The Beatles: When Did They Break Up & Why?

In January 1969, atop their Apple Corps headquarters in London, England, The Beatles – John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr – delivered what would become their final performance together, unbeknownst to onlookers. The legendary band’s dissolution followed a year later, events seemingly chronicled in Michael Lindsay-Hogg’s 1970 film, Let It Be. Now, over five decades later, filmmaker Peter Jackson presents Get Back on Disney+, a new three-part documentary project that re-examines the prevailing narrative and seeks to clarify the enduring questions surrounding the Fab Four’s split: When exactly did The Beatles call it quits, and what truly led to their separation?

Peter Jackson described Get Back, his expansive seven-hour-plus Beatles documentary on Disney+, as “sort of that one impossible fan dream,” in an interview with The New York Times. Having gained access to nearly 60 hours of previously unseen footage from the Let It Be sessions, Jackson aimed to provide a more complete picture. Addressing perceptions of a sanitized portrayal, the acclaimed Lord of the Rings director told the NYT, “Everyone sort of thinks it’s a whitewash,” yet he asserted its candid nature. “It shows everything that Michael Lindsay-Hogg could not show in 1970. It’s a very unflinching look at what goes on.”

When Did The Beatles Officially Disband?

April 10, 1970, marks a significant date in Beatles history, as it is the day Paul McCartney appeared to announce his departure from the group. Leading up to his debut solo album, McCartney, he issued a “self-interview” to the press, according to historical accounts. “Q: ‘Is this album a rest away from the Beatles or the start of a solo career?’ PAUL: ‘Time will tell. Being a solo album 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.'”

McCartney further questioned himself whether this divergence from The Beatles was temporary or permanent. He responded, “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 really know.” Although not a definitive breakup declaration, many media outlets interpreted it as such.

“[Paul] can’t have his own way, so he’s causing chaos,” John Lennon stated in the May 14, 1970, edition of Rolling Stone. “I put out four albums last year, and I didn’t say a f-cking word about quitting.” These albums included Unfinished Music No. 1: Two Virgins, Unfinished Music No. 2: Life With The Lions, the Wedding Album, and Live Peace In Toronto 1969, all collaborative projects with Yoko Ono.

In May 1970, The Beatles released Let It Be, their twelfth and final studio album. It was accompanied by the documentary film of the same title, which captured the album’s recording sessions and the rooftop concert. For a recent reissue of the Let It Be album, Paul McCartney wrote that the Let It Be film was “pretty sad as it dealt with the breakup of our band, but the new film shows the camaraderie and love the four of us had between us.”

Despite the generally held belief that The Beatles separated in 1970, some fans and historians argue the band’s troubles began considerably earlier. While the rooftop performance occurred in 1969, The Beatles‘ last paid concert took place three years prior, at San Francisco’s Candlestick Park on August 29, 1966.

Exploring The Reasons Behind The Beatles’ Split

“Our movie doesn’t show the breaking up of the Beatles,” Jackson clarified to The New York Times, “but it shows the one singular moment in history that you could possibly say was the beginning of the end.”

This pivotal moment centers on the arrival of Allen Klein, an American business manager who appeared days before the 1969 rooftop performance to offer his services. The Beatles’ longtime manager, Brian Epstein, tragically passed away on August 27, 1967, due to an accidental overdose. “I knew that we were in trouble then,” Lennon admitted to Rolling Stone in December 1970. “I didn’t really have any misconceptions about our ability to do anything other than play music, and I was scared. I thought, ‘We’ve f**king had it.’”

Upon Allen Klein’s arrival, John Lennon, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr engaged his services. Paul McCartney refused, creating a division that remained unhealed. “I had to fight, and the only way I could fight was in suing the other Beatles because they were going with Klein,” he explained in an October 2021 interview with BBC Radio 4. “And they thanked me for it years later.” McCartney maintained he did not instigate the split. “I didn’t instigate the split. That was our Johnny …  John walked into a room one day and said, ‘I am leaving the Beatles.’ Is that instigating the split, or not?”

Exhaustion and intense creative expectations also played a role in the band’s dissolution. The release of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Heart’s Club Band in 1967 elevated the group to the status of musical innovators. The pressure to surpass this album was immense, and Get Back encapsulates some of these moments of artistic struggle. Jackson’s new documentary also rectifies a widely known fact among Beatles enthusiasts: despite Abbey Road being released prior to Let It Be, its recording actually occurred afterward.

Let It Be was recorded in January 1969, while work on Abbey Road commenced the following February and concluded in August. The latter album was then released in September 1969.

Many fans have attributed The Beatles’ breakup to Yoko Ono, but as You’re Wrong About pointed out in a September 2019 episode, the existing tensions within The Beatles were already significant by the time she became a prominent figure.

Ultimately, The Beatles‘ separation stemmed from a confluence of factors: conflicting personalities, creative burnout, legal battles, and the immense pressures associated with being the world’s biggest musical act.

Where to Watch The Beatles: Get Back Documentary

The Beatles: Get Back is currently available for streaming on Disney+. According to previous press statements, the documentary was produced with “the enthusiastic support of Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Yoko Ono Lennon, and Olivia Harrison.”