Paul McCartney has insisted that John Lennon, not himself, was responsible for breaking up the Beatles. In a candid interview for BBC Radio 4's This Cultural Life, McCartney said: 'I didn't instigate the split. That was our Johnny.'
The musician, who turns 80 next summer, recalled the 'most difficult period of my life' and said he wanted the band to continue, especially as they were still creating 'pretty good stuff' like Abbey Road and Let It Be. 'This was my band, this was my job, this was my life, so I wanted it to continue,' he said.
McCartney explained that Lennon had always wanted to 'break loose from society' and was making a new life with Yoko Ono. He described Lennon's decision to leave as 'quite thrilling' and 'rather like a divorce', leaving the other members 'left to pick up the pieces'.
The split was kept quiet for months at the request of manager Allen Klein, but McCartney eventually 'let the cat out of the bag' because he was 'fed up of hiding it'. He also defended bringing in lawyers, saying it was to protect the Beatles' legacy, and that the other members later thanked him.
McCartney also discussed a rediscovered Lennon-McCartney lyric from 60 years ago, titled 'Tell Me Who He Is', which he has not seen since. 'It was amazing to find this. It is my handwriting but I don't know how it goes,' he said.
