Reddit reviews You Never Give Me Your Money: The Beatles After the Breakup

I read "You Never Give Me Your Money", and it was really kinda sad. Individually and collectively, the Beatles spent the ten years immediately after their breakup in court, for one reason or another. It was just never-ending for them. That must have sucked.

Haven't read it myself yet, but this sub loves to recommend the book "You Never Give Me Your Money", which covers their breakup and follows their financial situation all the way up until 2010 (I think?)

e: I'd also recommend any Beatles-related book by Lewisohn, even though he tends to cover more than just one specific period. I love "The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions" in particular, lots of interesting material you probably wouldn't learn about otherwise.

> Do you not think this is a bit of a conspiracy?

No, I don't, because in another source, Ringo was quoted as saying:

> 'We all said yes [to Spector's mix of Let It Be],' Starkey recalled. 'Even at the beginning Paul said yes. I spoke to him on the phone, and said, "Did you like it?" and he said, "Yeah, it's OK." He didn't put it down.'

In contrast, in the Anthology book, this is basically the entirety of George and Ringo's quotes talking about Spector's work on the album, while Paul talks at length over several pages:

> GEORGE: Paul has been quoted as saying that he didn't want Phil Spector involved, or didn't like him overdubbing orchestras on The Long And Winding Road and other tracks. But I personally thought it was a really good idea.

> RINGO: I like what Phil did, actually. He put the music somewhere else and he was king of the 'wall of sound'. There's no point bringing him in if you're not going to like the way he does it because that's what he does.

Take that for what it is, though it is interesting that neither of them make any comment in the book one way or the other about whether or not Paul knew beforehand what Spector was doing to Paul's songs. But as seen in the interview at the top of this post, Ringo said that Paul did know, and even approved of it.

In May 1970, weeks after Paul's "breakup" announcement, George gave this interview, saying in part:

> Well, I get on well with Ringo and John, and I try my best to get on well with Paul. And uhh, there's nothing much more we can--it's just a matter of time, you know, just for everybody to work out their own problems and once they've done that I'm sure we'll get back 'round the cycle again. But if not, you know, it's still alright. Whatever happens, you know, it's gonna be okay. In fact, it's never looked better from my point of view.

Clearly, even at that point, the others didn't see "The Long and Winding Road" or the Allen Klein situation as something the band couldn't yet overcome.

From the Anthology book on Ringo asking McCartney's release date to be delayed:

> RINGO: It was just two guys pouting and being silly. We had our solo albums to bring out, and I said, 'Mine's ready and I want to bring it out.' Paul's wasn't quite ready but he had a calendar with the date (I've forgotten the day now) marked in yellow saying, That's my day I'm bringing my record out then.' I don't know what happened. He probably does.

> PAUL: I got so fed up with all this I said, 'OK, I want to get off the label.' Apple Records was a lovely dream, but I thought, 'Now this is really trashy and I want to get off.' I remember George on the phone saying to me, 'You'll stay on this fucking label! Hare Krishna!' and he hung up and I went, 'Oh, dear me. This is really getting hairy.'
>
>I didn't show Apple anything of McCartney or the cover or anything until I'd finished it all. I did it all myself, and just gave it to them for release. It was a very difficult position for me.

From the Anthology book on Paul's "breakup announcement":

> RINGO: There was always the possibility that we could have carried on. We weren't sitting in the studio making Abbey Road saying, 'OK this is it: last record, last track, last take.'
>
> But Paul put his solo record out and made the statement that said that The Beatles were finished. (If you look back through the Beatle history Paul has always made the statements: They're On Drugs; They're Breaking Up; They're Finished.) I think because it was said by one of The Beatles people understood it was over.

> PAUL: The world reaction was like "The Beatles Have Broken Up, It's Official." We'd known it for months. So that was that, really. I think it was the press who misunderstood. The record had come with this weird explanation on a questionnaire of what I was doing. It was actually only for them. I think a few people thought it was some weird move of me to get publicity, but it was really to avoid having to do the press.

> GEORGE: Paul has a way of using stuff. I mean, even now, if he is going to do a tour he'll conveniently tell the press that we're all getting back together again or something. It's just his way, really. It's something that over the years may have kind of annoyed us, but I think after all these years we're used to it. But in that period everybody was getting pissed off at each other for everything.

EDIT: To be clear, whatever the reasons for the breakup, if you read the Anthology book, it's pretty evident that Paul talks freely and openly and at length of his version of how it happened, while Ringo and George don't. (Or at least, if they did, they didn't put those quotes in the book.) Their version is basically, "We thought it was a good idea to bring Spector in. Then when we told Paul to delay the release of his solo album and he wouldn't, everybody got pissed, and he put out a breakup announcement to promote that record." But that condensed version is overshadowed by several pages of Paul giving his side of the story.

btw I doubt I'll ever get to the Lewisohn text as I'm not sure I need to know everything about each members upbringing-- +900 pages just to get to the meeting of Paul and John! No thanks, I wait for the other volumes though.

I've heard great things about Pete Doggett's You Never Give Me Your Money: The Beatles After the Breakup, and will likely read that next.

> long chapters about split out the band

You Never Give Me Your Money