Paul McCartney, John Lennon and George Harrison discuss the future of The Beatles

On this day, Paul McCartney, John Lennon and George Harrison met at Apple headquarters on Savile Row to discuss their future plans as The Beatles. John’s assistant, Anthony Fawcett, brought a portable tape recorder to capture the conversation, mainly for the benefit of Ringo Starr, who was in hospital undergoing tests.

With the release of “Abbey Road” just days away, the three Beatles discussed their next steps as a band, including potential future recording projects. John appeared actively engaged in the conversation, despite the fact that just two weeks later, on September 20, 1969, he would inform the others of his decision to leave the group.

Anthony Fawcett later shared details of the meeting in his 1976 book “One Day at a Time.” In 2019, the original tape recording resurfaced when it was rediscovered by Beatles historian Mark Lewisohn.

It’s September the 9th actually. Richard Williams in The Guardian called it the 8th in error and that’s how it’s gone around now, but it was the ninth. It was 9-9-69, and it was in Savile Row and Ringo was in hospital, in observation for problem with his intestines.

Mark Lewisohn – In conversation with Greg Armstrong – November 2019

John Lennon: We always carved the singles up between us. We have the singles market, they [George and Ringo] don’t get anything! I mean we’ve never offered George ‘B’ sides; we could have given him a lot of ‘B’ sides, but because we were two people you had the ‘A’ side and I had the ‘B’ side.

Paul McCartney: Well the thing is, I think that until now, until this year [1969], our songs have been better than George’s. Now this year his songs are at least as good as ours.

George Harrison: Now that’s a myth, ’cause most of the songs this year I wrote about last year or the year before, anyway. Maybe now I just don’t care whether you are going to like them or not, I just do ’em… If I didn’t get a break I wouldn’t push it, I’d just forget about it. Now for the last two years, at any rate, I’ve pushed it a bit more.

John: I know what he’s saying ’cause people have said to me you’re coming through a lot stronger now than you had.

George: I don’t particularly seek acclaim. That’s not the thing. It’s just to get out whatever is there to make way for whatever else is there. You know, ’cause it’s only to get ’em out, and also I might as well make a bit of money, seeing as I’m spending as much as the rest of you, and I don’t earn as much as the rest of you! […] Most of my tunes, I never had the Beatles backing me.

John: Oh! C’mon, George! We put a lot of work in your songs, even down to “Don’t Bother Me”; we spent a lot of time doing all that and we grooved. I can remember the riff you were playing, and in the last two years, there was a period where you went Indian and we weren’t needed!

George: That was only one tune. On the last album [“White Album”]. I don’t think you appeared on any of my songs — I don’t mind.

John: Well, you had Eric [Clapton], or somebody like that…

[Silence]

Paul: When we get in a studio, even on the worst day, I’m still playing bass, Ringo’s still drumming, and we’re still there you know.

From “John Lennon – One Day At A Time” by Anthony Fawcett, 1976

It seemed mad for us to put a song on an album that nobody really dug, including the guy who wrote it, just because it was going to be popular, ’cause the LP doesn’t have to be that. Wouldn’t it be better, because we didn’t really dig them, yer know, for you to do the songs you dug, and ‘Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da’ and ‘Maxwell’ to be given to people who like music like that, yer know, like Mary [Hopkins], or whoever it is needs a song. Why don’t you give them to them? The only time we need anything vaguely near that quality is for a single. For an album we could just do only stuff that we really dug.

John Lennon – From “John Lennon – One Day At A Time” by Anthony Fawcett, 1976

It was carte blanche because you’d come up with a Magical Mystery Tour. I didn’t write any of that except ‘Walrus’; I’d accept it and you’d already have five or six songs, so I’d think ‘fuck it, I can’t keep up with that.’ So I didn’t bother, yer know—and I thought I don’t really care whether I was on or not, I convinced myself it didn’t matter, and so for a period if you didn’t invite me to be on an album personally, if you three didn’t say: ‘write some more ’cause we like your work,’ I wasn’t going to fight!”

John Lennon – From “John Lennon – One Day At A Time” by Anthony Fawcett, 1976

If you look back on the Beatles’ albums, good or bad or whatever you think of ’em, you’ll find that most times if anybody has got extra time it’s you! For no other reason than you worked it like that. Now when we get into a studio I don’t want to go through games with you to get space on the album, yer know! I don’t want to go through a little maneuvering, or whatever level it’s on, to get time. ‘Cause there was a time, about three years ago, I gave up fighting for an ‘A’ side or fighting for time. I just thought, well I’m content to put ‘Walrus’ on the ‘B’ side, when I think it’s much better, and ‘Strawberry Fields,’ because I’m content to be on, yer know, and get the cooperation of the group to produce a ‘Walrus’ and a ‘Strawberry Fields’ out of all of you.

John Lennon – From “John Lennon – One Day At A Time” by Anthony Fawcett, 1976

Going further

The Beatles Diary Volume 1: The Beatles Years

With greatly expanded text, this is the most revealing and frank personal 30-year chronicle of the group ever written. Insider Barry Miles covers the Beatles story from childhood to the break-up of the group.

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