What if the Beatles didn't break up?
- Thread starter Baby Kata
- Start date
In order for that to happen they'd have to have a lot more stability in their lives, which the rock and roll lifestyle isn't really geared towards. The more realistic alternative is all of them still being alive today and reunion tours being done that pack stadiums. I don't think new music would be put out by the group, but a collaboration or two isn't totally out of the question.
I could see them becoming a brand not unlike the OTL Beach Boys where in guys burn out and peel off, only to be replaced and have the nostalgia tour machine keep rolling. Imagine a “who’s who” of 70’s and 80’s musicians all doing a Beatles tour of duty at some point.
This is an old myth, but not really accurate. Like did she help and likely speed along the breakup? Sure. But they were having problems before Yoko came into the picture and she was largely the symptom of the disease (i.e. Lennon growing increasingly bored with being a Beatle and feeling constrained by it. Without Yoko they probably make it to 71, maybe 72 before Lennon or Harrison walk.
That aside it largely depends on what the circumstances are. Epstein not dying would certainly help. Giving Harrison more creative freedom and songs per album (or at least letting him release solo work while still being in the band.) would also solve some issues.
As far as I understand, there were 3 main problems that needed solving...
1 - Management. Find a manager that's going to make sure they get the royalties & income they deserve, someone with no favouritism towards any member, and that all of the Beatles can rightfully trust.
2 - Keep John engaged. after the end of touring, John was losing interest in the Beatles.. slowly at first.. but that accelerated with Magical Mystery Tour's failure, then falling in love with Yoko, then the whole Let It Be fiasco. Add heroin into the mix and he just didn't care anymore.. Paul was eager to fill the vacuum, but 1969 ended up virtually being a pilot episode for Paul's solo career.
Get John to call the shots on a Beatles project in late 1967 or early 1968, before his focus switches away.
3 - George needed more respect. George Harrison had an impressive stash of tunes in early 1969, but the old "1 or 2 tracks per disc" for him was a sore point. plus it meant that substandard Lennon/McCartney tunes made it on albums over gems from George. I mean, Maxwell's Silver Hammer vs All Things Must Pass? Come on...
They simply would have made solo albums with fewer efforts as the group. Michael Jackson and Donny Osmond did solos even though their groups were still together. Weren't there tracks from the Anthology series (c.1995) with "new" (just discovered) material from John that the rest of the group "filled in" to make new Beatles songs? More likely, they would be like the Rolling Stones, with new albums spaced farther apart as the decades progressed, that is, until George Harrison passed away in 2001.
One school of thought is that they couldn't fill the expectations from some fans to continue to popular music into a new direction as they did in 1964. So, they had to break up to keep the "spark" of their older material alive. And, they were right. Their 50-year old music is still selling well, among later generations.
One school of thought is that they couldn't fill the expectations from some fans to continue to popular music into a new direction as they did in 1964. So, they had to break up to keep the "spark" of their older material alive. And, they were right. Their 50-year old music is still selling well, among later generations.
They likely flame out like so many other Boomer bands - its entirely possible that without breaking up at their peak, the Beatles kinda drag along for years after only really still liked by hippies and aging Baby Boomers, kinda like Bob Dylan or Phish.
God, can we imagine some of the potentially embarrassing crap - a Beatles disco album? Lennon's abuse of his kids getting airplay akin to Michael Jackson. George Harrison having a way more embarrassing Eastern Religious phase.
God, can we imagine some of the potentially embarrassing crap - a Beatles disco album? Lennon's abuse of his kids getting airplay akin to Michael Jackson. George Harrison having a way more embarrassing Eastern Religious phase.