December 1969
The Beatles reject offers to perform live
Last updated on May 7, 2025
December 1969
Last updated on May 7, 2025
Article Nov 18, 1969 • The "Get Back" documentary turns into the "Let It Be" film
Article December 1969 • The Beatles reject offers to perform live
Article December 1969 • The Beatles Monthly Book magazine ceases publication
Album Dec 01, 1969 • "Kum Back" by The Beatles released globally
A TV ad project to promote “The Beatles” double-album is called off
End of October / early November 1968
The Beatles receive a $230 million reunion offer
Sep 19, 1976
In March 1969, U.S. promoter Sid Bernstein — the first to bring The Beatles to America — made an offer for the band to play four concerts in the United States. The Beatles declined.
In December 1969, Bernstein approached them again with a different proposal: to headline a pop festival in Holland scheduled for August 1970. The Beatles turned this down as well, along with a separate offer from U.S. promoter Mike Belkin for a full US tour.
Beatles reject £2m BACKS TURNED ON FORTUNE
Two American promoters have within the last week, attempted to persuade the Beatles to return to the concert platform. The combined bait was a guaranteed income of at least £2 million — for a total of 13 concerts! But both offers have been rejected by the group’s Apple company on the grounds that, if the Beatles do decide to make any more personal appearances, these will be promoted by Apple itself.
First offer came from Sid Bernstein — promoter of the group’s first three U.S. tours — who bid one million dollars for the Beatles to perform at a pop festival in Holland next August. This was topped by an offer of £1,700,000 from promoter Mike Belkin for a 12-city tour of major stadiums in America.
It is now evident that no amount of money will tempt John, Paul, George and Ringo into undertaking further live dates as the Beatles — because of the divergence of their individual Interests — and that the group will almost certainly never again appear on stage, in its present form.
John Lennon’s latest venture, in company with his wife Yoko, is a plan to make a documentary film about the 1962 James Hanratty murder case.
From New Musical Express, December 20, 1969
Beatles offered £1m for concert tour
A U.S. promoter has offered the Beatles a contract guaranteeing them a minimum of nearly £1m for a concert tour next summer. Mike Belkin, president of Belkin Productions Inc., announced the offer last night and said the tour of 12 major U.S. cities could earn the group more than £1,700,000.
The offer giving the Beatles 65 per cent, of the gross takings, had been cabled to Allen Klein, who heads the Beatles’ Apple Corporation in London. The offer expires on January 10. The Beatles last appeared in the U.S. in 1966.
The Beatles’ gross potential on a summer tour in the U.S. was £2,500,000, Belkin said. He estimated the singing group’s potential income from the concerts at £1,733,000.
Belkin Productions books entertainment in 25 States in America and does a business in excess of £840,000 a year.
Two of the Beatles did not know today about the offer. Paul McCartney is in the Bahamas and George Harrison is in Sweden, and neither has yet been told of the tour. “The Beatles are constantly getting offers of money for tours. But they’re a little scattered now. They’ll probably be getting together to talk about it,” said a spokesman for Apple.
From Evening Post – December 12, 1969
Million dollar offer for Beatles
A MILLION dollars a night for the Beatles! That’s the offer being made by American Promoter Sid Bernstein for the group to perform at a proposed International Pop Festival in Holland next year.
Bernstein promoted the Beatles first three tours of America in the mid-sixties and says he owes a great deal to them for his success.
Manager of the Rascals, he was in London last weekend working on plans for an Olympics Pop Festival to be held at Appledorm, Holland, in August.
A London spokesman for Bernstein told the MM on Monday: “Appledorm is a vast natura arena which could hold 200.000 people. It will be 2 three-day event and tickets will cost ten dollars each for the whole festival. Mr Bernstein plans to move to Holland in March with a team of international PR people to work on the arrangements, selling film rights.
“He wants the Beatles as Britain’s representatives and there will be groups from all over the world including Iron Curtain countries, South America and the Far East. Holland has been chosen as the venue because of it’s central position”.
From New Musical Express, December 13, 1969
Figures filed officially in conformity with the Companies Act reveal that some expectations on the subject of Apple Corps profits were somewhat optimistic. In the eighteen months ending in December 1966, the figure was £574,000 equivalent to an annual rate of £380,000. In the preceding twelve months, profits had totaled £519,000 for the Beatle enterprise.
Subafilms, the Beatle subsidiary receiving royalties for movies like Help!, A Hard Day’s Night, and Yellow Submarine, showed a 1967 profit dip from £263,000 to £104,000 and there was no dividend payment as opposed to £54,000 in 1966. Profits from Apple Films slumped from £37,000 to £4,900 in 1966, and the profit figure for 1967 for Maclen Music, which benefits from the Lennon–McCartney compositions, was nearly £150,000.
The four Beatles drew salaries and dividends totaling almost £400,000 during the two and a half year period covered by the published accounts. The figures relate to the earlier days of the Apple operation and show business circles expect more favorable results subsequent to the reorganization and rationalization measures initiated by their business manager Allen Klein.
Meanwhile, the group have nixed a £1 million American tour offer received from the Cleveland-based Belkin Productions. The offer covered concerts in twelve major American cities next summer and guaranteed The Beatles 65 per cent of the gross take. The deal is being kept open by the Belkin office until January 10th, but there seems no prospect of the group changing their minds. The Beatles last toured the States in 1966.
From Cashbox Magazine – January 3, 1970
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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