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THE FAB FOUR WORKED TOGETHER IN VARIOUS COMBINATIONS AFTER THE BAND'S 1970 SPLIT DAN HAYGARTH Liverpool Daily Post Editor and Regeneration Reporter 18:12, 02 Jun 2025 The Beatles'
split was famously acrimonious and left them on bad terms with one another. Factors including John Lennon's relationship with Yoko Ono, emerging creative differences and a disagreement
over the appointment of Allen Klein at their label Apple Records are all cited for the break up of the world's biggest band. However, it seems the troubles really began during the
recording sessions of the band's 1968 record 'The White Album', which were notoriously feisty. Ringo Starr left the band for a period, fed up with the mood, as The Beatles
clashed. About that period of recording, Paul McCartney said: "There was a lot of friction during that album. We were just about to break up, and that was tense in itself". John
later added: "The break-up of The Beatles can be heard on that album." In September 1969, after the band had recorded the majority of what became 'Let it Be' (the
'Get Back' sessions) and 'Abbey Road', John told Paul, George Harrison and Ringo that he wanted a "divorce" from The Beatles. Paul went away to work on his
first solo album 'McCartney', believing it was all over for the group. Paul has said he told his bandmates in advance that he would release 'McCartney' with a press
release announcing his departure from The Beatles in April 1970. The Beatles had released 'Let it Be' as a single in March 1970, so the new album was renamed after it and they set
a May 1970 release date for that album - following the film's premiere. But with record label Apple wanting to avoid a clash and Paul not wanting to speak to them due to his disapproval
of manager Klein, Ringo went to his home with a letter from himself, John and George asking him to move his release date. Paul and Ringo had a huge row and he threw the drummer out of his
house. Article continues below About that row, Chris Ingham wrote in 'The Rough Guide to The Beatles': "McCartney managed to retrieve his original release date but, when he
heard what Spector had done to The Beatles' music, he hit the roof". The release of 'Let it Be' was The Beatles' final act. John had left the year before and
Paul's release of his first solo album in April 1970 showed that he also had moved on. The split was made public when Paul released that first solo album and the world's most
famous band were no more. It continued to be an acrimonious time for The Beatles. Paul had fallen out with the other three due to the appointment of Klein to handle their business affairs in
1969 - he wanted to appoint entertainment lawyers Lee and John Eastman instead. And, after 'Let it Be' and 'McCartney' had both been released, Paul filed a High Court
lawsuit in December 1970 to dissolve the band's contractual agreement. The court ruled in his favour in March 1971 and Paul's relationship with his former bandmates was very much
strained. After the split, Paul, Ringo, George and John continued work on solo projects. John and Paul were involved in a bit of a feud, as the two wrote cutting songs about each other. As
such, Paul was seen to be holding an isolationist stance in the early 1970s over the Klein issue. However, when Ringo was working on his self-titled 1973 album, the drummer approached his
three former bandmates for songs and Paul obliged. In March 1973, John, George and Ringo worked in Los Angeles on the song 'I'm The Greatest', which John had written in 1970
after he found out Paul was launching legal action about the band's split. He used the self-important title to make a sarcastic comment on his past, using Muhammad Ali's
catchphrase. Paul did not take part, but relations eased during the production of that album as George, Ringo and John chose to sever their business arrangements with Klein. John told Melody
Maker magazine that the Fab Four were "closer now than we have been for a long time". He added there was "always a chance" of a reunion, explaining that Paul may well
have joined them on 'I'm The Greatest' if he had been in Los Angeles at the time. As it happened, a full Beatles reunion never occurred but Paul, George and Ringo would go on
to work together later. They recorded together for the first time since the split on George's 1981 single 'All Those Years Ago'. George had originally worked with Ringo on the
song in November 1980, with the drummer singing it. However, Ringo didn't enjoy working on it and struggled with the vocal range it required. Article continues below George revisited
it after John was shot dead in December 1980 and the new version paid tribute to his former bandmate. On the new recordings, Ringo played drums, George sang and Paul recorded backing vocals
with his wife Linda and Wings' Denny Laine. The song performed well commercially, peaking at two in the US Billboard top 100 chart. It was also praised by critics, with RecordWorld
describing the song as a "buoyant reminiscence features George's fluid guitar lines with help from Paul, Ringo and Linda." Ringo, Paul and George would work together again in
the 1990s on the 'Anthology' project, which resulted in the release of two new songs based on old demo tapes.