Klein, asked the band members to keep quiet until he concluded several business deals. The interview comes ahead of Peter Jackson’s six-hour documentary chronicling the final months of the band. The Beatles: Get Back, set for release in November on Disney+, is certain to revisit the break-up of the legendary band. McCartney’s comments were first reported by The Observer newspaper.

Paul McCartney and John Lennon. Image Source: NME 

When the interviewer questioned the singer on striking out his band, McCartney said, "Stop right there. I am not the person who instigated the split. Oh no, no, no. John walked into a room one day and said: ‘I am leaving The Beatles’. Is that instigating the split, or not?"

McCartney shared that he wanted the band to continue because it was his band, his job, and his life. After Allen Klein asked them to not say anything, the members went on pretending to be together. The singer added, "So for a few months we had to pretend. It was weird because we all knew it was the end of the Beatles, but we couldn’t just walk away". 

The secrecy and pretentious attitude frustrated the singer, and he confirmed to a journalist that the band no longer existed, later issuing a press release in April 1970 confirming he was no longer involved with The Beatles. These moves meant McCartney was labeled the source of the split. Especially after he called in lawyers to settle disputes in the wake of the Beatles' dissolution. McCartney claims the move was made to protect the band's legacy.

"I had to fight, and the only way I could fight was in suing the other Beatles, because they were going with Klein. And they thanked me for it years later. But I didn’t instigate the split. That was our Johnny coming in one day and saying ‘I’m leaving the group’."

Source: The Economic Times

Sir Paul McCartney confirms in the interview that ‘The Beatles’’split was one of the hardest periods of his life. But Paul also reasons with John’s reason to split or leave the band by stating, "The point of it was that John was making a new life with Yoko. John had always wanted to sort of break loose from society because, you know, he was brought up by his Aunt Mimi, who was quite repressive, so he was always looking to break loose."

Paul McCartney will celebrate his 80th birthday and release the book ‘The Lyrics of 1956’  in November. The book, in collaboration with Irish poet Paul Muldoon as the editor, is considered to be the closest thing to an autobiography of Paul McCartney.

Speaking about autobiographies, Sir Paul McCartney shared that he has been asked various times whether he will write an autobiography or not, but the timing has never been right. He added that the one thing that he has always managed to do is to write new songs. "I know that some people, when they get to a certain age, like to go to a diary to recall day-to-day events from the past, but I have no such notebooks. What I do have are my songs, hundreds of them, which I've learned serve much the same purpose. And these songs span my entire life."

Source: PEOPLE 

During 'The Beatles: Get Back' process, the Beatles discovered an unrecorded song by John and Paul, titled ‘Tell Me Who He Is’. McCartney shared that it was amazing to find this, and it is in his handwriting, but he does not know how it goes. "It would have been a love ballad, a rock thing. I would have probably had a tune to it. But you could not put things down. You didn’t have any recording devices, so you had to remember them.”  The 960-page book will be divided into two volumes and will feature McCartney discussing his songs, musical influences (including John Lennon, Queen Elizabeth, and his parents), and literary influences. The Lyrics will also feature personal images, handwritten notes, and drawings by McCartney. 

The Beatles: Get Back is a three-part documentary series by Peter Jackson which will be released on 25th November 2021. The director worked with 56 hours of previously unseen Beatles' footage to make it during a two-year edit. The series will follow the band during the recording of their final album, Let It Be, released in 1970.

Source: Entertainment Weekly 

Even though The Beatles split up fifteen years ago, they are still considered as one of the most influential bands in the world, whose music is regarded as an inspiration and influential for younger generations. Some of their popular songs include Do You Want to Know a Secret, A Hard Day's Night, Let it be, Take Out Some Insurance on Me, Sweet Georgia Brown, All the lonely people, I Feel Fine, I Don't Want To Spoil The Party, Rock, and Roll Music, Yesterday, I'll follow the Sun and Free As A Bird.

They hold the record for most number-one albums on the UK Albums Chart (15), most number-one hits on the Billboard Hot 100 chart (20), and most singles sold in the UK (21.9 million). They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988, and all four main members were inducted individually between 1994 and 2015. In 2004 and 2011, the group topped Rolling Stone's lists of the greatest artists in history. Time magazine named them amongst the 20th century's 100 most important people.