Separate Ways: 5 Years After The Beatles Broke Up
- Matt
- Sep 6
- 6 min read
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I was sitting in a bar the other day when I realised that I had just heard 'My Sweet Lord' followed by 'She Loves You' one after another. A thought then popped into my head - I know the story of the Beatles inside and out (and probably upside down) but post breakup, the history wasn't so clear. So I thought that I would take a look at the first 5 years post Beatles and what each (former) member did after the end of the greatest band in history.
When the Beatles disbanded in 1970, it was more than the end of a band - it was the unraveling of a cultural phenomenon that had shaped an entire decade. For eight years they had lived in a whirlwind of fame, music and controversy - bound to one another in ways few people could ever understand. Then suddenly they were four men without each other.
Paul McCartney: Retreat and the Wings Reinvention
Paul was the Beatle who forced the world to face the truth. On 10 April 1970, in a press statement accompanying his debut solo album, McCartney, he effectively announced the end. “The last six months have been very difficult,” he confessed, “I couldn’t even start anything else because of that depression; it was very depressing.”
The break left him adrift, seeking refuge with Linda and their children on a remote Scottish farm.
McCartney (1970) was modest, recorded on rudimentary equipment in his home. Even so, it showed the melodic instinct that had defined his work with the Beatles. A year later came Ram (1971), credited to Paul and Linda, complete with lush, layered arrangements.
By late 1971, Paul was ready to stand before the world again. He formed Wings, a band that became his vehicle for both creative expression and personal stability. Though critics dismissed their first effort, Wild Life, Paul persisted.
Red Rose Speedway (1973) climbed the U.S. charts, “Live and Let Die” soared on cinema screens and by the end of that year, Band on the Run proved him still capable of brilliance. His life was no longer framed by John or George; it was Linda, the children and Wings that now defined him.
John Lennon: Brutal Honesty and a Lost Weekend
While Paul sought pastoral calm, John looked inward. John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band (1970) was a primal scream, raw with anger, grief and honesty. “We were four guys. I met John, I said, ‘Do you want to join my group?’… But I no longer believe that.”【Notes L3-L7】 He rejected the myth of the Beatles, preferring to tell his own story with a directness that shocked even his fans.
The next year, Imagine (1971) balanced that rage with beauty, offering one of his most enduring anthems. But life in New York with Yoko Ono soon blurred into politics. Together they protested the Vietnam War, hosted rallies and befriended radicals. John became entangled in a bitter immigration battle as the Nixon administration sought to deport him.
By 1973, his marriage faltered.
He retreated to Los Angeles for an 18‑month “Lost Weekend,” marked by heavy drinking, chaotic sessions and erratic public appearances. Out of this turmoil came Mind Games (1973) and Walls and Bridges (1974), the latter giving him a U.S. No. 1 hit, “Whatever Gets You Thru the Night.” In 1974, he even found himself in a studio with Paul, the tape now infamous for its ragged quality but priceless for its symbolism. The dream was over, but the connection was not entirely gone.
George Harrison: All Things Must Pass... and Then Some
George had waited longest in the shadows and when the time came, he burst forth. His first major solo effort, All Things Must Pass (1970), was a revelation. Three records deep, filled with songs the Beatles had never found space for, it declared him a songwriter of equal weight to John and Paul. “I’ve had my ups and downs over the years,” he reflected later, “now I’ve sort of levelled out. I’m feeling good. I don’t get too carried away or too down about anything.”【Notes L8-L10】
Never enamored with fame, George turned often to spirituality. In August 1971 he organized the Concert for Bangladesh, a pioneering charity event that filled Madison Square Garden with Dylan, Clapton, Shankar and Ringo on drums. It was not only music but a moral stand, an echo of the causes John and Yoko championed in their own way.
George’s Living in the Material World (1973) topped charts, but his ambitions stretched beyond records. In 1974, he founded Dark Horse Records, releasing his own Dark Horse album alongside the label’s first offerings. He embarked on a grueling North American tour, the first Beatle to test himself on such a stage. His voice, strained by illness, faltered at times, but the effort symbolized independence. Even as his marriage to Pattie Boyd unraveled, George’s artistic identity was unmistakably his own.
Ringo Starr: The Friendly Conduit
Ringo admitted he struggled most with the end. “Sentimental Journey was after the break‑up, really and I was lost for a while. Suddenly the gig’s finished that I’d been really involved in for eight years. ‘Uh‑oh, what’ll I do now?’”【Notes L12-L16】
He turned to songs from his Liverpool youth, recorded with George Martin and slowly found his footing.
Country music came next with Beaucoups of Blues (1970). Then, almost unexpectedly, came a string of hits: “It Don’t Come Easy,” “Back Off Boogaloo,” and “Photograph,” the last co‑written with George. Between 1971 and 1974, Ringo was as visible on the singles charts as any of his former colleagues.
His peak arrived with Ringo (1973). “Whoever was coming out to play that day, we’d play together,” he remembered.【Notes L1-L13】
The album was a star‑studded affair produced by Richard Perry. John gave him I’m the Greatest, George offered three songs including Photograph and Paul and Linda sent Six O’Clock. Critics called it “the nearest thing to a Beatle reunion the world would see until Free As A Bird.”【Notes L17-L19】
It was, in truth, Ringo’s nature — friendly, unthreatening, beloved — that made this possible. He could coax the others back, if only for a song.
Crossing Paths Again
The Beatles may have split, but they were never fully apart. Their lives and music interlaced in ways that showed the bond could bend but not quite break.
In late 1970, Ringo was back behind the kit for John’s Plastic Ono Band. The sessions were sparse — just John, Ringo and Klaus Voormann — but the dynamic felt familiar, if reduced. By 1971, he joined John again on Imagine, while George added slide guitar to tracks like “How Do You Sleep?”, itself a stinging rebuke aimed at Paul.
That same year, George’s Concert for Bangladesh brought Ringo onstage in New York. It was the first time two Beatles had appeared together live after the breakup and though the moment was brief, the symbolism was profound. A bond of rhythm and friendship remained.
Then came 1973 and the album Ringo. Here, without fanfare or planning, each of the former Beatles left their mark. John’s biting humor, George’s generosity, Paul’s melodic touch — all filtered through Ringo’s voice. Though never all in one room, the effect was uncanny. Listeners felt, for the first time since 1970, that a trace of the Beatles’ spirit had returned.
The final, fleeting intertwining arrived in Los Angeles in 1974. John and Paul, estranged and bruised, found themselves in the same studio with Stevie Wonder and others. The tape — rambling, chaotic, but real — remains the only known Lennon‑McCartney recording after the breakup. It was not a song for the ages, but a reminder that history, however fractured, can echo.
Closing Thoughts - The Beatles at the End
By December 1974, the paperwork was signed. The Beatles’ partnership was legally dissolved. Yet those first five years were not the clean break many imagined. They were years of grief, of discovery, of rivalry and of unexpected reunion. Paul built Wings into a new empire. John wrestled with honesty and chaos. George balanced spirit and song. Ringo became the bridge, the one who could still gather them, however briefly.
The Beatles were over. But in those scattered years, their stories intertwined just enough to remind the world — and perhaps themselves — that they were once four men who had changed music forever.
About the Author
Matt A, Founder and Head Writer @ Music Thought House
I have had a lifelong passion for music. I picked up my first guitar when I was 10 and it's been there, most of the time haha, ever since. I have played and studied music ever since that time, always trying to learn more and get better. There is not one aspect of music that I am still not in awe of.
I have gathered a lot of information over time and now, with Music Thought House, I have decided to release it on the world.
I know that music can be daunting and seemingly complex and I am not a complicated person. The blog posts I write aim to keep things simple and straightforward so everyone can get a better understanding of music.
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