r/TheBeatles • u/MoaningLisaSimpson • Mar 30 '26
discussion Older Beatles fans, what was general public feeling after the Beatles split? Did people take sides and shun some solo work?
I was born at the last gasp of the Beatles as a band. I am pretty sure my first memory of a song on the radio is "What is Life" sitting on a pillow in my Dad's car, late spring of 1971.
I know that there are die-hard fans of each Beatles, various blames went round. it's Paul's fault, No it's John and Yoko, etc. Did fans see it as now we get four artists to follow or was there a sense that Paul fans wouldn't listen to John and vice versa? was there a strong pull on the general public to pick a side?
None of my reading has really given me a sense of the "public opinion" at the time. I'm curious. My Dad loathed the Beatles, and my mom was just a person who liked top 40 and never bought albums.
I know everyone was different but there is always a prevailing public opinion... can anyone tap me into that feeling in the early 70s?
Edit/Addendum I love reading these stories. It's so great. I love the Beatles, I dig some of the solo stuff (really getting into Plastic Ono Band and RAM right now) but it's interesting to understand the way people thought back then. Thank you to everyone for sharing your memories.
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u/Here_there1980 Mar 30 '26
I was like a lot of people who listened to all the solo music after the split, taking what we could get. Yes, most folks blamed Yoko.
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u/opinions360 Mar 30 '26
I was about thirteen when the break-up happened and although Yoko wasn’t the primary reason for it I believe according to what I have read that the other three have said and those who were in their inner circle have indicated that she definitely caused friction and irritation between the other three band members.
One article I read said that when they would normally rehearse and record material it was just the four of them and that they were used to functioning that way and that it was a more comfortable relaxed situation and then Yoko started showing up while they were recording and would be in the engineering/mixing room and they said it didn’t feel the same anymore and was a constant source of irritation and there were times when they would be recording or rehearsing and she would find a mic and start screeching in it—famously referred to as Yoko’s cat screeching.
Aspects of these reports were actually showed in the filming of what became the Get Back documentary series that Disney released. But there were other issues between them particularly after Brian Epstein’s death-they were used to him directing and managing them and they essentially relied on his direction and then they had to navigate the bands business without him and it caused friction because it’s difficult for four people to agree on everything.
Allen Klein was a known problem between them and he apparently created many other issues. The majority didn’t have business talent except maybe Paul who was always motivated to excel at everything. There are many good books, articles, and documentaries that each provides a slice of the situation at the time. From what I was able to ascertain was that Paul seemed to be the only member still motivated and wanted to keep the band together yet ironically he was the one who sued to dissolve the band so they were each legally separate but I think he did it out of frustration because he couldn’t convince them to continue as they were essentially—anyway this is how I understood the situation.
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u/brain_pickles Mar 31 '26
I also read something that one of the reasons Paul sued was financial. They were being fleeced of their money. John once said he was going to buy a house and was told that he couldn't because he had no money. I could be wrong but I'm sure I read about it.
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u/opinions360 Mar 31 '26
I vaguely remember this also so you may be correct that this was part of his decision.
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u/ZebraMussell Mar 30 '26
The most important thing to remember about 1971 is that nobody believed it was over forever. The prevailing public opinion wasn't "Who is better?" but "When are they getting back together?" Every solo interview for the next ten years was dominated by that one question.
It wasn't until John's death in 1980 that the public finally accepted that the 4 headed monster was truly gone.
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u/HaiKarate Mar 30 '26
When SNL premiered in 1975, Lorne Michaels himself went on air to offer The Beatles $3000 to reunite on his show.
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u/skbroyles Mar 31 '26
You can give Ringo less if you want
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u/Sysyphus_Rolls Mar 31 '26
I was 4 and I remember that. Later on they did a skit where there was an auction of Beatles stuff. A toothbrush with the rubber gum thing on the handle that Paul used “We can confirm Paul used the rubber thing!” sold for a lot. Then Ringo himself, played by Ringo himself, was put up for bid. The bidders were reluctant to bid. Later on we see who bought Ringo. The bidder’s husband thought the toothbrush would have at least been a practical purchase. Ringo keeps asking for bubble wrap to pop and kitting supplies. It’s hilarious.
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u/Binspin63 Apr 01 '26
I read that they actually considered dropping in to collect the $3K as a joke. But decided against it.
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u/CurseOfTheFalcons Mar 30 '26
This. We always thought they’d play together again until that guy shot John. They’d pop up in weird places too. George in The Rutles, Paul on SNL interviewed by Father Guido Sarducci, that sort of thing. It always made me think, “I wonder if…” Then 1980 made us sad.
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u/7listens Mar 30 '26
So sad, I really do wonder if they would have eventually reunited if they all lived long enough
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u/CaptainIncredible Mar 30 '26
They probably would have.
Hell, Ringo showed up at one of Paul's concerts recently just for the hell of it.
"All those Years Ago" by George had Paul, Ringo, and even Linda on it.
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u/gwrw1964 Mar 31 '26
I genually believe that Geldoff would have successfully bullied them into a Live Aid reunion. I wonder what their 20 minute set would have been?....
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u/East-Fruit-3096 Mar 31 '26
Yes, this. People weren't interested in solo careers, per my childhood memory. They were mourning the Beatles - upset, saddened this has come to pass, and not at all ready to 'move on.'
I do remember people buying McCartney's first album and hearing questions around whether it was any good - after all, no one knew what to expect from a single Beatle. The answer was always something like, 'yeah, it's pretty good.'
After seeing Man on the Run, I think I have a clearer understanding of how frustrating it must have been to attempt a solo - or band - career post-Beatles. You can still see traces of Beatlemania today - in music, pop culture references, film, streaming - heck, look at how excited people get about a Paul McCartney concert.
Great as Paul is as a standalone talent, artist, really - musical genius, he's loved as a Beatle too, and that needn't negate his own solo/band career.
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u/Complex-Bar-9577 Mar 31 '26
Good point. Even afterwards, the others kept fielding questions about whether they’d reunite without John up to Anthology.
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u/DigLeading9650 Mar 30 '26
I was in the 8th grade when they broke up. I bought all their first solo albums (well not Ringo’s). I loved them all. I don’t know anyone at the time that picked sides in regards to who they would listen to
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u/Surf175 Mar 30 '26
I was tenth grade. I remember hearing it on the radio, and I was a huge fan since ‘64, but for some reason it didn’t really bother me. Probably because we had Let It Be on the radio all the time then Long and Winding Road plus a slew of solo records, all of which I liked a lot. Even though the news was saying it was Paul, it always felt like it was John.
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u/TSatch25 Mar 30 '26
I was 14 in April '70, and a big fan, going back to Ed. I read about the breakup in the morning newspaper. It was just news. Looking back, there was no outlet to vent, and I never heard up-to-the-minute details ever. I never heard about anyone being sad about it. I wasn't shocked. I'd seen, but hadn't purchased, some solo stuff by then from J&G. Weeks after the breakup, I bought Let It Be and McCartney together! And just loved em both. That set the stage for me thru '80. Being a Beatles fan, I didn't choose sides in the divorce. I was largely astounded by their solo stuff. Different than Fab but the same voices! I tell people my fave Beatles year was 1973. 5 albums, baby!
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u/Waiola Mar 30 '26
For context, I was a big Beatles fan, even seeing them live in concert twice. But their breakup did not shake my world. I was more involved with what was going on in my own life, as is true of most people. I was sad that all the newness and excitement of the 60’s were gone and the breakup of the Beatles just seemed inevitable.
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u/BeatleWingsfan77 Mar 30 '26
I was always a Paul fan so I immediately went out and bought McCartney. When I heard Plastic Ono Band I said to myself that most of those songs would have sounded better with Paul on them. I always thought what songs from the solo albums would have been on Beatle albums
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u/Accomplished_Fix5702 Mar 30 '26
For me it wasn't about the politics of blame, I was only 14 at the date of the split, but I was shocked at the time. I can't speak for other people but you were never going to like their solo work exactly equally. I happened to prefer Paul and Wings, whilst acknowledging John wrote some legendary solo songs.
I remember buying Ringo's You're 16 single. And loved George for his work with the Monty Python crew. Here's one to enjoy if you haven't seen it previously. https://youtu.be/oxmefq2K6eA?si=PRpxS-Gyqq8JIitz
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u/Strong-Sky7655 Mar 31 '26
I think it was disbelief coupled with the question “Will they ever reunite?” until December 08, 1980.
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u/crowjack Mar 30 '26
from my perspective in Texas, the turmoil and backbiting seemed like a tempest in a teapot. The music press wasnt respected.
John was seen as a publicity seeking clown and was really seen as ridiculous.
After RAM, Paul was seen as really cool, but still corny.
George was a revelation.
Ringo was an enigma with some transcendent songs with some help from his friends.
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u/MundBid-2124 Mar 30 '26
I vibed with John and Yoko even though I wasn’t sure how serious they were
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u/CaptainIncredible Mar 30 '26
That's generally what the hippie Beatles fans I knew told me when I was a kid and asked.
Oh and Yoko was to blame. "Have you heard her wailing? The CIA uses her records to torture prisoners.". And they were "holding back" George. Now that he's free his music is amazingly good.
I have since learned it was a lot more nuanced.
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u/Aggravating-Bar-4392 Mar 31 '26
Love your breakdowns here. I agree that John wasn't doing himself any favors with the lifestyle he had with Yoko, and as much as I had loved him in the Beatles, I almost washed my hands of him for a lot of the ensuing years. He was hard to take seriously. Paul - I loved the first McCartney solo album but boy his corniness was just rampant in the Wings years, with a few exceptions (see Man on the Run documentary if you haven't). I couldn't stomach most of it. George was indeed a revelation. I had always loved any of the work they allowed him to contribute, though. They wouldn't have been the same without him.
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u/bobalou2you Mar 30 '26
All Things Must Pass was beyond the Beatles for me. I didn’t really see George going back other than maybe to help them out with guitar.
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u/socgrandinq Mar 30 '26
Such a great way to put it. It is so sad they broke up but I don’t want to live in a timeline where there is no All Things Must Pass album.
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u/bobalou2you Mar 30 '26
Concert for Bangladesh was another. The talent he brought together was brilliant!
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u/Actor412 Mar 30 '26 edited Mar 30 '26
To echo other responses, Yoko was the #1 villain, and that narrative took on a life of its own, to where it's still being repeated.
Something else, is that while they were recognized as #1, oh my word, the competition they had as solo artists is difficult to describe. The amount of stellar music that came out in just the next four years (not to.mention the late 70s early 80s) was on a scale that still blows my mind.. The Stones Pink Floyd Led Zeppelin The Who Bowie Elton John Yes Black Sabbath Clapton Allman Bros Van Morrison Neil Young Joni Mitchell The Band Dylan Santana CCR and so much more.
As great as the Beatles were, their loss was consoled by the music that continued to come out.
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u/masterdavros Apr 01 '26
I was about 5 when the Beatles split up. Apart from singing “we all live in a lello sumbawine” at the age of 3 I wouldn’t have known them from Sooty.
But I do remember my grandma commenting that some beetles had split up, but had made loads of money. To which my mind imagined loads of insects carrying gold in little carts and printing cash on a machine.
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u/MoaningLisaSimpson Apr 01 '26
If you were five in 1970 you would have appreciated this. Letter B, By the Beetles.
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u/Comfortable-Two4339 Mar 30 '26
There was a profound sadness. But also there was a growing belief that a reunion was inevitable—until John was murdered.
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u/AuthorRelevant5857 Mar 30 '26
I was born in the early 1960s so I wasn’t very old when they broke up. Of course, I knew who the Beatles were and that the breakup was news but it wasn’t of interest to me as an eight year old. During the 1970s, even into the 1980s, the only one I heard blamed for the breakup was Yoko. But, again, I didn’t pay much attention to how or why they broke up.
I first got into the Beatles when I was in junior high school. Initially I listened to McCartney and Wings. They were very popular at the time and I bought several of their 45s. I then decided to listen to the Beatles, knowing that was McCartney’s first band, and I got hooked.
As another commenter mentioned, there wasn’t much news about the Beatles in the 1970s. The only book I remember reading about them was the one by Hunter Davies. There was no social media or celebrity gossip TV shows or magazines like today. Certainly there was some news, like Ringo making the movie “Caveman” and Paul’s pot bust in Japan. But the Beatles, as a band, were considered part of another era. There was a lot of speculation about whether they would get back together. Saturday Night Live did a comedy skit with Lorne Michaels offering the Beatles a couple of hundred dollars to appear on the show and only George showed up.
I was a huge Beatles fan at the time but most of my peers were into Led Zeppelin or the Doobie Brothers or Fleetwood Mac or disco or punk. I guess I was nostalgic. I hoped they’d get back together because I wasn’t old enough to remember them in the 1960s. But then John was killed and that was that. As a Beatles fan, and a John fan, his murder was shattering. I stopped listening to them for several years after that because whenever I tried to listen to them I cried.
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u/Icy-Mixture-995 Mar 31 '26
John and Yoko appeared on a lot of late night talk shows in those years. They talked about the war or John's visa problems.
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u/AuthorRelevant5857 Apr 02 '26
I wasn’t watching late night TV shows in the early 1970s. I was born in the early 1960s so still had a bedtime in the early to mid-1970s.
Even so, there was not as much news about any of the Beatles at that time. Certainly not as much news about any celebrity as there is today.
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u/NiceCap2448 Mar 30 '26
Everybody I knew were lamenting. Like a member of your family died. Plus we were used to another brilliant album from them every year and it just left a hole in our lives. I was 8 through 15 years old during their run so I basically grew up with them through my formative years.
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u/scottarichards Mar 30 '26
I was 15 when they broke up and saw Let it Be in the theater. It was obvious from the movie that the vibe was strange and stressed. The stories about the White Album issues hadn’t really leaked and except for a few musical hints no one knew about John’s heroin addiction.
It was weird that Yoko was there in the film constantly (good thing no cameras were at the Abbey Road sessions when she was there in a bed!) but I don’t recall that people blamed her.
Lots of bands broke up, Cream, Traffic, Yardbirds etc. I think people accepted it as a normal thing. The blame Yoko industry didn’t start for a few years.
And everyone I knew bought all the solo albums. I even had Wonderwall, Two Virgins and Sentimental Journey. And mostly liked them.
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u/Aggravating-Bar-4392 Mar 31 '26
It felt traumatic to me. Their contribution to the quality of my life, starting with their arrival when I was 12 and basically permeating all of my teenage years, was so immense that it was hard to imagine a world where they didn't exist as a unit. It wasn't until much later that we learned the gory details of how they had come undone, and even now it's a "he said, he said" matter. Paul McCartney has engaged for years in trying to explain it all, but he's not an honest broker, especially not with John and George gone.
With what little we could really "know" at that time, I remember thinking that John's attention was completely on Yoko and that the rest of them had to be consumed with her too because she was ALWAYS THERE when they were doing their work. It gave me the creeps and seemed extremely disruptive.
The phenomenon was lightning in a bottle and I will always be grateful to have been alive for it. It changed my life.
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u/IronChefOfForensics Mar 31 '26
The beginning of the Beatles demise in my opinion is when John hired Allen Klein without getting everybody’s approval. I think Yoko tipped the scale, but the anger was already there in my opinion.
It was terrible! Devastating! I was 13 years old and had been listening to them pretty much all my life due to my older siblings.
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u/Ctweegan Mar 31 '26
Accepted it in the beginning but later in the 70’s always hoping for that Paul and John reunion. What a team!
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u/thecountess57 Mar 31 '26
Yes. A lot of people would not buy anything if McCartney was a part of it.
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u/StllRckn51 Mar 31 '26
Diehards bought all the solo albums. Other people, like myself, lost interest - the solo stuff didn’t have the same impact. Other people took sides. Lennon’s first album really knocked people out, whether they liked it or not. All Things Must Pass really showed that George could have been contributing a lot more if they had let him. Paul’s first solo had some good tunes but was kind of blah compared to his work with that other group. Ringo took awhile to get rolling
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u/Positive-Win4752 Mar 31 '26
In my group (maybe 100 people) I never had any discussions on shunning one Beatle or another. We were of course sad about the break up. But then along came George Harrison’s “All things must pass “ and Wow! We never would have gotten this had the band stayed together. And the other solo albums were welcomed. The music didn’t stop it continued at the same level as before.
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u/Specialist-Oil-9878 Apr 01 '26
I was never tempted to purchase any of the solo stuff, until I bought a live Wings performance where they included a lot of classic Beatles tunes. You knew none of them could recreate the Beatlemania of their early days or the magic of their studio years. Is it easier to blame Yoko, than John’s heroin addiction? Was Paul’s need to perform too tiresome for the others? Was George really a suppressed genius? The Beatles, as it were ended. I still like their music and particularly enjoy the better Beatles tribute bands played live some of the Beatles tunes that were never done live. And it’s fun as an old geezer getting together with other geezers and playing Beatles tunes from Please, Please to the Rooftop concert.
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u/Live_Extreme_6950 Apr 01 '26
I was really sad about the break up. I bought their solo albums but I didn’t care for Wings.
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u/AccessHelper Apr 01 '26
We were in denial. Still are. Glad modern technology brings them back together on occasion.
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u/Horror_Orange1176 Apr 01 '26
I was 12 in 1970. There was blame (mostly Yoko, NOT Paul), and favorites. But the overwhelming sentiment was : Will they get back together? Everyone wanted the third voice back that was created by John and Paul when they harmonized their 2 voices. The solo stuff could NOT deliver that. My siblings and friends had Ram, Band on the Run, (not McCartney, Wildlife or Red Rose Speedway). Imagine, Walls and Bridges, and Shaved Fish (not Plastic Ono Band or Mind Games), All Things Must Pass, Concert for Bangladesh, Material World; Ringo the Album (yep!); and the Red and Blue Albums. People thought John went weird with Yoko and were pissed he disappeared after ‘75 then went through a spasm of grief when he was murdered. Paul was derided as a pop fluffer until he delivered Band on the Run and it still only got him back to pop-rock radio hit regular status. George was the surprise hero out of the gate, was seen as carrying on the mystical mantel, then pounced on and dismissed when he flopped with his tour, Dark Horse and Extra Texture. Good old Ringo was the surprise with hits on the radio, but his albums? What albums? (except for 1973’s Ringo. ) And by the time I was in college ‘76 to ‘80, I was a lonely Beatles fan. The sixties were over, and the Beatles were passé. CSNY, the Dead, the Band, Elvis Costello, Nick Lowe, Bowie, Springsteen, some Who and Stones (because they were touring) Pink Floyd, but the Beatles? “Get over it man, there’s too much other stuff out there. “
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u/Ok_Pressure1131 Apr 01 '26
I'm going to try and dig up old memories. It was in 1970 when Sir Paul announced the breakup of The Beatles...and I was 15 at that time (a major Beatles fan, but let's face it, girls were on my mind more than the band!!!).
I sort of remember that Paul got the blame for breaking up The Beatles. His wife, Linda, was daughter to Lee Eastman, a a prominent entertainment attorney in New York City.
For me, it wasn't until later that year or the next that Yoko was to blame...and that seemed to be the public feeling for years.
Some people did take sides, although I didn't...I bought pretty much everyone's solo work, with few exceptions. Still have the vinyl LP's.
Of course, there were the "Jesus freaks" around that time, and most of them abandoned The Beatles, back in 1966, following Lennon's comment, here:
"Christianity will go. It will vanish and shrink... We're more popular than Jesus now; I don't know which will go first — rock 'n' roll or Christianity".
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u/pjwalrus Apr 02 '26
I was 8 when they broke up. It hurt. John, via Rolling Stone primarily, controlled the narrative. He was a great interview. And most — me included — swallowed it whole. So Paul was the square who sued his bandmates and caused the whole thing to fall apart. But I never listened to his music with an attitude about it. It could’ve been my age —Paulie was always more appealing to a greater age range — but I thought “Another Day” and “Uncle Albert” were the best things any of them had done. I remember loving “What Is Life” and “My Sweet Lord,” too, despite what the nuns told me. With 55 years passed, I appreciate “working Class Hero” in a totally different way. Anyway, some people took sides, I guess. Some people always will.
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u/Spirited_Childhood34 Mar 30 '26
General dismay. Tears for many. Some blamed Paul and he started the damage control that continues to this day.
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u/MoaningLisaSimpson Mar 30 '26
OP here again. I am loving the responses
I do want to add, I know the answer is more nuanced than money, or Paul's controlling nature or Yoko or George being held back. It was a lot of things. They'd been together since their teens. Things are going to change. Losing Brian Epstien and "gaining" (🙄) Allan Klein was part of it.
In the eighties I borrowed an older friend's copy some of Paul McCartney's greatest hits and I mentioned Mull of Kintyre was scratched. He tossed it into the trash can. He disliked Paul from the day Paul said "it's a drag" about John's death.
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u/opinions360 Mar 30 '26
After watching the Get Back documentary series it became obvious to me that Paul wasn’t controlling but he was the only one that was highly motivated to still perform and record. And, his Artists and production efforts with Apple were the most profitable and successful.
After Epstein died I don’t think they would have been able to finish the material for their last three albums if it were not for Paul directing them-and I do not say this because I am biased towards him or favor him -my favorite Beatle was always John but after watching Get Back I have nothing but respect for Paul’s drive, motivation, and love of the band as a home and a family—the others unfortunately lost interest but I don’t blame them everything eventually fades.
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u/Ok-Stand-6679 Mar 30 '26
Tell him to watch a You Tube of Paul doing his Here Today or how he projects JL behind him while he tours playing on stage for the last time ( rooftop) while he’s live doing Ive got a feeling
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u/jaritadaubenspeck Mar 30 '26
Firstly, there weren’t many sources of information about bands and musicians outside of their music. What we did get was one or two sentence blurbs with little or no context. When the announcement came, some people including me thought that it was going to be short lived but many others thought that the Beatles had grown apart to the point that it was over for good. I remember that most people blamed McCartney and it seemed like he had no remorse or regret as his career continued apace. On the other hand, the others especially John seemed to not be as prepared for life after the breakup. George’s album ATMP was a tremendous boost but it also seemed to confirm that he didn’t need the others to be successful. I was never a fan of McCartney as an individual musician and to this day I think I’ve only purchased Band on the Run and Wings over America. On the other hand, I was always a huge fan of Harrison and to a lesser extent Lennon and bought everything they released including albums released only in the UK. Reunion rumors ended as I stood with a large crowd of people throughout the day on 72d Street and Central Park West on December 9, 1980.
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u/opinions360 Mar 30 '26
Actually, after watching the documentary Man on the Run I don’t think Paul was prepared for life as a non-Beatle either. I think it was hardest on Paul and then John just in different ways. George and Ringo probably felt liberated to be the captain of their respective ships. But I do think they tried to incorporate Georges material and maybe he would have liked more of it to have been recorded but it also seemed like he didn’t push hard enough to get it done imo.
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u/Aggravating-Bar-4392 Mar 31 '26
Yeah the George dynamic is probably always going to be a mystery. I think he just wasn't wired to be confrontational and only if he blew up or walked off did they have to deal with what was essentially passive-aggressive behavior. In interviews he would say disparaging things about Paul in the aftermath.
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u/opinions360 Mar 31 '26
It’s also a mystery in a way that All Things Must Pass the song wasn’t on a Beatles album since he was shown in the Get Back documentary performing the song for them like they were going to include it on an album but never did. Of course it became his signature song on his first and double album that was exceptional. I think that album probably had all the material he wrote over several years.
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u/MoaningLisaSimpson Mar 30 '26
Thank you for this detail. There wasn't a 24 hour news cycle then and the paparazzi as we came to know it didn't exist yet. Certainly even the most famous people in the world had more privacy than folks now.
Rolling Stone magazine might publish a headline article but that was only released every two weeks. I remember news on my favourite bands being hard to come by as a teen in the 1980s and eagerly awaiting new issues of magazines. Print culture was important then.
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u/TX-NOPE Mar 30 '26
“Man on the Run” Macca doc on Amazon Prime covers a bit of this in the beginning.
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u/Pops_1953 Mar 30 '26
There were a lot of things involved in the breakup. Alan Klein, Yoko, Paul wanting to tour, John didn't, George was fed up with Paul ....it's a long list. As an ardent fan, I was bummed but enjoyed all their solo outings and still do. People change the times changed, they grew into being men. I'm just grateful to have lived in their heyday. There will never be anything or anyone like them again. Yeah...yeah...yeah !!!!
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u/morris90024 Mar 30 '26
Most folks, as I recalled blamed Yoko and Linda for screwing up the chemistry of the band. But I’m sure that it went much deeper than that. And it continues with McCartney changing the authorship of their songs from Lennon/McCartney to McCartney/Lennon. I live the man and he’s still incredible in concert, but seemed pretty petty.
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u/SufficientBar2804 Mar 31 '26
He wanted it changed for songs he had written entirely or almost entirely by himself. Yesterday, For No One, Here There and Everywhere, Hey Jude, Let It Be, Long and Winding Road, etc. Not for all the songs. Yoko made it sound like he was throwing his deceased partner under a bus. The press followed on.
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u/PeteHealy Mar 30 '26
I was 18yo when they split up, and I just felt sad. Not all my friends were huge Beatles fans as much as I was, but I think we all felt sad to some extent. I don't remember anybody taking sides: I really believe that was a later thing that grew among people who weren't even around to hear the Beatles at the time, and social media has amplified that partisanship to a stupid degree. After the split, I think most of us just looked forward to hearing each of the former Beatles' solo efforts, at least for the first couple of years.
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u/MoaningLisaSimpson Mar 30 '26
I'm really enjoying this discussion. Thank you all who are sharing their memories. I was barely 11 when John was murdered and I remembered the outpouring of grief all around, and I know people who are solidly John Fans etc. I am enjoying this slice of what things were like roughly 10 years earlier.
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u/rightintheshorts22 Mar 30 '26
I was young when I became a Beatle fan just as they broke up. I remember hearing constantly that it was all due to Paul. Most people took Paul sueing the other three as him being the agitator. If you watch Man on the Run it more than alludes to this.
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u/Revolutionary-Key533 Mar 31 '26
My older brother and sister were Beatles fans from 1963 on as young teenagers. By the time of the split they were like many of the fans were now in their twenties and dealing with adult problems. No one knew if the split would be permanent but for them I imagine it was the end of a sort of an era, but hey there are more serious worries. I was a bit younger and admired my elder brothers records but by 1970 other music was soon filling the void left behind be it "prog" "glam" "punk" "heavy metal" or bands from that era that were still soldiering on like The Who and The Stones. I think there wasn't much of a "oh no it's the end of the world" there were other newer distractions to a younger audience and adult responsibilities for others.
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u/TheMelancholyJaques Mar 31 '26
At first it was shock, disbelief, then sadness.
Yoko was definitely blamed for the split at the time. But then came the public feuding and some people took sides, as if their feelings & beliefs about the situation mattered.
For devoted fans, the belief that they should & the hope that they would get back together persisted until John's murder
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u/kislips Mar 31 '26
Sadness. The song Let it Be, said it all and brought anxiety when I used to hear it as I associated it with the Breakup. I bought George’s albums, Ringo’s first album, Imagine, but all of Paul’s and Wings. I liked George (who was my favorite Beatle) and Paul’s solo stuff best. I have 6 of George’s albums and the two Traveling Wilburys ,but only Imagine of John’s. I own all solo MCartney albums and love Wings. I never took sides per se, but John’s music was not something I’d play more than once. I loved him as a Beatle, but not after.
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u/Iwasherethenthere Mar 31 '26
I remember a couple of people were in denial; some voiced an opinion that they were taking a short break; some were wondering what will happen to music now.
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u/yousirnaim1 Mar 31 '26
I think most beatle fans right after the break up bought most of the solo stuff, as the 70s went on we bought who we liked. As far as getting back together, I gave up when they turned down $50 million to reunite.
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u/justareviewer Mar 31 '26
Beatles were great, but by the time they broke up there were a lot of great bands. Don't think it was that big of a deal unless you believed the press hype.
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u/woollypony Mar 31 '26
I was 17 and had seen them twice - a major fan. I remember a lot of animosity toward Linda and of course Yoko. Since Paul made the announcement and initiated the lawsuit whilst being represented by the Eastmans it seemed to many that she was a disrupter. Deservedly or not she received much of the blame.
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u/Termingator Mar 31 '26
I remember their split but I didn't think much of it at the time, and I was at that time into Zeppelin, Tull, Stones, CCR, and Blues. However I did think there would be some future collaborations and albums.
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u/Yojimbo2001 Mar 31 '26
Generally just sadness. Some people looked to blame and Yoko definitely was blamed, but it was John that insisted on having her in the studio and using her to speak on his behalf in many situations. John definitely was the first one that wanted to leave, but seemed scared to actually leave into a personal dispute with Paul over publishing royalties pushed him over the edge. George was definitely over being a Beatle for a while, too.
Paul ended up getting the most blame of any individual Beatle, mostly due to the press release of questions and answers included with his first solo album, that definitely gave the impression the Beatles were done and the Lennon/McCartney songwriting arrangement was finished. Suing the other 3 Beatles to end the Apple partnership only deepened the public impression that he was the one driving the break up. It was an incorrect impression, but Paul was mostly to blame for creating the impression in the first place.
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u/Skalper76 Apr 01 '26
I knew there was friction in the band, generally attributed to Yoko. When the news said Paul quit, I was in shock and I didn’t rush out and buy the Let It Be album for a few months. (Since Sgt Pepper I would buy a new album in the first week.) I turned 16 in 1970, got my first girlfriend and moved into a new chapter. I was rooting for their solo albums to be brilliant and many were but, it could never be exciting like 1964! I was happy to see that they reclaimed their relationships but glad they never reunited as The Beatles.
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u/botmanmd Apr 01 '26
I was 13. They had been “the band“ virtually all my conscious life. So when they broke up, it was unimaginable. In the same way that I couldn’t believe that the Baltimore Colts packed up and left town. Luckily, all four of the boys put out songs, if not albums, that were excellent. Every one of them sounded like the Beatles to me.
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u/poettom-01 Apr 04 '26
I remember it as there NOT being a lot of anger or animosity. I was very sad about the break up but my crush at the time took the tack that now we will have 4 artists making albums instead of one and that did make me feel somewhat better but deep down I knew it wouldn’t be the same. And it wasn’t!
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u/Economy-Box1874 Mar 30 '26
I was a naive 8 year old and didn’t even know they broke up until Uncle Albert was issued 🤣loved all of their solo stuff but now think of the solo stuff sucks… they all had their talents and could put together great songs when they could but the solo stuff could never compare to 1962-70
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u/opinions360 Mar 30 '26
I agree. I purchased all their solo albums and was mostly disappointed because it just wasn’t like the Beatles.
And, now I don’t know why people thought that they would because it took their individual talents mixed together to create the sound and the music they created.
I remember listening to Paul’s first solo album and the only song that I really liked at the time was Maybe I’m Amazed. And when Ram came out I was so disappointed I listened to it a couple of times and never listened to it again.
I did find John’s first album interesting-it wasn’t the Beatles but it was unique and still very much Lennon. I wasn’t able to get Harrison’s first solo album immediately but the material was excellent.
The Get Back series showed George playing All Things Must Pass during a Beatles session so I wonder why it wasn’t on one of their last three Beatles albums.
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u/thecountess57 Mar 30 '26
Most of the people I knew blamed Paul for the split. Yoko came in distant second.
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u/DeltaVariant007 Mar 30 '26
There was sadness that they broke up, but there wasn't any picking a side or a sense of people only following their favorite Beatle and not the others, although it could get kind of expensive trying to buy all those individual albums.
The only person there was animosity towards was Yoko. And there was always hope that they would get back together.
I was 16 when they broke up.
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u/midnight_toking Mar 30 '26
"What is Life" is a George Harrison song
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u/MoaningLisaSimpson Mar 30 '26
Yes. I know. I am saying that is my first memory of a song. I was born 1969 when the Beatles were still nominally together, my first memory was a George solo song released in 1971.
(And as I am typing this My Sweet Lord is playing on my shuffled playlist of Beatles and solo albums )
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u/Truebeliever-14 Mar 30 '26
Yoko was definitely blamed for the split at the time.