On the morning of December 9, 1980, Paul McCartney received the devastating news of the death of John Lennon hours earlier at New York City’s Roosevelt Hospital. The ex-Beatle had been shot and killed just outside of his apartment in The Dakota just before 11 pm the previous evening. And while the global impact of Lennon’s death was immense, it paled in comparison to the painful shockwaves it sent through his closest associates, relatives, and friends.

Because many of those associates, relatives, and friends were just as famous as Lennon, the press flocked to the musician’s survivors to hear comments on how they were processing the violent tragedy. Years later, McCartney reflected on how the media twisted his shell-shocked reaction in the days and weeks that followed. 

The Beatles’ sheer gravitas and celebrity make it easier to forget that they were normal people, albeit famous ones, too. To receive a call about the death of your best friend, particularly one with whom you were not on good terms at the time, would be life-shattering for anyone. For a musical icon like Paul McCartney, it certainly was life-shattering. It was also glaringly, uncomfortably public.

Speaking about the experience years later in a television interview, McCartney said, “I was probably more shattered than most people when John died. And I had plenty of personal grief. But I’m not very good at public grief. So, someone thrust a microphone into my face on the day it happened and said, ‘What’s your comment?’”

Source: americansongwriter.com/Melanie Davis

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As part of a covers album made in tribute to the very best of the Fab Four’s music, longtime producer George Martin assembled some of the biggest names for fourteen songs. Each of the songs featured on In My Life had originally been produced by Martin with the band. Features from Céline Dion to Phil Collins gave the album some contemporary features from some of the biggest names around, but there were also some surprising additions made by Hollywood stars Sean Connery and Robin Williams. A comedian who featured on the album is the standout moment for fans, though, with Jim Carrey and his version of I Am the Walrus hailed by listeners as one of the best covers around.

One fan praised The Mask and Sonic the Hedgehog star in a post to the r/Music subreddit, writing: “Wow, he’s good. You can tell he put a ton of work into that, and wanted to do it right.”

Another added: “Holy shit, he actually sings rather well.” A third wrote: “Wow. Mind Blown. I wasn’t expecting that whatsoever.” Other listeners were left enjoying the Carrey cover more than the original version of the song, which went on to be covered by Oasis during several of their tours.

Source: cultfollowing.co.uk/Ewan Gleadow

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The Beatles’ music and their ability to elicit intense emotional reactions from their audience go hand in hand when defining their cultural legacy, but one of the biggest controversies the band ever faced (thanks in no small part to John Lennon) had the potential to derail their career entirely by alienating their U.S. audience.

Of course, in the end, not even the staunchest of American critics could hold back the massive tidal wave of Beatlemania that crashed into countries around the world throughout the 1960s.  John Lennon’s Words Came Back To Haunt Him In 1966

When Maureen Cleave first published her interview with John Lennon in the Evening Standard, few Brits batted an eyelash when reading the Beatle’s cheeky comments about the guitarist’s home life, the gorilla suit he bought for a band prank that only he participated in, and, of course, his dry commentary about the Beatles versus Jesus Christ. At a time when Lennon and the rest of the band were heavily investing in Eastern philosophy, practices, and perspectives, he waxed cynical about religion.

“Christianity will go,” he told Cleave. “It will vanish and shrink. I needn’t argue about that. I’m right, and I will be proved right. We’re more popular than Jesus now. I don’t know which will go first—rock ‘n’ roll or Christianity. Jesus was all right, but his disciples were thick and ordinary. It’s them twisting it that ruins it for me.” The London Evening Standard published the conversation on March 4, 1966.

Nearly five months later, on July 29, 1966, U.S. teen magazine Datebook republished Lennon’s comments, out of context, in a section that the publication titled, “The Ten Adults You Dig/Hate The Most.” American audiences had a much different reaction to Lennon joking about his band being more popular than Jesus. Seemingly overnight, the Beatles’ massive fan base in the United States began to fracture.
One Of The Beatles’ Biggest Controversies Of Their Career

As one of the most significant rock bands of the decade, the Beatles were certainly no strangers to fans’ intense emotional reactions and propensity for crossing boundaries. But the way John Lennon’s comments incensed American Christians created one of the biggest controversies of the Beatles’ career. The backlash to his comparison of the Beatles to Jesus far surpassed the initial hesitation older crowds had with the Fab Four when they first burst onto the scene. This was intense and potentially violent.

Source: americansongwriter.com/Melanie Davis

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We often think about the Beatles’ infamous breakup within the context of the music and cultural movements they were promoting throughout the 1960s, but the ramifications of that split went far beyond the music charts or trends of the day and deep into the center of the lives of Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr. These men weren’t just losing bandmates. They were growing apart from the friends they had since they were in their formative late teens and early 20s.

During a 2016 special edition of BBC Radio 4 Mastertapes, McCartney talked about the emotional impact of splitting up the Fab Four—an experience he likened to a popular barbershop song from 1929.  

By the time the Beatles officially split up, tensions were so high that it wouldn’t be unreasonable to assume they couldn’t wait to get as far away from each other as possible. But as every ex-Beatle attested after the split, the business dealings and creative disagreements became too much for the band to bear. After less than a decade together, the Liverpudlian quartet broke up and began going their separate ways personally and musically.

Paul McCartney had no qualms about admitting that the entire experience left him “depressed.” “You would be,” he insisted, before busting out into a quick snippet of Lesley Gore’s “It’s My Party.” (You would cry, too, if it happened to you.) “It was very depressing,” McCartney continued, switching back to his normal speaking voice. “You were breaking from your lifelong friends. We used to liken it to the army, where you’d been army buddies for a few years, and now, you weren’t going to see them again.”

Source: americansongwriter.com/Melanie Davis

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As any band that has parted ways and continued solo will tell you, it’s impossible not to be compared to your former bandmates. Even in the most amicable of situations, it’s always a competition to see who can come out on top. The Beatles suffered these kinds of comparisons after they parted ways. While most of them took it in stride, John Lennon was personally offended after being compared to one of his Beatles bandmates. Find out which one below.

If we had to compare the solo careers of two former Beatles, the easiest connection would be Lennon and George Harrison. They both had something to say with their music that extended far beyond the typical love song or ode to heartbreak. They were both free thinkers who had no problem alienating listeners who were less so.

However, if you dissect what both Lennon and Harrison were saying with their music, you’ll find two people on opposite sides of a religious battle. Though they both penned songs about more than just faith, their opposing views in this arena summarize their differences—differences Lennon wanted people not to miss.

Lennon was markedly anti-faith. He wrote many songs about his disillusionment with religion. Harrison, however, was staunch in his Hindu beliefs. In one interview, Lennon’s solo music was compared to Harrison’s. Lennon bit back.

“We’re not talking about that anyway,” Lennon once said. “We’re talking about social revolution in England. It’s hard not to compare with George, even for us. But I don’t want to be compared with George. Why should I be compared with George?”

Source: americansongwriter.com/Alex Hopper

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There is no denying that the Beatles are one of the world's most iconic bands in music history — having a heavy influence on wide-ranging aspects of peoples' lives since they formed back in 1960. In 1964, they first set foot in America, and Beatlemania took over the world, which is documented in the 2024 film Beatles '64 — and will soon be detailed on the big screen too, in FOUR new Beatles movies!

During their 10-year reign, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr made a huge cultural impact with their influences on music, fashion and even film. In 2023, the band released their 'final' song, 'Now and Then', which became their 18th Number 1 after 54 years and in 2025, they won Best Rock Performance at the Grammys! Now take a look back at their iconic career, as their album 'Help!' celebrates its 60th anniversary on 6th August 2025.

Let's take a look at where it all began back in 1957, bringing us classics such as 'Hey Jude', 'Come Together', 'Help!' and 'Here Comes The Sun'.
Why did the Beatles break up?

While a mix of complex factors contributed to the disbandment of the Beatles, it is most commonly thought that creative differences had the largest impact and ultimately led to the band breaking up.

As their fame grew and the members matured, their individual artistic visions began to diverge and this caused disagreements about the Beatles' musical direction - as well as songwriting credits. It is also thought that John Lennon's relationship with Yoko Ono saw him refocus his efforts into other artistic endeavours and his personal life.

The death of the band's manager - Brian Epstein, who managed them from 1961 - also saw the Beatles struggle. Following Brian's death in 1967, they struggled to manage their own business affairs, and on top of creative differences began to have disagreements over contracts and finances.
Are the Beatles still alive?

Sadly not all of the original members of the Beatles are still with us today, with John Lennon's tragic death in 1980 and George Harrison's sad passing in 2001. In December 2020, friends, family and fans paid tribute to the late John Lennon, 40 years after his heartbreaking death, and the following year friends of George Harrison got together to create a music video for ‘My Sweet Lord’ for the song's 50th anniversary in tribute to the musician.

In 2023, Paul McCartney announced he had recorded a 'final' Beatles song with the help of AI to recreate John Lennon's vocals. The song was released along with a documentary on YouTube, called Now And Then - The Last Beatles Song.

Source: hellorayo.co.uk/Georgie Holland

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