Why Paul McCartney said it was a "relief" when The Beatles broke up

1 August 2025, 12:52

The Beatles broke up in 1970. Paul McCartney called it a “relief”. Picture: Alamy

By Thomas Edward

Loading audio...

It was a day that shook people around the world.

On April 10, 1970, after ten years of writing some of the most immaculate music to ever grace our ears, The Beatles broke up.

Well, it was the day that they seemingly confirmed the split, when Paul McCartney published a press release for his then-upcoming McCartney album.

Q: "Is your break with the Beatles temporary or permanent, due to personal differences or musical ones?"

PAUL: "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."

In truth, The Beatles had broken up long before the Macca made it the general public aware of their current status.

By this point, him, John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr had been at each other's throats for some time.

Lennon had checked out as he wanted to pursue creative ventures with his wife Yoko Ono, George grew frustrated at his songwriting talent being overlooked, and Ringo set his sights on becoming an actor.

Paul was dragging the band along by the time Let It Be came out, as famously documented in Michael Lindsay-Hogg's film of the same name.

No wonder by McCartney revealed that it was "such a relief" that The Beatles eventually went their separate ways.

Paul McCartney's announcement made The Beatles' split official. Picture: Alamy

Paul made the announcement, but John privately departed in September 1969, which left the 'Hey Jude' star depressed and in disarray.

He took to making music, the first time in ten years that he wrote music alone. But it came as a great comfort to him because of the former bandmate's splintered visions.

Paul worked largely in isolation and in secrecy on his debut solo album McCartney, due to the precarious nature of letting any information about The Beatles breaking up leak to the public.

But he evidently had an itch to scratch, writing albums McCartney and Ram (with wife Linda McCartney) in quick succession before founding Wings.

Macca revisited the period of time for his 2021 songbook, The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present.

The Beatles together in their final photoshoot as a band. (Photo by Mondadori via Getty Images). Picture: Getty

In his "memoir in song" he recollects: "It was such a relief to get out of those business meetings with people in suits.

"Who were so serious all the time, and to go off to Scotland and be able just to sit around in a T-shirt and corduroys."

With Apple Records and the whole industry machine that engulfed The Beatles (they were the biggest band to ever exist, mind you) it must have been a breath of fresh air to wash his hands of all of the fanfare.

During this time, Paul secluded himself and his family in High Park Farm, his home in Scotland - a location which later inspired his mega hit 'Mull Of Kintyre'.

There he wiled away the hours writing music and unwinding from the friction between his former band mates which dragged on for months on end.

Paul McCartney - Junior's Farm

Paul also wrote 'Junior's Farm', a song which sees him find solace in the simple life, that he shelved initially but eventually recorded with Wings a few years later.

"I was very much in that mindset when I wrote this song," he recalls in his songbook. "The basic message is, let’s get out of here. You might say it's my post-Beatles getting-out-of-town song."

It was also a period where he was feeling some pain towards his former songwriting partner in John Lennon, and took aim at him in his lyrics.

He honed in on Lennon for his 1971 song 'Too Many People', later confessing it had "a little dig at John and Yoko".

Specifically, the lyrics "preaching practices" and "you took your lucky break and broke it in two" condemning John for instigating The Beatles' demise.

Macca also reiterated that, despite the swirl of press suggesting he was responsible for The Beatles splitting, that it was most definitely John.

Paul McCartney and John Lennon's songwriting partnership changed the face of music. Picture: Alamy

"I didn’t instigate the split," McCartney confirmed. "That was our Johnny [Lennon] coming in one day and saying: 'I’m leaving the group.'"

Thankfully, he wasn't exactly blindsided by the news, adding: "The point of it really was that John was making a new life with Yoko.

"John had always wanted to sort of break loose from society because, you know, he was brought up by his Aunt Mimi, who was quite repressive, so he was always looking to break loose."

Suing the band after the break painted Paul as the bad guy out of him and John in the beginning, which he also wanted to clear up.

The only reason he sued the band was to regain control of the song rights from producer Allen Klein.

"I had to fight," he said. "And the only way I could fight was in suing the other Beatles, because they were going with Klein. And they thanked me for it years later."

It turned out for the best in the end given the chasm between personal and professional trajectories.

Still, wouldn't it be magic to hear Lennon and McCartney together one last time? Guess we'll never know.