Tuesday, April 7, 1970
McCartney Productions Ltd. acquires the film rights for Rupert the Bear
Last updated on August 20, 2025
Tuesday, April 7, 1970
Last updated on August 20, 2025
Previous article Mar 23, 1970 • Paul defines the promotion plan for "McCartney"
Session Apr 01, 1970 • Overdubs for "Let It Be" album
Session Apr 02, 1970 • Mixing "Let It Be" album #6
Article Apr 07, 1970 • McCartney Productions Ltd. acquires the film rights for Rupert the Bear
Article Apr 09, 1970 • The "McCartney" press kit is sent to UK press
Interview Apr 09, 1970 • Paul McCartney interview for Apple Records
The “McCartney” press kit is sent to UK press
Apr 09, 1970
Dispute over the release of “Let It Be”
April 10 - End of April 1970
Lee Eastman asks for The Beatles to be dissolved
Jun 15, 1970
John Eastman visits Paul and Linda in Scotland
July 11-20, 1970
In March 1970, tensions arose between Paul McCartney and the other Beatles over the release date of Paul’s first solo album, “McCartney“. The dispute was settled on April 2, when Ringo Starr phoned Paul to confirm that Apple had agreed to release the album on April 17.
Five days later, John Eastman — Paul’s lawyer and brother-in-law — issued a press statement in the United States announcing the imminent release of “McCartney” and revealing that McCartney Productions Ltd. (established in August 1969 to manage Paul’s business affairs) had acquired the film rights to the cartoon character Rupert the Bear.
Paul had fond memories of Rupert from his childhood, particularly admiring the illustrations by Alfred Bestall, who had written and drawn Rupert stories for over four decades. It was while reading those stories to Heather, Linda’s daughter, that Paul began to see the character’s broader creative potential. With The Beatles nearing their end, Paul was seeking new ventures. He approached Sir Max Aitken, editor of the Daily Express, and persuaded him to sell the film rights. Concerned about the Americanisation of Winnie the Pooh by Walt Disney, Paul promised to preserve Rupert’s quintessentially British identity by keeping American accents out of any adaptation.
According to the Washington Post of April 7, the press statement also noted that “the private ventures will keep McCartney from directly working with the remainder of the Beatle quartet indefinitely.”
On April 9, the “McCartney” press kit was distributed to journalists ahead of the album’s release. It included a Q&A interview prepared by Peter Brown, with Paul’s brief and sometimes dry answers. These remarks were widely interpreted as the official confirmation of the Beatles’ breakup. The Daily Mirror, dated April 10, 1970 (though available on the evening of April 9), carried the front-page headline: “Paul is quitting The Beatles.”
I’ve bought up the film rights for Rupert the Bear the cartoon character from the Daily Express. As a kid I loved that strip – I’ve still got all the old Rupert annuals at home.
Paul McCartney
I ended up going to see Sir Max Aitken who was the head of the Daily Express at the time, in his big office in Fleet Street, and said, ‘Look, Max, baby, we’ve got to keep Rupert in England because if the Yanks get hold of him they’ll make him talk like Winnie the Pooh and he’ll be an American Rupert.’ So I said, ‘You’ve got to let someone like me do it.’ I gave him all the big spiel and he was impressed. So that was how we got the animation rights to do Rupert.
Paul McCartney, circa 1990
The one person that remained in touch in animation was Paul McCartney. I don’t know if you know the books of Rupert Bear, they were published in American newspapers. Paul bought the entire rights to these books. When I went to his house in St. John’s Wood to talk to him about some other thing. I saw in the whole back of Linda’s and Paul’s bed was actually a tapestry or the Nutwood village with all of Rupert Bear’s friends in it. He wanted to make a feature film of Rupert Bear against everyone’s wishes. He tried, made a pilot, and that didn’t work out. And instead he made this thing with Bullfrogs, one of his songs. It was an animation film. He’s doing another one now. He likes animation.
Charlie Jenkins – Director of special effects for “Yellow Submarine” film – From “Inside the Yellow Submarine: The Making of the Beatles’ Animated Classic” by Robert R. Hieronimus, 2002
McCartney May Quit Beatles
LONDON, April 7 – Beatle Paul McCartney announced today a series of independent projects which close friends said would almost certainly mean the end of the Beatles as a group.
The announcement, issued through McCartney’s attorney and brother-in-law John Eastman of New York, said the private ventures will keep McCartney from directly working with the remainder of the Beatle quartet indefinitely.
“It is now highly unlikely they will ever even record together again,” one business source said.
The announcement said the first solo venture for McCartney would be an album, “McCartney,” to be released this month. Eastman said McCartney all 14 songs, played all the instruments, sang all the vocals, produced the record and collaborated on the cover design with his wife.
McCartney also announced he has acquired all rights to a well-known British cartoon bear, “Rupert.”
The pop singer plans to make a full-length animated film of “Rupert,” a project which will take several months, the announcement said.
McCartney’s plans to branch out on his own came in the wake of reported squabbles among the group and disagreement about their legal and business representation.
Sources close to the group’s firm said McCartney has not spoken to fellow Beatle John Lennon since last August. He has not been in a recording studio with the others for several months.
Friends maintained McCartney was not responsible for the breakup, but was following the example of the three other members of the group.
Lennon and his wife have formed their own band. Ringo Starr has recently devoted much of his time to films, and George Harrison has been involved in songwriting and record production.
“You can’t expect McCartney, the writer of such great Beatle hits as ‘Hey Jude’, ‘Yesterday’ and ‘Michelle,’ to just sit around and wait,” said one friend.
From the Washington Post, London, April 7, 1970
Beatles’ Split Seen as Paul Goes on Own
London, April 7 (UPI) – Beatle Paul McCartney announced a series of independent projects today which close friends said would almost certainly mean the end of the Beatles as a group.
The announcement, issued through McCartney’s attorney and brother-in-law, John Eastman of New York, said the private ventures will keep McCartney from directly working with the remainder of the Beatle quartet indefinitely.
“It is now highly unlikely they will ever even record together again,” one business source said. The announcement said the first solo venture for McCartney would be the release this month of an album, “McCartney.” Eastman said that McCartney wrote all 14 songs, played all the instruments, sang all the vocals, produced the record and collaborated on the cover design with his wife.
McCartney also announced he has acquired all rights to a well-known British cartoon bear, “Rupert”.
A Full-Length Film
The singer plans to make a full-length animated film of Rupert, a project that will take several months, the announcement said.
McCartney’s plans to branch out his own came in the wake of reported squabbles among the group and disagreement about their legal and business representation.
From Daily News, April 8, 1970
McCARTNEY FILM PROJECT. Late news: A split in the air?
PAUL McCARTNEY HAS FORMED A NEW COMPANY NAMED McCARTNEY PRODUCTIONS, WHICH HAS BOUGHT THE FILM RIGHTS TO THE CARTOON STRIP OF RUPERT THE BEAR. PAUL WILL PRODUCE AND WRITE ALL THE MUSIC FOR A FULL-LENGTH ANIMATED CARTOON FILM TO BE TITLED “RUPERT.” THIS DEVELOPMENT CO-INCIDES WITH A FLOOD OF NEW RUMOURS, CURRENTLY SWEEPING THE BUSINESS ON BOTH SIDES OF THE ATLANTIC, SUGGESTING THAT PAUL IS LEAVING THE BEATLES — ALTHOUGH APPLE COULD NEITHER CONFIRM NOR DENY THIS.
From New Musical Express – April 11, 1970
Let Him Be!
Paul McCartney, who fled London last Friday, leaving behind him furors of doubt and rumour about his future following his “Quit The Beatles” bombshell, was back from a secret hideaway in the country on Sunday – ready to work the first project for his new company.
Paul, wife Linda, and children Heather and Mary, left their Cavendish Avenue, St. John’s Wood, house in the early hours of Friday – the day the world learned, via Paul’s specially – prepared handout, of the Beatle’s decision to split from John, George and Ringo.
A close friend of Paul’s told Disc: “He’s not giving ANY interviews at the moment. In fact, fans and other people have been making his life a bit of a misery lately by ‘picketing’ his pad. I wish they’d let him alone to live his own life now.”
Paul has – through his American lawyers, led by father-in-law Lee Eastman – bought exclusive rights to “Rupert Bear”, the traditional children’s story, for his newly-formed McCartney Productions. Paul plans to produce and write the music for a full-length animated cartoon film titled “Rupert”.
But an Apple office spokesman told Disc: “At the moment Paul and ‘Rupert’ are still only in the planning stages. We have no further details.”
“McCartney”, Paul’s first solo LP, is officially released tomorrow (Friday) and has a 19,000 advance order.
From Disc and Music Echo April 18 1970 British Pop Newspaper Paul | Etsy France
From Wikipedia:
Rupert Bear is a children’s comic strip character created by English artist Mary Tourtel and first appearing in the Daily Express newspaper on 8 November 1920. Rupert’s initial purpose was to win sales from the rival Daily Mail and Daily Mirror. In 1935, the stories were taken over by Alfred Bestall, who was previously an illustrator for Punch and other glossy magazines. Bestall proved to be successful in the field of children’s literature and worked on Rupert stories and artwork into his 90s. More recently, various other artists and writers have continued the series. About 50 million copies have been sold worldwide.
The comic strip was, and still is, published daily in the Daily Express, with many of these stories later being printed in books, and every year since 1936 a Rupert annual has also been released. Rupert Bear has become a well-known character in children’s culture in the United Kingdom, and the success of the Rupert stories has led to the creation of several television series based on the character. The character also has a large fan following, with such groups as The Followers of Rupert.
The McCartney Legacy: Volume 1: 1969 – 73
In this first of a groundbreaking multivolume set, THE MCCARTNEY LEGACY, VOL 1: 1969-73 captures the life of Paul McCartney in the years immediately following the dissolution of the Beatles, a period in which McCartney recreated himself as both a man and a musician. Informed by hundreds of interviews, extensive ground up research, and thousands of never-before-seen documents THE MCCARTNEY LEGACY, VOL 1 is an in depth, revealing exploration of McCartney’s creative and personal lives beyond the Beatles.
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.
The Beatles Diary Volume 2: After The Break-Up 1970-2001
An updated edition of the best-seller. The story of what happened to the band members, their families and friends after the 1970 break-up is brought right up to date. A fascinating and meticulous piece of Beatles scholarship.
Maccazine - Volume 40, Issue 3 - RAM Part 1 - Timeline
This very special RAM special is the first in a series. This is a Timeline for 1970 – 1971 when McCartney started writing and planning RAM in the summer of 1970 and ending with the release of the first Wings album WILD LIFE in December 1971. [...] One thing I noted when exploring the material inside the deluxe RAM remaster is that the book contains many mistakes. A couple of dates are completely inaccurate and the story is far from complete. For this reason, I started to compile a Timeline for the 1970/1971 period filling the gaps and correcting the mistakes. The result is this Maccazine special. As the Timeline was way too long for one special, we decided to do a double issue (issue 3, 2012 and issue 1, 2013).
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