The Beatles don't disband. Discuss.

A more realistic TL is that a third possible new manager besides Klein and Eastman exists ITTL who in OTL died in his crib. This manager is acceptable to McCartney and Lennon, so they don't have the manager fight. Although this doesn't change the fact that Lennon says after Abbey Road, "I want a divorce," it does change the growing dissension between the Beatles, especially if the new manager is able to thread the needle of the Get Back tapes in a way that makes all the band members happy.

This could mean that John's original intent, to not record together as a band anymore but officially remain the Beatles becomes a reality as Paul doesn't feel forced to take legal action. In 1970 a Beatles album is released of material that recording-wise is solo material. This isn't actually new since they'd already done that going back to Yesterday. What's new is the entire album is like that, plus solo albums are released too. Billy Preston, Eric Clapton, Klaus Voorman and Leon Russell all work with them in recording the material and in various solo performances. So the Beatles still exist de jure. John quitting in late 1969 was not a new thing. What was new was the legal problems of the band making that an irreversible reality when Paul sued.

If the band could remain together de jure it leaves open the door for John to later change his mind and be interested in recording with the others again, since he isn't locked into it and still has his freedom to not do so. Meanwhile George's resentment to Paul would be reduced due to no legal feud and due to his being able to release his own solo material. Don't forget that George was as upset with John about being kept down as he was with Paul, but he was able to let that go with John once he had solo success. What was the difference? It can't be that the musical feud with Paul was worse, after all John and George exchange punches during the White Album sessions. The difference was there was an bitter legal feud with Paul. Without that it is likely that George would have gotten past it with Paul as he did with John.

So in this scenario a 1970 album could very well be a compilation of songs that were solo material in OTL in 1970 and 1971. By 1971 the divergence makes it so we can't just take material from later 1971 and figure it would be in a "Beatles" album. It would be unknown whether they'd actually record together by then or not and how this change would affect their creative output. How the 70s would have looked without an official legal breakup but an actual breakup is up for grabs.

By the way, in OTL John once said in the early 70s that if fans wanted a Beatles album they should just take songs from their solo work and put them together on a tape. I liked that idea and in Itunes created my own playlist of 1970 material as a Beatles album I called "Ripe"...the apple is red so it's ripe... and one as a 1971 album I called "Easy"...it has Imagine with it's lyric of "It's easy if you try" and Ringo's (George's) song "It Don't Come Easy." It's actually a lot of fun to listen to these playlists. Somehow the juxtaposition of the songs with other former Beatle's songs does create a "Beatlesque" experience for me.

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I like this scenario, since it allows for there to be a solo album valve. I do not know who this possible manager would be. As you say, it could be someone who died in childhood historically. However, I think finding the manager might be possible. Considering they gave the job of managing Apple Records to Neil Aspinall, maybe he could take on the role? Probably a bad idea of mine, who knows. He's probably a bad pick. A Beatles manager has to be someone loyal to the group, but who also knows how to manage fiances and, to use Lennon's phrasing, deal with suits. I do not know who that might be. Still I think a split would still happen eventually, but here it's probably more amicable, more a matter of the Beatles not making albums together anymore, just as they quit touring. The final split probably happens in 1971, when Lennon moves to New York City. I think that would still happen even here, for various reasons. Once he moves there, for practical reasons the Beatles are done, unless the rest of them feel like flying out to the United States every time they want to record an album with Lennon, which doesn't seem likely.

Assuming another divergence is that Glyn Johns has better instruction on what songs to pick for "Get Back", and that album is released, I disagree on what the first post-Abbey Road album might look like. Leaving aside butterflies, I do not think that Instant Karma would be on it, since the whole point of that song originally was that it was released about as "instantly" as was possible in 1970. If he still writes the song, then the song would be a single, and not part of the next Beatles album. If you could find a ready B-Side you could conceivably use Instant Karma as a Beatles Single though. This might be particularly likely if for example, Cold Turkey is a Beatles single as well. I do not think that "God" is a likely solo album cut, particularly if the song still includes the "I don't believe in Beatles" line. The songs iconoclastic denunciation of the band doesn't make it suitable in my view to a Beatles album. I am not saying the song is bad, just that I cannot see it on a Beatles album.

In estimating what a 1970 Beatles Album might be like, maybe it would make sense to look at the solo album material that was actually worked on or proposed during the Beatles career. Now, most of Harrison's All Things Must Pass album was written while the band was still together, but I think only the title track and Isn't it a Pity were ever seriously proposed to the band. Junk, Teddy Boy, Every Night, and Back Seat of My Car were worked on by the Beatles. "Look at Me" "Oh My Love" "Gimme Some Truth" were all proposed to or worked on by the Beatles. Jealous Guy's melody was originally "child of nature" and was a song intended for the White album. So, if they made it through 1969 without splitting forever the next Beatles Album might look like this:

  1. It Don't Come Easy
  2. Every Night
  3. Gimme Some Truth
  4. Teddy Boy
  5. The Back Seat of My Car
  6. Isn't it a Pity?
  7. Look at Me
  8. Oh My Love
  9. Junk
  10. Jealous Guy
  11. All Things Must Pass
Let's say that this album is entitled "All Things Must Pass", and further suppose Beatles decide to go the KISS route in 1971 as you partially suggested, and release three albums, entitled "Lennon" "McCartney" and "Harrison" And let's continue the speculation game. For simplicities sake, let's assume minimal butterflies in terms of the songs themselves. More reasonably entirely different songs would be written, but for the purposes of this, I'm using songs that were actually released. With the following exceptions, feud songs are never written, and God is probably cut for reasons I have mentioned thus far. The albums are released at the same time in 1971. Perhaps they'd be collected into some sort of triple album set. Or Else they'd be sold individually, as solo albums. Not sure which one works better. I think they'd want to have them all released around the same time, which means that the release might be delayed until September or even October of 1971.
Harrison's album might be as follows.

  1. I'd Have You Anytime
  2. My Sweet Lord
  3. What is Life?
  4. Behind that Locked Door
  5. Let it Down
  6. I Live For You
  7. Beware of Darkness
  8. Apple Scruffs
  9. Ballad of Sir Frankie Crisp (Let it Roll)
  10. Awaiting on You All
  11. Art of Dying
  12. Here Me Lord

McCartney's album might look something like this:


  1. Lovely Linda
  2. Ram On
  3. That Would Be Something
  4. Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey
  5. Smile Away
  6. Maybe I'm Amazed
  7. Man We Was Lonely
  8. Heart of the Country
  9. OO You
  10. Momma Miss America
  11. Monkeberry Moon Delight
  12. Eat at Home
  13. Long Haired Lady
  14. Kreen Akore
Lennon's might look like this

  1. Mother
  2. Hold On
  3. I Found Out
  4. Working Class Hero
  5. Isolation
  6. Remember
  7. Love
  8. Imagine
  9. How
  10. It's So Hard
  11. Well Well Well
  12. Crippled Inside
  13. Oh Yoko.
You still have a split, but the first full year without the release of a Beatles album wouldn't be 1970. Assuming that the Beatles go the KISS route and the playlists mentioned above are officially released as Beatles albums, in whatever convoluted form, the first year without something released as a "Beatles" album would be 1972. The split might be formalized if McCartney decides to form Wings when he historically did.

The scenario I've created might be fantastically unlikely, but sometimes it is fun to create playlists.
 

oberdada

Gone Fishin'
What I really like about the ATL record is that the E in RIPE is not bold, it looks a bit like RIPE, so it can be read as R I P, Rest in Peace, another "hint" for the Paul is dead believers...:)
 

Andre27

Banned
Albums?
Songs?
Events?

I think a 1971 Album would have more George Harrison Material than previous ones.

A 1971 album could feature songs from McCartney, Ram, John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band and All Things Must Pass. Also Ringos song would probably be 'It Don't Come Easy'.

They would have failed miserably thereby tainting the Beatles repertoire forever. As a result the world would be free from the curse known as the Beatles.
 
They would have failed miserably thereby tainting the Beatles repertoire forever. As a result the world would be free from the curse known as the Beatles.
Define "fail", and "miserably" as those words relate to the most commercially successful music act of all time.
 
Covers & Backs of Ripe & Easy

I don't know why my earlier post disintegrated. I finally got the faux artwork done for Easy too. Ripe is 1970 and Easy is 1971

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Paul and John could grow a backbone and tell George to 'do one'
John gets Clapton in to replace George as he apparently remarked in a meeting
Paul, John and Ringo agree to Paul's original idea for Get Back turning up at random pubs and playing short gigs 'like the old days' finishing with a big gig atop the Apple building
John realises Paul was right all along, and they dump Allan Klein and replace him with the Eastman's - Apple gets turned around and becomes a success - John doesn't go into Primal Scream therapy
The Threetles continue into the 70s, George's success dries up after a botched album in 'Dark Horse' and his infamous tour of '74. The Threetles and George patch things up, though Harrison remains extremely bitter

Albums:
Get Back (1970)
A concept album, the world's first live album of original songs, spawned the hit singles 'Get Back', 'Instant Karma!' and 'Maybe I'm Amazed' whilst its companion film depicting the rebirth of the Beatles and the departure of Harrison won an Oscar.

Imagine (1971)
Following the success of Get Back, the Threetles decide to have a break, Paul retires to Scotland, whilst John goes travelling in New York becoming outraged by the Vietnam War. Paul and John return to the studio to rush-record 'Give Peace a Chance' which would be released as a single. The album that followed 'Imagine' would be one self-contained studio ballads and vignettes in a similar vein to 'Abbey Road' - the album would spawn the singles 'Imagine', 'Back Seat of My Car' and 'Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey'

Wildlife (1972)
After a successful appearances as Harrison's special guests at the Concert for Bangladesh - the olive branch seemed to work, Harrison offered Starr a song 'It Don't Come Easy' to sing. It looked like Harrison might consider a return, but now he was too busy riding off the success of his first album. 'Wildlife' would be designed to be the exact opposite of their previous album, replacing the studio perfection of Imagine would be the rollicking lo-fi of 'Wildlife', complete with the acoustic rock of 'Too Many People' and 'Crippled Inside', dreamy African-inspired 'Some People Never Know' along with the successful singles 'It Don't Come Easy' and the Lennon/McCartney bittersweet rocker 'A Love For You'.

Band on the Run (1973)
Upon the return to the studio in the winter of 1972/3, the Threetles appeared dissatisfied with their material, their leftover songs from previous sessions such as 'That Would Be Something' and 'Oh Yoko' were either unfinished or dissatisfactory, their new songs were also deemed not got enough including 'Hi Hi Hi' and 'Woman is the N***** of the World'. The result was a trip to Nigeria to soak up the atmosphere and write a few songs, Abbey Road was to be abandoned fully or the first time ever. The result was an empty and ill-equipped studio as well as run ins with the locals, however, the fruit of their burden would be massive. The fruit would be 'Band on the Run', their Sgt Pepper for a new decade, and it drew many parallels, the cover featuring famous people and its internal opening and closing reprise. Hits from the album included the opening 'Band on the Run' and 'Jet' as well as 'Out of the Blue'

Genius. I think if you'd taken either Paul or George out of the mix the band could have continued together another 5 or 10 years. They didn't seem to get along.
 
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