“I read the news today oh boy…”
— “A Day In The Life” by The Beatles
The 1970s began with the end of The Beatles.
Here is an Associated Press story excerpt published in the April 10, 1970 Santa Cruz Sentinel:
“Paul McCartney announced today that he’s split from the Beatles but said he may be back.
This first open rift in the world’s top pop group was announced from Apple, the company which manages Beatle affairs.
Paul, 27-year-old song writer, lead guitarist and singer, blamed the break on ‘personal differences, business differences, musical differences — but most all because I have a better time with my family.’ ”
A column from Nashua (New Hampshire) Telegraph:
“Biggest news of the past week was the report that the Beatles would no longer work together. The rumor was termed a fact by closest friends of the world’s most popular foursome.
The official break-up, to be announced any day now, derived from the drifting apart of Paul McCartney and John Lennon. The two had been conflicting over the direction of their Apple Record Company and also over Lennon’s Ono Band.
It was, however, McCartney who contributed the deciding factor — he announced the release of a solo album….”
The following newspaper ad offers a look at what music was like when the Beatles era ended. It also reminds us about 8-track tapes, the cutting-edge audio format of 1970.
The Oil City (Pennsylvania) Derrick, April 11, 1970
This description of the breakup comes from a story titled, “Paul McCartney announces The Beatles’ split“:
“With his debut solo album McCartney due for release on 17 April 1970, Paul McCartney chose not to do any promotional interviews. Instead, he asked Apple’s Peter Brown to write a list of questions to which he supplied the answers. They included his ruminations on the Beatles and the end of his partnership with John Lennon.
McCartney’s self-interview caused an immediate storm after its contents were revealed by Daily Mirror journalist Don Short, and its contents were widely reported around the world. Although speculation had been rife for the previous six months, confirmation that the group was no more still came as a shock to many.
(A quote from Paul McCartney years later):
‘The world reaction was like ‘The Beatles Have Broken Up — It’s Official’ — we’d known it for months. So that was that, really. I think it was the press who misunderstood. The record had come with this weird explanation on a questionnaire of what I was doing. It was actually only for them. I think a few people thought it was some weird move of me to get publicity, but it was really to avoid having to do the press.'”
WatchMojo.com remembers the history of The Beatles:
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