The Beatles' break-up

The break-up of the Beatles, one of the most popular and influential musical groups in history, has become almost as much of a legend as the band itself or the music they created while together. The Beatles were active from their formation in 1960 to the disintegration of the group in 1970.

The break-up itself was a cumulative process throughout 1968 to 1970, marked by rumours of a split and ambiguous comments by the Beatles themselves regarding the future of the group. Although in September 1969 John Lennon privately informed the other Beatles that he was leaving the group, there was no public acknowledgement of the break-up until Paul McCartney announced on 10 April 1970 he was leaving the Beatles.

There were sporadic collaborative recording efforts among the band members (Ringo Starr's 1973 album Ringo was the only time that the four – albeit on separate tracks – appeared on the same album post-break-up), although all four Beatles never simultaneously collaborated as a recording or performing group again; Starr's 1976 album Ringo's Rotogravure is the last post-break-up album on which all four Beatles contribute and are credited: besides Starr's drumming and songwriting contributions, Lennon, McCartney and George Harrison all composed one track apiece. After Lennon's death in 1980, McCartney and Starr appeared on Harrison's single "All Those Years Ago", and the trio reunited for the Anthology project in 1994, using two unfinished Lennon demos – "Free as a Bird" and "Real Love" – for what would be new songs to be recorded and released as the Beatles.

There were numerous causes for the Beatles' break-up. It was not a single event but a long transition, including the cessation of touring in 1966, and the death of their manager, Brian Epstein, in 1967, meaning the Beatles were personally involved in financial and legal conflicts. Conflict arose from differences in artistic vision. Both Harrison and Starr temporarily left the group at various points during 1968–69 and all four band members had begun working on solo projects by 1970 as they all realised the likelihood the band would not regroup. Ultimately, animosity made it impossible for the group to continue working together in the years following.

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