Breakups are messy. Breakups between bandmates who changed the world? That’s songwriting gold. Even after The Beatles went their separate ways, they never truly stopped talking to each other—they just started using guitars and microphones instead of group chats and press statements. Whether it was affection, frustration, or playful jabs (depending on which member you asked), the Fab Four kept their complicated brotherhood alive in lyrics and melody.

Here are 8 songs The Beatles wrote at one another—proof that even when the band broke up, the music kept the conversation going, good and bad. Mostly bad. Until 1980.

1. “Too Many People” – Paul McCartney
From the album: Ram (1971)
Paul was clearly holding a grudge—and a guitar. This track kicks off with veiled digs at John and Yoko, accusing someone of preaching too much and taking liberties. “Too many people going underground,” he sings, with a melodic smirk.

2. “How Do You Sleep?” – John Lennon
From the album: Imagine (1971)
John’s scorched-earth answer to Paul’s subtle shade. With George Harrison on slide guitar (!), John doesn’t hold back: “The only thing you done was ‘Yesterday’… and since you’ve gone you’re just ‘Another Day.’” Ouch. Fire, meet gasoline.

3. “Back Off Boogaloo” – Ringo Starr
From the single: Back Off Boogaloo (1972)
Ringo’s glam-rock stomper has long been rumored to throw playful punches at Paul’s solo work. Lines like “wake up, meathead” raised eyebrows, especially with Paul’s vegetarian lifestyle. Subtle? Not quite. Funky? Absolutely.

4. “Dear Friend” – Paul McCartney
From the album: Wild Life (1971)
Paul brings the olive branch—and a piano. A slow, sorrowful ballad asking John, “Is this really the borderline?” It feels like Paul stepping back from the feud and extending a heartfelt moment of reconciliation.

Source: thatericalper.com/Eric Alper

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In terms of legacy-making months, February has always been good to The Beatles. The band’s triumphant 1964 appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show" will always resound in the history of popular music, to be sure. Then there’s the group’s first full-length concert at the Washington Coliseum a few days later. And these Fab Februarys have never truly ebbed, with Paul McCartney staging a series of intimate, pop-up concerts in Brooklyn this very week.

Which brings us to the latest Beatles book to hit the shelves. Robert Rodriguez and Jerry Hammack, the authors of "Ribbons of Rust: The Beatles’ Recording History in Context," are undertaking one of the most ambitious new projects in Beatles studies. In a painstaking effort to account for the band’s origins and influences, Rodriguez and Hammack contextualize the bandmates’ lives and work in terms of their historical and sociocultural moment. The book series draws its name, by the way, from the recording tape upon which the group imprinted their masterworks, those “ribbons of rust”—iron oxide bonded to polyethylene terephthalate.

The first volume in the series traces the fertile and transformative era from July 1954 through January 1963, when the Beatles were poised to conquer Great Britain with the chart-topping “Please Please Me” single. Rodriguez and Hammack are ideally situated to undertake this multivolume work. Rodriguez is the author behind one of Beatles criticism’s seminal books, "Revolver: How the Beatles Reimagined Rock ‘n’ Roll," and the host of the popular "Something about the Beatles" podcast. For his part, Hammack is the author of "The Beatles Recording Reference Manual" series.

Source: Kenneth Womack/Yahoo.com

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Recording a song in less than a few days isn’t common, even by today’s standards. Sometimes, multiple takes of multiple vocal and instrumental tracks are just plain necessary in order to produce a good song. Sessions can last for days or even weeks. However, that was not the case for the following four songs, which were recorded in the span of only one single day. Let’s take a look! A few of these songs might shock you.

“Twist And Shout” by The Beatles

It’s crazy to think that a song this good only took a day to record. However, “Twist And Shout” by The Beatles was, indeed, recorded in just a single day. In fact, the whole of Please Please Me, the Fab Four’s debut, was recorded in one single day on February 11, 1963. A few overdubs here and there were added at a later date by George Martin, but otherwise, that whole record launched the biggest music career of the 20th century. And it’s crazy to think that they rushed it.

“Instant Karma” by John Lennon

Source: americansongwriter.com/Em Casalena

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Not everyone believes in ghosts. Many would chalk up a supernatural visit to a bunch of mumbo jumbo. John Lennon would likely include himself in that camp, but his first wife, Cynthia, would claim herself to be a true believer, at least after they moved into their first home together.

Shortly after taking ownership of a historic home in the early 1960s, Cynthia Lennon became aware of a strange presence lurking around the house. Though it wasn’t what ultimately got her out of that home–that can be blamed on Lennon’s infidelity–it proved to be a significant moment in her life. Learn more about the ghost that haunted the Lennons below.

Well, I’d rather see you dead, little girl
Than to be with another man
You better keep your head, little girl
Or I won’t know where I am

Hot off the success of the Ed Sullivan Show, the Lennons bought their first home for £20,000. The home was over 50 years old and in need of a little TLC. Despite the rundown aspects of the home, there was something else that caused Cynthia Lennon to object to the purchase: an unsettling presence.

Yes, it seems the Lennons were victims of a haunted house trope. John Lennon was the unaware home buyer with stars in his eyes, while Cynthia Lennon was wary of an eerie vibe. It affected her so much that she wrote about it in her memoir.

“We searched out a vast villa with its own pool–we were told it had once been a convent,” Cynthia Lennon once wrote. “No sooner had we moved in than we discovered the place was haunted.”

She went on to describe ghostly moments around the house, including flickering lights and other unexplained circumstances.

“Lights would keep going off, objects would move mysteriously and we all felt a strange presence,” she added. “We planned a party to cheer the place up, but halfway through the evening the electricity was cut off and a huge storm blew up.”

Eventually, Cynthia Lennon moved out of that haunted house, due to John Lennon’s relationship with Yoko Ono. Though the circumstances were not ideal, Cynthia was likely somewhat happy to get out of there. We sure would be…

You better run for your life if you can, little girl
Hide your head in the sand, little girl
Catch you with another man
That’s the end, little girl

Source: Alex Hopper/americansongwriter.com

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John Lennon and Paul McCartney stood as an unparalleled song-writing duo, crafting the bulk of The Beatles' hits with their work jointly credited under Lennon-McCartney, regardless of individual or collaborative efforts.

Reflecting on their writing dynamics, Wilfred Mellers penned in 1972: "Opposite poles generate electricity: between John and Paul the sparks flew. John's fiery iconoclasm was tempered by Paul's lyrical grace, while Paul's wide-eyed charm was toughened by John's resilience."

However, as the late 1960s rolled around, their relationship started to deteriorate. The band experienced growing tensions, impacting the recording sessions for iconic albums such as 'The White Album,' 'Let It Be,' and 'Abbey Road.'

Disputes over creative differences and Yoko Ono's presence in the studio exacerbated the rift, leading John and Paul to part ways. Following their final recording session for 'The End' from 'Abbey Road' in August 1969, John informed the group that he intended to leave, likening it to asking for a 'divorce' from The Beatles.

Subsequently, a distressed Paul withdrew to his home to create his initial solo work, 'McCartney'. With the release of this album in April 1970, Paul made his departure from The Beatles public via a press statement accompanying the album, reports the Liverpool Echo.

The Beatles' final album 'Let it Be' was released in May 1970, almost a month after the band officially split. The album, composed of recordings from February 1968 to April 1970, sparked further disputes among Paul McCartney, John Lennon, Ringo Starr, and George Harrison.

Source: themirror.com/John O'Sullivan, Dan Haygarth

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From fired to retired.

Drummer Zak Starkey posted a statement on Instagram Monday clearing up the circumstances surrounding his latest exit from The Who.

Starkey, 59, claimed that bandmate Roger Daltrey told him he wasn’t “fired” from the group for a second time, but rather “retired” and free to work on his own projects.

“NOISE&CONFUSION!!!! I had a great phone chat with Roger at the end of last week which truly confused both of us!!!” Starkey wrote.

“Rog said I hadn’t been ‘fired’…I had been ‘retired’ to work on my own projects,” Starkey shared. “I explained to Rog that I have just spent nearly 8 weeks at my studio in Jamaica completing these projects, that my group Mantra Of The Cosmos was releasing one single at the beginning of June and after that had run its course ( usually 5/6 weeks ) I was completely available for the foreseeable future….Rog said ‘Oh!’ and we kind of left it there.”

Starkey insisted that he and Daltrey, 81, are “on good terms and great friends as we have always been.”

“Gotta love these guys,” the musician added. “As my mum used to say ‘The mind boggles!!!’ XXX.”

Starkey, who is the son of Beatles legend Ringo Starr, joined The Who in 1996.

He was fired from the band for the first time last month following his performance during the group’s two charity shows for Teenage Cancer Trust at London’s Royal Albert Hall in late March.

Daltrey and guitarist Pete Townshend were allegedly “upset” with Starkey over the gigs.

Starkey spoke out about his blindsided departure, revealing that he “suffered a serious medical emergency with blood clots in my right bass drum calf” in January.

Source: nypost.com/Eric Todisco

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