The Beatles Break Up - Ray Connolly Interview / Paul McCartney in High Courts, London

• Report rights infringement
• published: 19 Nov 2010
• views: 27659

1970-1971 http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&location;=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FThe-Beatles%2Fe%2FB000APTK6K%3Fqid%3D1289755917%26sr%3D1-2-ent&tag;=concerts0b-20&linkCode;=ur2&camp;=1789&creative;=9325 Watch more: http://lifeofthebeatles.blogspot.com/ Apple Corps during this period was plagued by business problems. Lennon and Ono met with Allen Klein regarding managerial advice. Subsequently, Lennon requested that Klein represent his business interests in the band. Harrison and Starr acquiesced, while McCartney had ambiguous feelings about Klein's managerial potential. McCartney's growing relationship with Linda Eastman opened the opportunity for Lee and John Eastman, Linda's father and brother, respectively, to become involved in advising the band's financial and legal decision-making. However, the band members' quarrels and disharmony over musical matters soon permeated their business discussions. Dick James, who held substantial rights to Northern Songs (the Lennon/McCartney song catalogue), became increasingly concerned over the band's dissension and resentment towards him. Without informing the Beatles, he inconspicuously entertained offers to sell his substantial shares in Northern Songs. Klein and the Eastmans were caught off-guard and their attempts to reclaim control of the Beatles (via Maclen Music) failed. It soon became evident that the Eastmans and Klein had developed an adversarial relationship given their disparate advice and counsel. This further aggravated the underlying mistrust and antipathy experienced within the band. The Get Back/Let It Be project from the January 1969 recordings and filming was aborted. However, the group continued to sporadically record together during the spring and summer of 1969. These recording sessions ultimately paved the way for the Beatles' last studio recording project, Abbey Road. Lennon's alleged pattern of heroin use inspired him to record "Cold Turkey" soon after the sessions for the album Abbey Road concluded. Offered to the Beatles for recording as a single, it was met with indifference. The formation of the Plastic Ono Band was originally conceived as an artistic outlet for Lennon and Ono in 1969. However, their enthusiastic reception as performers in Toronto's Rock and Roll Concert extravaganza in September 1969 ostensibly crystallised his decision to leave the band. He informed Klein and McCartney of his decision on 20 September 1969. Ironically, in the autumn of 1969, the band signed a renegotiated contract with a higher royalty rate. This was the group's last demonstration of unity, though transient in nature. Further disclosure revealed that the contract bound the members of the band until 1976 collectively and separately. Thus, this renegotiated contract precipitated the final legal actions abrogating the partnership in 1972. Despite his efforts at maintaining the band's cohesiveness, McCartney acknowledged that the Beatles had effectively disbanded in a November 1969 interview conducted by Life magazine. At the beginning of 1970, McCartney, Harrison and Starr briefly reconvened to complete recordings for the album Let It Be. Each of the band members otherwise focused solely on individual projects. During this time, McCartney grew deeply dissatisfied with Phil Spector's treatment of some songs on the upcoming Let It Be album, particularly "The Long and Winding Road". McCartney had conceived of the song as a simple piano ballad, but Spector dubbed in orchestral and female choral accompaniment. On 14 April 1970, McCartney sent a sharply worded letter to Apple Records business manager Klein demanding that the added instrumentation be reduced, the harp part eliminated, and "Don't ever do it again." These requests went unheeded, and the Spector version went on to be included in the album. Another issue McCartney faced around this time frame surrounded his impending solo album. McCartney was scheduled for release on 17 April, but the other Beatles and Apple realised that the album's release date could conflict with the impending Let It Be album and film. When Starr was sent to request that McCartney delay his solo debut (for the sake of group harmony and loyalty), McCartney refused, asking Starr to leave for the only time in either one's life: "I had to do something like that in order to assert myself because I was just sinking." Although the McCartney album was released as planned, McCartney's bitterness over these incidents was a contributing factor to his public announcement concerning his departure from the band. At the beginning of 1971, McCartney sued his band mates for the dissolution of the Beatles' contractual relationship and subsequently a receiver was appointed.