Ray Connolly on the Break-up of the Beatles
Today I bought the special edition the German magazine “Stern” did about the Beatles. I was pretty disappointed by the main article about the Beatles’ history, not only did they doubt that John were friends but they also made some even more obvious mistakes like writing that “Something” is the first song on Abbey Road. Just stupid…
But I didn’t want to complain about that too much (it at least had some nice photos). There was an article by journalist Ray Connolly about his memories of John and particularly the view on the Beatles break-up was new to me so I thought I’d share it here. I hope my translation is adequate… ;-)
The Beatles were on the verge of breaking up. Paul was always shaking his head about John’s actions. I remember showing him the cover of John’s album “Two Virgins”; you could see John and Yoko totally naked. Paul looked at me, seeming to think ‘What has he come up with now?’
To me, the Beatles resembled a family: John was the smart, moody, pretty unpredictable father, Paul the concerned, hard working mother, always trying to mediate. And Ringo and George went along as the fledgling and the brooding teenager.
It was John who told me he would leave the Beatles: “How often, do you think, did we enjoy our performances on tour? You stand up there on the stage and are pelted with things. It was pure torture, a nightmare. I was a flea in a flea circus.”
We were on a farm in Canada when he told me this, in the middle of the countryside. John had let me be flown in; he was always very generous. When I arrived, he had just washed his hair, I entered his room and he said, “I’m leaving the Beatles. I told Paul I want a divorce.” Nobody knew that back then; it could have been the coup of my life.
But he asked me not to publish anything before “Let It Be” was released. John was sick of being a Beatle. “Even the biggest Beatles fan would have been unable to toil through those six weeks of recording that album,” he told me. “It was the worst session of the world with the worst music that went on and on and on. And we were all supposed to keep smiling!”
Today, I believe he thought that I wouldn’t be able to resist the story. He wanted me to publish his decision.
When Paul was quicker and declared the end of the Beatles in a press statement shortly afterwards, John yelled at me, “You had the f*cking story! Why didn’t you write it down?”
I told him he had asked me to wait.
“You are the f*cking journalist, Ray, not I,” he snarled at me.
I thought this was a pretty interesting version of those events. What do you think about this?
But I didn’t want to complain about that too much (it at least had some nice photos). There was an article by journalist Ray Connolly about his memories of John and particularly the view on the Beatles break-up was new to me so I thought I’d share it here. I hope my translation is adequate… ;-)
The Beatles were on the verge of breaking up. Paul was always shaking his head about John’s actions. I remember showing him the cover of John’s album “Two Virgins”; you could see John and Yoko totally naked. Paul looked at me, seeming to think ‘What has he come up with now?’
To me, the Beatles resembled a family: John was the smart, moody, pretty unpredictable father, Paul the concerned, hard working mother, always trying to mediate. And Ringo and George went along as the fledgling and the brooding teenager.
It was John who told me he would leave the Beatles: “How often, do you think, did we enjoy our performances on tour? You stand up there on the stage and are pelted with things. It was pure torture, a nightmare. I was a flea in a flea circus.”
We were on a farm in Canada when he told me this, in the middle of the countryside. John had let me be flown in; he was always very generous. When I arrived, he had just washed his hair, I entered his room and he said, “I’m leaving the Beatles. I told Paul I want a divorce.” Nobody knew that back then; it could have been the coup of my life.
But he asked me not to publish anything before “Let It Be” was released. John was sick of being a Beatle. “Even the biggest Beatles fan would have been unable to toil through those six weeks of recording that album,” he told me. “It was the worst session of the world with the worst music that went on and on and on. And we were all supposed to keep smiling!”
Today, I believe he thought that I wouldn’t be able to resist the story. He wanted me to publish his decision.
When Paul was quicker and declared the end of the Beatles in a press statement shortly afterwards, John yelled at me, “You had the f*cking story! Why didn’t you write it down?”
I told him he had asked me to wait.
“You are the f*cking journalist, Ray, not I,” he snarled at me.
I thought this was a pretty interesting version of those events. What do you think about this?