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[rynliadon]

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A collection of Beatles quotes about the breakup

I know I'm preaching to the choir on tumblr.com because people here examine the breakup with empathy, nuance and critical thought. BUT these quotes are convenient if you ever get caught up in frustrating arguments online with male boomer beatle fans who think John and George hated the band and couldn't wait to escape while Paul was desperate to get back together. Sorted by band member and chronological order.

Quotes from/about Ringo:

1969:

People really have tried to typecast us. They think we are still little moptops, and we are not. I don’t want to play in public again. I don’t miss being a Beatle anymore. You can’t get those days back. It’s no good living in the past.

Ringo Starr, 24 March 1969 while filming The Magic Christian in New York

1970:

Ringo?  He was the peacemaker for John, George and himself to Paul and was shaken to find Paul intransigent to the point of saying some pretty blunt things.  But none of the Beatles is vindictive, and pettiness is their natural enemy, and when Paul released his album, Ringo sent a telegram congratulation him on “Maybe I’m Amazed” (one of the tracks) and meant it.  Ringo has a lot of heart and more soul than most and since he knows he will be a Beatles to the grave, he will cooperate should it all come together again.

The Party's Over for the Beatles - written by Derek Taylor

“The Beatles have not split up. We are waiting for John to get back and then we will have a friendly Beatle chat and see what we are going to do. I keep looking around and thinking, ‘Where are they? What are they doing? When will they come and talk to me?’ This is supposed to be a press conference to promote my new film. The other Beatles aren’t here, so I don’t want to be answering questions for them. I hope to see Elvis in Las Vegas before I return to England. But, I will not be in the States for very long.”

The Beatles Off the Record (Keith Badman)

1971:

The Beatles might yet stay together as a group. Paul is the greatest bass player in the world. He is also determined. He goes on and on to see if he can get his own way. While that may be a virtue, it did mean that musical disagreements inevitably rose from time to time. But such disagreements contributed to really great products. […] I was shocked and dismayed, after Mr. McCartney’s promises about a meeting of all four Beatles in London in January, that a writ should have been issued on December 31. I trust Paul and I know he would not lightly disregard his promise. Something serious, about which I have no knowledge, must have happened between Paul’s meeting with George in New York at the end of December. […] My own view is that all four of us together could even yet work out everything satisfactorily.

Ringo Starr’s affidavit – From “The Beatles Diary Volume 2: After The Break-Up 1970-2001” by Keith Badman

No one doubted that Starkey would go along with the majority.

You Never Give Me Your Money – Peter Doggett

Later/unknown year:

RS: But that’s only Imagine. You know what I’m saying? Paul with his Band on the Run. We all started on a bus and small clubs and things like that, but Paul is that type of person. Paul wanted to do it all over again, and he did. And he went through hell. He went through hell. I mean, now he’s not talking to me and that’s too bad, but he started again from the bottom to do the Paul McCartney show. I don’t wanna do it anymore. I did it once.

All You Need Is Love – Peter Brown & Steven Gaines

Quotes from/about George:

1969:

“Yeah, quite definitely, but I’d like to do it with the Beatles but not on the old scale, that’s the only drag. With the Ono Band and me playing with Delaney and Bonnie there’s no expectations because it’s really quite anonymous, you just go and do whatever you can do. Once the Beatles are advertised and all the crowds come along they expect too much. I’d like to do the Beatles thing, but more like Delaney and Bonnie with us augmented with a few more singers, and a few trumpets, saxes, organs, and all that"

Interview conducted by Roy Carr, NME, 20 December 1969

1970:

George was greatly disappointed that Paul should come off like he was injured by Klein (business manager) whom George believes to have greatly eased the effects of the present and insured the safety of the future. George view is “Did you have to be so nasty. You can go so far but you can never get back, and you can say things which get in the way forever. For me, I would be glad to play with all of us again.”

The Party's Over for the Beatles - written by Derek Taylor

Q: “You think the Beatles will get together again, then?”

George: “Well, I don’t… I couldn’t tell, you know, if they do or not. I’ll certainly try my best to do something with them again, you know. I mean, it’s only a matter of accepting that the situation is a compromise. In a way it’s a compromise, and it’s a sacrifice, you know, because we all have to sacrifice a little in order to gain something really big. And there is a big gain by recording together – I think musically, and financially, and also spiritually. And for the rest of the world, you know, I think that Beatle music is such a big sort of scene – that I think it’s the least we could do is to sacrifice three months of the year at least, you know, just to do an album or two. I think it’s very selfish if the Beatles don’t record together.”

WABC-FM, May 1, 1970

The Harrison quote that went around the world that spring was purely optimistic: 'Everyone is trying to do his own album, and I am too. But after that I'm ready to go back with the others.'

You Never Give Me Your Money – Peter Doggett

1971:

The only serious row was between Paul and me. In 1968 I went to the United States and had a very easy co-operation with many leading musicians. This contrasted with the superior attitude which, for years past, Paul has shown towards me musically. In January 1969, we were making a film in a studio at Twickenham, which was dismal and cold, and we were all getting a bit fed up with our surroundings. In front of the cameras, as we were actually being filmed, Paul started to ‘get at’ me about the way I was playing. I decided I had had enough and told the others I was leaving. This was because I was musically dissatisfied. After a few days, the others asked me to return and since I did not wish to leave them in the lurch in the middle of filming and recording, and since Paul agreed that he would not try to interfere or teach me how to play, I went back. Since the row, Paul has treated me more as a musical equal. I think this whole episode shows how a disagreement could be worked out so that we all benefited. I just could not believe it when, just before Christmas, I received a letter from Paul’s lawyers. I still cannot understand why Paul acted as he did.

George Harrison’s affidavit – From “The Beatles Diary Volume 2: After The Break-Up 1970-2001” by Keith Badman

“In a “Come back Paul, all is forgiven” mood, George Harrison said this week: “I wish we could all be friends again. It’s a drag that things are as they are, because Apple is now becoming much more what we originally wanted it to be. “Personally I’d like to see Paul back at Apple and let him do what he wants to do. After all the new studio is his studio, too, and I’d like to see it all happening for us all.”

October 1971 Record Mirror

When John finally hinted that he would be willing to play with George when he appeared at Madison Square Garden. “Well, maybe I can come and help ya,” he said. “That’d be nice.” George glowered at John. Then George’s anger really burst forth. “Where were you when I needed you!” he snapped. It was the first of a series of explosions, each of them followed by moments of tense silence. “I did everything you said. But you weren’t there,” he repeated. “You always knew how to reach me,” John would reply evenly to each of these outbursts. There was no doubt in my mind, watching those two, that George’s anger with John had been accumulating for years. It was exactly the kind of situation that John usually ran from. But I could see in that moment that he loved George enough to remain calm and still as George drilled away at him. George said that repeatedly in the past he had sung what John wanted him to sing, said what John wanted him to say. Because John wanted it, George had gone along with the decision to go with Allen Klein. In the nearly four years since, John had virtually ignored him, a fact that pained George deeply. George’s voice grew even more harsh as he blasted John for his sudden appearance, as if out of nowhere, to offer an evening’s worth of help. Yet again George said furiously, I did everything you said, but you weren’t there.”

May Pang, Loving John

1973:

"George came into the office and said, 'I wanted you to know before anyone else. We're leaving Allen.' I said, 'Why?' And he said, 'We'll never get together again with Allen managing us.' And that was it. They left. George always had that distant hope."

Allan Stecker, Mojo interview 2023 (on Monday April 2 1973)

"[Allen Klein] made [John, George and Ringo] feel financially and artistically secure,” Steckler reckoned. So why did they decide that Klein had to go? Steckler believed he knew the answer. “George called me and said, ‘We’re not re-signing with Klein,’” he recalled. “I asked him why, and he said, 'The only way The Beatles can get together again is if Allen isn’t there. I’m ready to do it, so is Ringo, and I think we can persuade John to go along with it. But if we’re going to work with Paul, we need to get rid of Klein.’"

Peter Doggett, You Never Give Me Your Money

1978:

Personally, I’m not opposed to the idea, if it’s done through mutual agreement. But the pressure seems to be bigger than any of us, and when they talk of sums like $50 or $60 million, it’s almost a farce. I know Paul’s booked for the next few years, and John may have lost interest in the idea. Ringo and I are closest on it; we both feel it’s not impossible, but it’s highly unlikely, if only because of the legal and business maze that would have to be resolved before the four of us set foot on stage together.

M. George Haddad interview with George Harrison for Men Only magazine (Nov. 1978 issue)

Quotes from/about Paul:

1970:

On the eve of the release of the Beatles new movie and album “Let it Be,” Paul McCartney said, “I quit,” or “I think I quit,” which is roughly the same thing. As a publicity stunt, it’s as good or bad as any stunt they ever appeared to pull. But like every stunt they never did pull, this isn’t one either. McCartney’s declaration of independence was entirely impromptu, spontaneous and personal and so far had the group’s lines of communication become crossed that none of the Beatles really knew when the album would be out, or whether, nor did they greatly care.

...

I guess the way it stacks up now and the way it was around the time when Paul dropped the big on is that he wants right out of it all and they don’t.

The Party's Over for the Beatles - written by Derek Taylor

"John's reply was that I was daft!" He then said he wanted to leave the Beatles and wanted an immediate divorce. None of us really knew what to do about the situation, but we decided to wait until our film 'Let it Be' came out in April. I got bored and made 'McCartney' instead!"

Paul McCartney, in his first magazine interview since the split, tells FLIP's Keith Altham... "THE BEATLES ARE FINISHED!"

When we had to go to the studios, Linda would make the booking and we’d take some sandwiches and a bottle of grape juice and put the baby on the floor and it was all like a a holiday. So as a natural turn of events from looking for something to do, I found that I was enjoying working alone as much as I’d enjoyed the early days of the Beatles. I haven’t really enjoyed the Beatles for the last two years.

Paul, Interview for Evening Standard • Tuesday, April 21-22, 1970

Klein tells George he will get him more money and he tells Ringo the same. He tells them all that there are four first-class Beatles, not two and John doesn’t mind being told this. Paul doesn’t like any of it, none of it. He has a father-in-law who is also from New York and his name is Lee Eastman. Lee Eastman is also a toughie, but his manners are more formal than Klein’s and some people like him. Paul would like Eastman to be the Mr Big Apple needs. John wants Mr Klein to be Mr Big. A year passes. It is 1970. Paul still doesn’t like Klein but John digs him more than ever and George digs him more than that and Ringo doesn’t mind him. Paul? He is so uptight about Klein he only leaves the Beatles, that’s all.

As Time Goes By - Derek Taylor

1971:

Klein: “If Paul McCartney doesn’t get his way, he bitches. He may have a choirboy image in the press and with fans, but I’m here to tell you its bullshit. If anybody broke up the Beatles, it was him.”

Allen Klein, Playboy: A candid conversation with the embattled manager of the Beatles. (November, 1971) (note: obviously we should not trust a word Klein says, but at this point why isn't he repeating John's party line that he wanted a divorce?)

I think John thought I was using this press release for publicity-as I suppose, in a way, it was. So it all looked very weird, and it ruffled a few feathers. The good thing about it was that we all had to finally own up to the fact that we'd broken up three or four months before. We'd been ringing each other quite constantly, sort of saying, 'Let's get it back together.' And I think me, George and Ringo did want to save things. But I think John was, at that point, too heavily into his new life-which you can't blame him.

You Never Give Me Your Money – Peter Doggett

1972:

“We planned a big festival for one afternoon in Central Park, and ‘Imagine’ was the theme. Each retarded person from an institution would be paired with one able-bodied volunteer – twenty-five thousand people in the park. The issue arose whether the retarded should come to the matinee concert at Madison Square Garden. Obviously it would be a huge revenue loss. So Allen Klein and John just bought $50,000 worth of tickets and gave them to the retarded kids and volunteers.” Suddenly John got cold feet, after the concert had been sold out for weeks. “John said he didn’t want to do it,” Rivera recalled. “He said he hadn’t played in public for years, he hadn’t rehearsed with a band, he was just too nervous. …When they had that rush of insecurity, Yoko told me that she and John called Paul and Linda. They said, ‘Let’s bury the hatchet and appear together at the concert.’ Why Paul said ‘No’ I’ll never know.” Rivera and others managed to calm John’s fears and get him to start rehearsing with Elephant’s Memory.

Jon Wiener, Come Together: John Lennon in His Time. (1984)

“A few months ago, John asked us to do a concert with him at Madison Square Garden (note: same concert as the above quote) and it’s a pity now that we didn’t do it. I didn’t want to do it at the time but we will do things, I’m sure. I don’t see any reason why all four Beatles shouldn’t be on stage at some time all playing together and having a good time. I don’t think you’ll ever get the Beatles reforming, because that’s all gone. The Beatles were a special thing in a special era and I really couldn’t see it all coming together again. But I think it’s daft to assume that just because we had a couple of business upsets we won’t ever see each other again, or that if John has a concert some time we won’t go up and play on it.”

Paul McCartney, interview with Ray Connolly in The Evening Standard, December 2, 1972 (source: The Ray Connolly Beatles Archive)

“Don’t ever call me ex-Beatle McCartney again. That was one band I was with. Now I’m not with them. I’ve got another band. We won’t do things the same way any more. We’re not so bothered in trying to please other people all the time even though we obviously don’t try to displease them. All we want, in Wings, is to please ourselves with our music, That’s all.

“If people start fan clubs for us, do that kind of thing from the past, well, fine. But we won’t start one. I just get irritated by people constantly harping on the past, about the days when I was with that other band, the Beatles.

“The other Beatles get together and that is fine, but I’m almost always in another part of the world. The Beatles was my old job. We’re not like friends – we just know each other. But we don’t work together. so there’s no point keeping up old relationships.”

“All I know for sure is that I’ll never be conned again. I’m 30 now and, after what I’ve been through. I should know my way around. I get angry with fans, who interrupt my life, even now. I get fed up with the feeling that I was losing my identity, becoming some kind of legend, not a person. And I’m downright angry with the people who keep trying to get me back with the others again.

Paul McCartney and 'that other band'' by Peter Jones, in the Liverpool Echo, 13 December 1972

There’s no hard feelings or anything, but you just don’t hang around with your ex-wife. We’ve completely finished. ’Cos, you know, I’m just not that keen on John after all he’s done. I mean, you can be friendly with someone, and they can shit on you, and you’re just a fool if you keep friends with them. I’m not just going to lie down and let him shit on me again. I think he’s a bit daft, to tell you the truth. I talked to him about the Klein thing, and he’s so misinformed it’s ridiculous.'

Paul interviewed by student journalist Ian McNulty for the Hull University Torch, May 1972 [From The McCartney Legacy, Volume 1: 1969 – 1973 by Allan Kozinn and Adrian Sinclair, 2022

1976:

“The truth is very ordinary. The truth is just that since we split up, we’ve not seen much of each other. We visit occasionally, we’re still friends, but we don’t feel like getting up and playing again. You can’t tell that to people. You say that and they say, ‘How about this money, then?’ ‘Or how about this?’ And you end up having to think of reasons why you don’t feel like it. And, of course, any one of them taken on its own isn’t really true, but I was just stuck for an answer, so I said I wouldn’t do it just for the money anyway. And I saw John last time, he says, ‘I agreed with that.’ But there’s a million other points in there. A whole million angles. “I tell you, before this tour, I was tempted to ring everyone up and say, ‘Look, is it true we’re not going to get back together, ‘cause we all pretty much feel like we’re not. And as long as I could get everyone to say, ‘No, we’re definitely not,’ then I could say ‘It’s a definite no-no.’ But I know my feeling, and I think the others’ feeling, in a way, is we don’t want to close the door to anything in the future. We might like it someday.

Paul McCartney, Rolling Stone: Yesterday, Today, and Paul. (June 17th, 1976)

Later/unknown year:

“John phoned me once to try and get the Beatles back together again, after we’d broken up. And I wasn’t for it, because I thought that we’d come too far and I was too deeply hurt by it all. I thought, “Nah, what’ll happen is that we’ll get together for another three days and all hell will break loose again. Maybe we just should leave it alone.”

Paul, November 1995 Club Sandwich interview

“ELLEN: So was there ever a time when both you and John Lennon wanted to reform the Beatles? PAUL: There was a time… let’s put it this way: there was never a time when all four of us wanted to do it. And each time it was always someone different who didn’t fancy it And I’m actually glad of that now. Because the Beatles’ work is a body of work. There’s nothing to be ashamed of there. In the end we decided we should leave well enough alone. The potential disappointment of coming on and not being as good as the Beatles had been… that was a risk we shouldn’t take

Paul McCartney, interview w/ Mark Ellen for Radio Times. (October 20th-26th, 2007)

Quotes from/about John:

1969:

JOHN: The point is, if George leaves, do we want to carry on The Beatles? I do. [inaudible; drowned out by mic feedback] And I’d just get another member of the group and carry on. But if The Beatles split, well, I’ll get another group. [to Paul and Yoko?] I’m a singer not a dancer, baby! Woo-hoo!

January 10th, 1969 (Twickenham Film Studios, London)

Friday, 21 March, John: “Everything we do, we shall be doing together. I don’t mean I shall break up The Beatles, or anything, but we want to share everything.”

The Beatles Off the Record (Keith Badman)

MICHAEL: But funny enough, the other day, when we were talking, he said that he really did not want not to be a Beatle. He said he really looked forward – not, you know. Meaning he didn’t want that screwed up.

[T]he Beatles are always discussing, “Should we go on or shouldn’t we? Why are we together for now?” And what it gets down to is I like playing rock n’ roll and I like making rock n’ roll records. Now, I’ve got either the choice— if I want the whole LP to myself — is to get a few musicians together. Now, I know that— I’ve played with other musicians — just very rarely, but occasionally I’ve played with them — and it needs some work together to get anything going. I don’t like session men, so I try not to use them. I don’t like violinists or anything these days. I try not to use anybody but the Beatles. And if I wanted to make a record I’d chose the Beatles! I can say, “Give me a ‘Be Bop A Lula’”. So therefore, we’ve got that going. And even from a commercial point, when we discuss it, “What’s the biggest selling name? Beatles or John Lennon and The Fabs? Or George Harrison and The Fabs?” Which— Where’s our biggest market? It’s Beatles! Who are our closest friends? Beatles! Who do we have the most arguments with? Beatles. So Beatles is it!

John Lennon and Yoko Ono give a series of interviews at the Apple Corps building at 3 Savile Row, London (Friday, 12 September 1969).

JOHN: See they’re growing up too, you know. And uh, we all want Beatles still cause it’s, it’s a big power and it’s good power, you know. And we’ve no intention of splitting it, you know. Any of us. I can’t be specific about it, you know. But obviously, I’m deeply involved with Yoko, it has some…you know, maybe less reliant on the others but so it goes for the others too, you know. That as we’re all sort of branching out. Which we were occasionally all the time, you know. Like I did How I Won The War, I wrote In His Own Write and Paul wrote the music for Family Way, etc. and George went off to India with sitars and that. So it’s only, you know. We nip off and come back and do some work then nip off again, you know.

John and Yoko gave several interviews on September 12, 1969

[Will] The Beatles split up? It just depends how much we all want to record together. I don’t know if I want to record together again. I go off and on it. I really do.”

John Lennon, interview w/ Alan Smith for NME. (December 13th, 1969)

JOHN: I was really losing interest in just doing the Beatles’ bit – and I think we all were – but Paul did a good job in holding us together for a few years while we were sort of undecided about what to do, you know. And I found out what to do, and it didn’t really have to be with the Beatles. It could have been, if they wanted… But uh, it got that I couldn’t wait for them to make up their minds about peace or whatever. About committing themselves. It’s the same as the songs. So I’ve gone ahead – and I’d have liked them to have come along.

YORKE: Did you ever try to get them into the peace scene?

JOHN: I did a little at first, but I think it was too much like Yoko and me and what we’re doing and trying to get them to come along; and I think they reacted. I hassled them too much, so I’m really leaving them alone. Maybe they’ll come along, wagging their tails behind them, and if not, good luck to them.

John Lennon, interview w/ Ritchie Yorke. (December 23rd, 1969)

“This is why I’ve started with the Plastic Ono and working with Yoko . . . to have more outlet. There isn’t enough outlet for me in the Beatles. The Ono Band is my escape valve. And how important that gets, as compared to the Beatles for me, I’ll have to wait and see.

NEW MUSICAL EXPRESS DECEMBER 13, 1969

1970:

Why do you think he [Paul] has lost interest in Apple?

That’s what I want to ask him! We had a heavy scene last year as far as business was concerned and Paul got a bit fed-up with all the effort of business. I think that’s all it is. I hope so.

John Lennon interviewed by Roy Shipston for Disc and Music Echo (February 28, 1970)

John’s view is: “Okay. If this is it, this is it. We’ve all left the Beatles anyway.” If Paul were to approach him and say, “Let’s do it together again,” he probably would; with no more words, he probably would do it.

The Party's Over for the Beatles - written by Derek Taylor

Now even Lennon was prepared to hint at a positive outcome: 'I've no idea if the Beatles will work together again, or not. I never really have. It was always open. If somebody didn't feel like it, that's it! It could be a rebirth or a death. We'll see what it is. It'll probably be a rebirth.'

You Never Give Me Your Money – Peter Doggett

'Eventually,' McCartney recalled, 'I went and said, "I want to leave. You can all get on with Klein and everything, just let me out." Having not spoken to Lennon for several weeks, he sent him a letter that summer, pleading that the former partners 'let each other out of the trap'. As McCartney testified, Lennon 'replied with a photograph of himself and Yoko, with a balloon coming out of his mouth in which was written, "How and Why?" I replied by letter saying, "How by signing a paper which says we hereby dissolve our partnership. Why because there is no partnership." John replied on a card which said, "Get well soon. Get the other signatures and I will think about it.” Communication was at an end. Yet the press continued to believe, fired by hope more than evidence, that it was only a matter of days before the four men healed their wounds. The stories taunted McCartney, who fired off a letter to the prime offender, Melody Maker: 'Dear Mailbag, In order to put out of its misery the limping dog of a news story which has been dragging itself across your pages for the past year, my answer to the question, "Will the Beatles get together again?"...is no.' He had finally pronounced the verdict that was missing from his self-interview in April: the Beatles were no more.

You Never Give Me Your Money – Peter Doggett (note: John is stalling)

For McCartney, and maybe Harrison and Starkey as well, this signified hope. ‘For about three or four months,' he recalled years later, 'George, Ringo and I rang each other to ask, "Well, is this it, then?" It wasn't that the record company had dumped us. It was just a case of: we might get back together again. Nobody quite knew if it was one of John's little flings, and that maybe he was going to feel the pinch in a week's time and say, “I was only kidding.” I think John did kind of leave the door open. He'd said, “I'm pretty much leaving the group, but...” McCartney testified in 1971, ‘I think all of us (except possibly John) expected we would come together again one day.

You Never Give Me Your Money – Peter Doggett

John: George was on the session for Instant Karma, Ringo’s away and Paul’s – I dunno what he’s doing at the moment, I haven’t a clue.

Interviewer: When did you last see him?

John: Uh, before Toronto. I’ll see him this week actually. If you’re listening, I’m coming round. (Note: as AKOM point out, Toronto was before the divorce meeting. Why is he pretending it never happened?)

Feb 6th 1970 (audio snippet approx 1:14:00)

Interviewer: What about the Beatles all together as a group?

John: As soon as they’re ready, you know, we had half the Beatles on again at the Lyceum Ballroom. Uh it was George and me but we also had Delaney and Bonney and 17 piece band we had on, it was a great experience. Uh it should be like that you know, if we were doing that and all the Beatles wanted to come it would be great, and it would be no great thing about ‘oh the Beatles are coming back on stage’ like they expect, sorta of, Buddha and Mohammad to come on and play. I keep saying that, but that’s the fear the Beatles have, including me as a Beatle, about performing. It’s such a great – so much expected of us, you know, but you see George has been on tour with Bonnie and Delaney playing and I’ve been drifting around playing, it’s just playing isn’t the hang up. It’s going on as the Beatles that’s the problem for us.

1970 (audio snippet approx 1:23:00)

Interviewer: Do you care about making another Beatles album?

John: I think Beatles is a good communication media you know, and I wouldn’t destroy it out of hand or dissolve it out of hand. So that’s what I think about Beatles.

1970 (audio snippet approx 1:41:00)

Interviewer: Why do you think rumours like this start?

John: Because there was a lot of tension around the Allen Klein coming in days and the ATV thing going on, and the Beatles were under a lot of pressure and we had to be together all the time, fighting and arguing and listening to all the different business things. And so we’re taking a break from each other like we always did after a tour end. The business thing is like a heavy tour, in it we may get back in abbey road and a couple of singles and under a great strain you know, doing that business. And so now we’re just taking a break from each other.

1970 (audio snippet approx 1:41:00)

You can’t pin me down because I haven’t got- there’s no- it’s completely open, whether we do it or not. Life is like that, whether I make another Plastic Ono album or Lennon album or anything is open you know, I don’t like to prejudge it. And I have no idea if the Beatles are working together again or not, I never did have, it was always open. If someone didn’t feel like it, that’s it. And maybe if one of us starts it off, the others will all come round and make an album you know.

1970 (audio snippet approx 1:43:00)

In 1964 I produced a book, they were asking me that then, and why should I not write a book? The Beatles wanted me to do it, they wanted me to do these LPs, you know, they have nothing against it – I want George to produce and record any records he wants to. It doesn’t interfere with Beatle time, I use my own time to do other things and so do they. The Beatles will remain, there’s no doubt about that. And we’ve been saying it since She Loves You, we’re together and that’s it.

1970 (audio snippet approx 1:45:00)

I just uh I wanted to do it [announce the breakup] you know, should’ve done it. I think damn, shit, what a fool I was. But there were many pressures at that time, I think Northern Songs and all that was going on, it would’ve upset the whole thing. (Note: again as AKOM point out, the Northern Songs fight ended the day before the divorce meeting. Why would the pressure of Northern Songs impact John's decision not to announce the breakup?)

Lennon Remembers

1971:

INT: I asked Lee Eastman for his view of the split, and what it was that prompted Paul to file suit to dissolve the Beatles' partnership, and he said it was because John asked for a divorce.

JOHN: Because I asked for a divorce? That's a childish reason for going into court, isn't it?

John Lennon interviewed by Peter McCabe and Robert Schonfeld at the St. Regis Hotel, September 5, 1971

Well, there was this Japanese monk, and it happened in the last 20 years. He was in love with this big golden temple, y’know, he really dug it, like—and you know he was so in love with it, he burnt it down so that it would never deteriorate. That’s what I did with the Beatles.

John Lennon, interview w/ Alan Smith for NME: At home with the Lennons. (August 7th, 1971)

MCCABE: Let’s talk a bit about Paul’s aversion to Klein. From what we’ve read it seemed as if this wasn’t there in the beginning, even though Paul wanted the Eastmans to run things. But it came on later as things progressed. And yet despite this, we gather that Klein was still hoping that Paul would return to the group.

JOHN: Oh, he’d love it if Paul would come back. I think he was hoping he would for years and years. He thought that if he did something, to show Paul that he could do it, Paul would come around. But no chance. I mean, I want him to come out of it, too, you know. He will one day. I give him five years, I’ve said that. In five years he’ll wake up.

MCCABE: But Klein is still hoping?

JOHN: He said to me, “Would you do it, if we got your immigration thing fixed? Or if we could get rid of the drug conviction?”

YOKO: And people don’t understand, you know. There’s so many groups that constantly announce they’re going to split, they’re going to split, and they can announce it every year, and it doesn’t mean they’re going to split. But people don’t understand what an extraordinary position the Beatles are in, you know. In every way. They’re in such an extraordinary position that they’re more insecure than other people. And so Klein thinks he’ll give Paul two years Linda-wise, you know. And John said, “No, Paul treasures things like children, things like that. It will be longer.” And of course, John was right.

John Lennon and Yoko Ono, interview w/ Peter McCabe and Robert Schonfeld. (September, 1971)

It was true, that when the group was touring, their work and social relationships were close, but there had been a lot of arguing, mainly about musical and artistic matters. I suppose Paul and George were the main offenders in this respect, but from time to time we all gave displays of temperament and threatened to ‘walk out’. Of necessity, we developed a pattern for sorting out our differences, by doing what any three of us decided. It sometimes took a long time and sometimes there was deadlock and nothing was done, but generally that was the rule we followed and, until recent events, it worked quite well. Even when we stopped touring, we frequently visited each other’s houses in or near London and personally we were on terms as close as we had ever been. If anything, Paul was the most sociable of us. From our earliest days in Liverpool, George and I, on the one hand, and Paul, on the other, had different musical tastes. Paul preferred ‘pop-type’ music and we preferred what is now called ‘underground’. This may have led to arguments, particularly between Paul and George, but the contrast in our tastes, I am sure, did more good than harm, musically speaking, and contributed to our success.

If Paul is trying to break us up because of anything that happened before the Klein–Eastman power struggle, his reasoning does not make sense to me.

John Lennon’s affidavit – From “The Beatles Diary Volume 2: After The Break-Up 1970-2001” by Keith Badman

JOHN: Yeah, Gilbert and Sullivan. I always remember watching the film with Robert Morley and thinking, “We’ll never get to that.” [pause] And we did, which really upset me. But I never really thought we’d be so stupid. But we did.

WIGG: What, like splitting like they did?

JOHN: Like splitting and arguing, you know, and then they come back, and one’s in a wheelchair twenty years later—

YOKO: [laughs] Yes, yes.

JOHN: —and all that. [laughs; bleak] I never thought we’d come to that, because I didn’t think we were that stupid. But we were naive enough to let people come between us. And I think that’s what happened. [pause] But it was happening anyway. I don’t mean Yoko, I mean businessmen, you know. All of them.

October, 1971 (St Regis Hotel, New York)

Q: "Did Klein hope to get Paul back into the group?"

JOHN: (laughs) "He came up with this plan. He said, "Just ring Paul and say, 'We're recording next Friday, are you coming?' So it nearly happened. Then Paul would have forfeited his right to split by joining us again. But Paul would never, never do it, for anything, and now I would never do it."

St Regis Hotel Interview, September 5th, 1971.

John would say things like, ‘It was rubbish. The Beatles were crap.’ Also, ‘I don’t believe in The Beatles, I don’t believe in Jesus, I don’t believe in God.’ Those were quite hurtful barbs to be flinging around, and I was the person they were being flung at, and it hurt. So, I’m having to read all this stuff, and on the one hand I’m thinking, ‘Oh fuck off, you fucking idiot,’ but on the other hand I’m thinking, ‘Why would you say that? Are you annoyed at me or are you jealous or what?’ And thinking back fifty years later, I still wonder how he must have felt. He’d gone through a lot. His dad disappeared, and then he lost his Uncle George, who was a father figure; his mother; Stuart Sutcliffe; Brian Epstein, another father figure; and now his band. But John had all of those emotions wrapped up in a ball of Lennon. That’s who he was. That was the fascination.

I tried. I was sort of answering him here, asking, ‘Does it need to be this hurtful?’ I think this is a good line: ‘Are you afraid, or is it true?’ – meaning, ‘Why is this argument going on? Is it because you’re afraid of something? Are you afraid of the split-up? Are you afraid of my doing something without you? Are you afraid of the consequences of your actions?’ And the little rhyme, ‘Or is it true?’ Are all these hurtful allegations true? This song came out in that kind of mood. It could have been called ‘What the Fuck, Man?’ but I’m not sure we could have gotten away with that then.

Paul McCartney, on “Dear Friend”. In The Lyrics (2021).

Q: “If you got, I don’t know what the right phrase is… ‘back together’ now, what would be the nature of it?” JOHN: “Well, it’s like saying, if you were back in your mother’s womb… I don’t fucking know. What can I answer? It will never happen, so there’s no use contemplating it. Even if I became friends with Paul again, I’d never write with him again. There’s no point. I write with Yoko because she’s in the same room with me.” YOKO: “And we’re living together.” JOHN: “So it’s natural. I was living with Paul then, so I wrote with him. It’s whoever you’re living with. He writes with Linda. He’s living with her. It’s just natural.””

St. Regis Hotel Interview, September 5, 1971

1973:

My last question was inevitable… Any chance of us seeing the four Beatles on a stage or record together again? “There’s always a chance,” grinned John. “As far as I can gather from talking to them all, nobody would mind doing some work together again. There’s no law that says we’re not going to do something together, and no law that says we are. If we did do something I’m sure it wouldn’t be permanent. We’d do it just for that moment. I think we’re closer now than we have been for a long time. I call the split the divorce period and none of us ever thought there’d be a divorce like that. “That’s the way things turned out. We know each other well enough to talk about it.””

John Lennon, interview w/ Chris Charlesworth for Melody Maker. (November 3rd, 1973)

MINTZ: Would you want to initiate that happening?

JOHN: Uh… Well, I couldn’t say. [long pause]

MINTZ: If you could, I mean is it something you would like to see yourself doing?

JOHN: If I could… I don’t know, Elliot, because you know me, I go on instinct. And if the idea hit me tomorrow, you know, I might call them and say, “Come on, let’s do something.” And so I couldn’t really tell you. If it happens, it’ll happen.

MINTZ: So it’s not something that you would totally rule out as never taking place again?

JOHN: No, no. My memories are now all fond and the wounds are healed. And if we do it, we do it, if we record, we record. I don’t know. As long as we make music.

November 1st/10th, 1973 (Malibu, Los Angeles): For Eyewitness News on KABC TV Los Angeles, Elliot Mintz

1974:

“No, no, no,” he answered and he meant it. “I’m going to be an ex-Beatle for the rest of my life so I might as well enjoy it, and I’m just getting around to being able to stand back and see what happened. A couple of years ago I might have given everybody the impression I hate it all, but that was then. I was talking when I was straight out of therapy and I’d been mentally stripped bare and I just wanted to shoot my mouth off to clear it all away. Now it’s different.

“When I slagged off the Beatle thing in the papers, it was like divorce pangs, and me being me it was blast this and fuck that, and it was just like the old days in the Melody Maker, you know, ‘Lennon Blasts Hollies’ on the back page. You know, I’ve always had a bit of a mouth and I’ve got to live up to it. Daily Mirror: ‘Lennon beats up local DJ at Paul’s 21st birthday party’. Then we had that fight Paul and me had through the Melody Maker, but it was a period I had to go through.

John Lennon, interview w/ Ray Coleman for Melody Maker: Lennon – a night in the life. (September 14th, 1974)

John seemed to be in a very strange state of mind about the dissolution. From the hints he had dropped since we had been together, I had learned that John’s departure from the Beatles had essentially been Yoko’s idea. Without Yoko to drive him forward, he felt strangely ambivalent about officially ending the Beatles at that moment. By nature, also, he felt inclined to take a position opposite from that of Paul McCartney. Paul desperately wanted that agreement signed. Whether or not it was the best thing for him to do, John, on principle, was inclined not to want to sign it.

May Pang, Loving John. (1983)

I’ll tell you exactly why I said that. We had a business meeting to break up The Beatles, one of the famous ones that we’d been having — we’re still having them 17 years later, actually. We all flew in to New York specially. George came off his disastrous tour, Ring of flew in and we were at the Plaza for the big final settlement meeting. John was half a mile away at the Dakota and he sent a balloon over with a note that said ‘Listen to this balloon.’ I mean, you’ve got to be pretty cool to handle that kind of stuff.

George blew his cool and rang him up: ’You fucking maniac!! You take your fucking dark glasses off and come and look at us, man!!’ and gave him a whole load of that shit. Around the same time at another meeting we had it all settled, and John asked for an extra million pounds at the last minute. So of course that meeting blew up in disarray. Later, when we got a bit friendlier — and from time to time there would be these little stepping-stones of friendship in the Apple sea — I asked him why he’d actually wanted that million and he said, I just wanted cards to play with. It’s absolutely standard business practice. He wanted a couple of jacks to up your pair of nines. He was one great guy, but part of his greatness was that he wasn’t a saint.

Paul McCartney: An Innocent Man? (October, 1986) (note: John is STILL stalling)

At that moment, John was at his most unpredictable. Suddenly his fears that his money was going to be taken away from him, that he was going to be cheated, that he had to have as much money as possible, had all come into play. This was also John’s way of resisting the reality that the Beatles were officially about to come to end, and that Paul was about to prevail.

Loving John, MAY PANG (1983)

1975:

“At the time I was thinking that I didn’t want to do all that Beatles—but now I feel differently. I’ve lost all that negativity about the past and I’d be happy as Larry to do ‘Help’. I’ve just changed completely in two years. I’d do ‘Hey Jude’ and the whole damn show, and I think George will eventually see that. If he doesn’t, that’s cool. That’s the way he wants to be.”

John Lennon, interview w/ Chris Charlesworth for Melody Maker: Rock on! (March 8th, 1975)

1976:

“I’ve always felt that splitting up was a mistake in many ways” John Lennon has said, and he believes a Beatles revival “would undoubtedly produce some great music.”

Australian Woman’s Weekly, 1976

1980:

“I and the other three former Beatles have plans to stage a reunion concert…” (Part of a statement in the legal disposition brought by Apple Corps against the ‘Beatlemania’ stage musical for trademark infringement. John was referring to an event that was to be filmed for a documentary being put together by Neil Aspinall. It was abandoned/shelved after John’s death, but ultimately became the Anthology project)

John Lennon, 1980

“Just days before his brutal death, John was making plans to go to England for a triumphant Beatles reunion. His greatest dream was to recreate the musical magic of the early years with Paul, George and Ringo … (he) felt that they had traveled different paths for long enough. He felt they had grown up and were mature enough to try writing and recording new songs.”

Yoko Ono, quoted in The Beatles: The Dream Is Over - Off The Record 2 by Keith Badman

[lordeemailarchive]

Pure Heroine turns 10

(27/09/2023) (PH 10 YEAR ANNIVERSARY DISPATCH)

Living in Ruins of a Palace within My Dreams

Photo by Simeon Patience

Hi,

Firstly, I wanna say thank you for your extremely supportive and kind messages after my last newsletter. I genuinely feel deeply cared for, less alone, and more sure that things will be okay after sending it! Albeit with a slight overshare hangover. I think a part of me knew that I had hit a wall, and that I needed to invite in the compassion and understand I’d been struggling to generate on my own, and then I’d have something to draw from and mirror. It feels like it’s working. I feel incredibly grateful that we have this relationship, that we can each give when the other needs it. Beautiful stuff x

Now, might U have noticed it’s 2013 mode round here????????? Yes that’s right, it’s a very special anniversary… Pure Heroine is... ˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡TEN ˚*ੈ✩‧₊˚ YEARS ˚༘♡ ⋆｡˚ OLD ੈ✩‧₊˚ TODAY ! ˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚

You may (like me most of the time) hold the opinion that this album has been MYTHOLOGISED QUITE ENOUGH, but a milestone is a milestone, so I thought coming here and typing some shit to u about this time would be a fun thing for those who care.

2 xxxxtra special ltd time only commemorative designs by Hassan, who did the original of this bootleg tee 10 years ago❤️

It’s close to midnight, and I’ve just finished scrolling through my entire computer and phone archive from 2011-2013. Going on this memory lane ride has reminded me, for one thing, what a different time it was technologically. We were just starting to be able to see ourselves in real time, but we weren’t constantly connected. I had an iPod touch until halfway through 2013, which didn’t have a front camera or internet access, and my sister and I shared a MacBook, which is where we did our schoolwork and I wrote my lyrics. I took my first few years of selfies on Photo Booth…. Just let that… sink in!!!

Note the Royals Nat Geo pic in background— it’s happening...

When I was fourteen, my greatest work of art was my bedroom. A very cool, very classic teenage bedroom, Andie’s and Duckie’s from Pretty in Pink meets the Virgin Suicides— fairy lights, fabric on the ceiling, candles, stolen road signs (badman), paper lanterns, beer crate shelves, magazine pictures and club night posters and permanent marker on the walls. Bliss! I’d sit up there and vibe out, taking a lot of selfies. Creating a small-scale work of art using the self, and then examining the product from every angle, was the best method I had to express myself and exercise creativity at that time, and I now see it as an important PH incubation phase, whether I knew it or not. Something really amazing about a young person starting to see their own face and body for the first time, coming to a very secret understanding that they are beautiful. 

I started to smoke weed, which gave me a deeper understanding of sensory pleasure, and allowed me to start to see my world as a possible work of art. I’d go on long walks around the neighbourhood, and began to mythologise the stuff around me (big empty floodlit rugby fields/bus rides/dark streets/boredom/isolation) into the motifs that would become Pure Heroine. I wore a lot of like, navy lipsticks from the 2 dollar shop. God, this aesthetic, It’s just TOO MUCH.

At some point in here, I met Joel, and another piece of the puzzle clicked into place. When you’re a teenager, you’re particularly sensitive to adults being condescending to you, not respecting the specific and finely tuned skills you have because of the ones you don’t. I was always on the look out for it, and from the first day meeting Joel, I knew that he would never give me that feeling. Which I’m sure wasn’t easy — my wallet at the time was the foot of a pair of tights that I cut off and knotted at the top — but somehow from the very beginning he made me feel like my ideas had value, like we were peers, in the most sensitive and age-appropriate way. 

My view for thousands of hours making this album

We got on a call earlier this week and broke down the complete history of making the album. We both agreed that making Pure Heroine was deeply exciting and intimate and free, and still one of our most treasured experiences. I’ve linked it here.The second half of 2013 is when I really met the world, went to America and Australia and Europe for the first time. I found an incredible (for some reason Christmas themed) disposable camera image of my stage outfits all over the floor of my hotel room, which really sums up how ad hoc everything was at the beginning — a jetlagged sixteen year old, late for lobby call and frantically stuffing thousands of dollars of borrowed clothes into a suitcase. 

In this stage, it felt like I pulled everything off by the skin of my teeth. Every week was the most exciting week of my whole life, I was so tired and still didn’t have a winter coat and took everyone clamouring for a piece of me completely for granted. I had zero cultural context, had no idea if an interview or TV show was huge or small, and so breezed through it all truly not giving a fuck. I am not a naturally nonchalant person, it was literally just too much to care about, I could hardly get up in the morning, so I just said absolutely whatever I felt like, all kinds of wild shit, if someone did something corny I’d say so, I was ruthless in that way that only teens are. Then through that year we went on our first tours, met you guys for the first time, hours and hours of hugs after the show, my favourite part so far and where it started to feel real for me. James took a lot of beautiful film photos through that time, and I’m really grateful he did.

Ten years goes really fast. One minute you’re wearing a leather collar with a giant crystal hanging off it to a Chanel party, and the next you’re blonde. A lot of stuff isn’t good after ten years. But I am still totally touched by this sweet record. I have deep respect for the vision of the little one making it. 

Going back through all of this has reminded me of something that feels important to point out, whether you make art or not: everything starts out as a bunch of bullshit in a laptop. Pure Heroine was a handful of Photo Booth selfies and emotional Word documents and Tumblr posts (and a gorgeous over-decorated bedroom) before it was even one song. I had no reason, on paper, to believe that I was capable of anything. But if you can trust that the first impulse you had to create came from a place of deep wisdom, develop a few principles for your decision-making, and absorb a lot of stuff you find inspiring, you’ll have something special on your hands. Pure Heroine exists because I had the tiniest inkling of what I’ve now come to see as one of my guiding principles: that each of us have a handful of songs inside us that are ours, and only ours, to sing. Your specific interests and upbringing and physiology and experiences exist only in you; you are sitting on a gold mine that no one can rob. Whatever that means to you, whatever that statement you were born to make is, I invite you to take a big breath and make it.

All my love for another ten years of all this, and more, and more—

Ella XXXXXXXXXX

(source: received this email)

[haveyoulistenedtothisalbum-poll]

Tracklist:

Eek a Riddim inna Khaki suit • Skimpy Burgers • Heavyweight Survival • Badman Tings • Busted • Sleng Teng Dis • Be with me

Bandcamp

[grogrock]

26/10/24

Tears for Fears - Songs for a Nervous Planet (2024)

22 songs; 7 added, 31.81%

This one's on the go, I'm waiting for my film. So if the formatting weird, forgive it.

I didn't listen, specifically, to this album, I made a point to go see the live film, and booked the afternoon off from work to do it. And then I dozed off through Woman in Chains and Badman's Song.

Something I noticed in their introduction, not when it was announced, was that it was 'A Tipping Point Film', not 'The Tipping Point Film', legitimising all of the fan phone ones

[theditchlillies]

Lorde // Pure Heroine // 27 September 2013

"When I was fourteen, my greatest work of art was my bedroom. A very cool, very classic teenage bedroom, Andie’s and Duckie’s from Pretty in Pink meets the Virgin Suicides— fairy lights, fabric on the ceiling, candles, stolen road signs (badman), paper lanterns, beer crate shelves, magazine pictures and club night posters and permanent marker on the walls. Bliss! I’d sit up there and vibe out, taking a lot of selfies. Creating a small-scale work of art using the self, and then examining the product from every angle, was the best method I had to express myself and exercise creativity at that time, and I now see it as an important PH incubation phase, whether I knew it or not. Something really amazing about a young person starting to see their own face and body for the first time, coming to a very secret understanding that they are beautiful. " - Ella Marija Lani Yelich O'Connor

Featuring 2 pieces of confetti from the Pure Heroine tour that I've saved all these years, as well as scans of my much loved CD copy of the album.

[temperadamente]

On July 26, 1970, John recorded demos of "God"; September 26 records more demos (including other songs) and releases the album "Plastic Ono Band" in DECEMBER 1970. In "God" we have the lines "and so, dear friends, you'll just to carry on. The dream is over." And, in JANUARY 1971, during the "Ram" sessions, Paul recorded "Dear Friend", which became part of the Wings album "Wild Life", released only in December of the same year. In the song we have the lines "Is this really the border line? Does it really mean so much to you?" and then "Are you afraid, or is it true?"

I don't know, it looks something like:

"So, John... Is the dream really over? Does this new life mean a lot to you now? Is it true? Or are you scared?"

recording info: The Beatles Diary Volume 2: After The Break-Up 1970-2001, Keith Badman

[haveihitanerve]

so um

sometimes when i watch tff vids i write commentary in my notes. and i stumbled across this little gem a second ago and thought i might share my crazed thoughts

Bro i just love seeing curt dancing and singing the songs in the background because he fucking wrote them and has heard roland sing them so many times now its their songs and i just love it and then when he steps up and they sing together…. Omg. their voices are so perfect for each other. Platonic soulmates. Meant to be. Their voices. Mwah. *chefs kiss*

AWWWWWW and that moment they played to each other OMG SO CUTE

AHHHH in everybody wants to ulr the world curt starts walking towards roland, ro,land looks at him, they grin, and curt slowly starts walking backwards away from him again. AHHH its too cute

Aw. but only curt did the slight fist pump. Roland moved his arm but only to play the guitar

OMG OMG THEY SANG SECRET WORLD??????? I DON'T REMEMEBER THAT BUT FUCK YEAH

Its 100% a him and curt song, look at how he looked at curt at that one part!!!!!!

LOOK AT HOW THEYRE GRINNING WHILE SINGING THIS SONG. BOTH OF THEM HAVE EAR TO EAR GRINS!!!!!!!!!

Ooh and roland tried to walk to curt but he wasn't paying attention. Oof

DAMN he can still hit those high notes!!! Whew. 

‘Primarily because its the nearest venue to my house’ gods i love their dry humor. Roland did it too.

Also i love that roland said ‘my house is ten minutes away’ and curt also said ‘close to my house’ are they talking about the same house? Are they neighbors? Is it really curts house and roland just considers it his? Like whats going on? Id like some answers pls

‘for those of you that can do math. Or maths as we call it in england’ like the dryness is unmatched

I really hate to say this, but curt cannot hear himself right now. At the beginning, then he gets it. They really ought to work on that.

Also rolands low bass mixing with his is beautiful. I know i say it a lot but hot damn

AWWW and i love how everyone knew immediately to pull out their cameras at the right song. So they all know the album. I love that for tff.

And yes they do sound amazing random lady who imma call stacy in the crowd

AND FUCK THE BLENDING OF THE VOICES AGAIN

Drop me in the infinite sea. -curt is a water sign….. Just saying -

Oop i remember this part of the concert- ‘our songs are more famous than we are’ ‘visa with special talent. I cant tell you what that talent is’ ‘and he says, ‘who?’’ also whoever that dude in the crowd is who yelled ‘he sucked’ aimed at the tsa agent, i agree ‘Young kids with funny haircuts’ 

OMG OMG OOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHH MYYYYYYYY GODDDDDDD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THEY HAVE THE ORGINAL VID OF ROLAND DANCING PLAYING IN THE VDIEO BEHIND THEM IN MAD WORLD 

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

hrm. like i support the girl and all, but i dont think she should get the rights to sing suffer the children.

The new girl for oleta adams can sing tho. The other girl can too. She just shouldn't sing suffer the chilrden. My opnion at least

‘How do you follow that?’ ‘that was track one’ ‘probably best to follow it with trac two’ 

I cant with you roland

OOOOOH i love curts dancing for badmans song. And his mouthing of the words

And the way roland keeps checking on curt. Damn bro. Checking up on bae be like

AWWWW THEYRE DOING IT!!!!! CHECKING UP ON BAE

And fuck you roland. Curts looking at his hands and roland is just watching him, his fingers effortlessly moving across the frets. SMH. i wish i had that talents.

ND ROLANDS FACE AT THE END. LIKE 'hm good job'. And curt just fucking grins at him

OOOOOOOH FUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HE FUCKING DID IT!!!! HE STILL GOT IT!!!!!! 

[khalidistan]

I'm being mildly facetious but I also just have been thinking abt this so I'm gonna ramble, this is also gonna mostly be abt drake's verse bc (stares at a wall)

who told you badman don't dance? / who told you gangsters don't dance? even with a weap on my hip, I dance

this lyric is saying how men who are typically viewed as "tough" are still able to indulge in lightness and joy. when hus says "even with a weap on my hip, I dance" he's contrasting the image of the violent, fighting man with the levity of dancing

touch my forehead, chest, left shoulder, then right side / praying my brothers are good outside / I know the vibes, I know the vibes

aside from the fact that drake is jewish and will more often than not don islamic aesthetics (affectionate. literally he should do it more. I want him to say wallahi on the next album) yet is doing the holy cross prayer (? what is the term for this), this part could (in my analogy) relate to praying your comrades are still safe through the revolutionary struggle

you're the one, girl, stop rolling eyes / I find love and it slowly dies

this is like. I really like songs that have this sharp lyrical contrast between love/pursuit/romance and the internal/existential dread, anik does this a lot in his music too. like through all the pain they're still trying to find love and flirt and impress but this little voice in the back of their minds says "I find love and it slowly dies" this also relates to the fact that during armed struggle your lover could literally die. like killed by the colonizer.

trouble is there, trouble is there / trouble been right there, trouble is there / trouble gon' find me anywhere, trouble gon' find me, bubble and wine-y

this part is so resigned, like accepting one's circumstances (see next pull-quote too) and yet drake switches it with "yeah anyways, bubble and winey" I could connect this to constant/hyper-surveillance, deliberate targeting by the state, or just plain bad luck no matter what you do to resist it, but also this is an afrobeats song with drake

they want me dead, but, don't remind me / both hands around you, it's not tiny

we've gone from accepting one's suboptimal/grim circumstances to accepting one's mortality, potentially premature mortality. and yet he pushes it to the back of his brain to focus on the present and his lover. like is that not revolutionary or what (my internet disconnects

if you read to the end of this post I am so sorry for subjecting you to my psychic damage. hope you enjoyed. this is what happens when you let leftists listen to drake

[rastronomicals]

8:19 PM EST December 5, 2022:

The Stone Roses - “Bye Bye Badman” From the album The Stone Roses (March 13, 1989)

Last song scrobbled from iTunes at Last.fm

[thebandcampdiaries]

Zanda Elwood is back with a new album: Amongst Da Khaos

(You can also get the audio version of this article at the bottom of the page)

Zanda Elwood’s album Amongst Da Khaos is a personal reflection on life’s challenges and growth. Rooted in hip-hop, rap, and RnB, it touches on themes like street life, mental health, relationships, and resilience. Zanda uses raw, authentic poetry to explore his experiences, especially focusing on the turbulence and chaos that have shaped him.

The album features 22 songs. This is particularly impressive because it takes a substantial amount of work and effort to make it happen. Long-format releases are really difficult to complete in this day and age, especially as artists are constantly pressured to release singles instead of LPs. There is nothing wrong with releasing singles, but the risk is that fans will miss out on the immersive nature of a full-length listening experience such as a complete album. Zanda decided to really go against the grain with this one, releasing what could be essentially described as a double album. One of the benefits of being able to put out so much music is the ability to showcase different sides of one's artistry and vision. This is most definitely the case of Amongst Da Khaos.

The album emerges from Melbourne’s music scene and represents Zanda’s evolution as an artist, as well has his ambitious take on hip-hop. Starting as a bedroom artist, Zanda grew into the city's vibrant soundscape, where he continues to channel his life struggles into music. The project reflects on how he has overcome various personal battles, making it an immersive listening experience that blends storytelling with emotional depth. Keep reading for song-by-song breakdown.

Amongst Da Khaos (Intro) – Zanda Elwood

The album intro is a mood setter, and it feels like a perfect beginning to this diverse record. The song has a very ethereal sound, with acoustic guitar arpeggio sampled over a punchy beat.

Tummy Tuck – Zanda Elwood, Andrew Simpson

This feature with Andrew Simpson retains a very atmospheric vibe in the intro, but it quickly morphs into a heavy hitter. The urgency of the flow adds to the aggressive edge of the sound, and the articulation of the beat adds a modern touch to this release.

Badman – Zanda Elwood

This song has something different to offer. Zanda showcases his ability to go for a more melodic side and his versatility as a storyteller with lyrics that are very memorable and easy to relate to while still remaining honest and dynamic.

Nada – Zanda Elwood, Slothy

This track features Slothy, and its a return to a darker, moodier sound. The beat has a brooding quality, which matches the intensity of the delivery and the unique touch of this performance.

Forza – Zanda Elwood, Jteazy, Jake Mack, Slothy

The title of this song translates to “strength” in Italian, and it’s indeed another banger with thick bass tones and a powerful mix that sets the bar higher right off the bat. The energy is through the roof and this would be the kind of track that would really kill in a live setting.

Skeleton – Zanda Elwood

"Skeleton" features a more mellow beat adorned with a stunning piano part, where space between the kicks and claps allows Zanda’s vocals to take center stage and showcase his more emotional side. The track has a haunting quality, with melodic ambiance floating over the track’s foundation. Zanda explores darker themes, blending vulnerability with strength, giving listeners a deep, introspective moment.

Talk Right – Zanda Elwood, Lavez, Slothy

This track blends trap rhythms with melodic elements, creating a smooth yet hard-hitting sound. The track retains a very atmospheric feel, but at the same time, the delivery by all artists involved really goes hard, especially as the drum beat takes off and keeps a harder pace.

In To Deep – Zanda Elwood, Loeaze

"In To Deep" has a dreamy, atmospheric beat that contrasts with the sensual and lustful lyrics. There is also room for a tastefully syncopated drum pattern, which is reminiscent of modern Afro-Beat aesthetics.

How You Doin'? – Zanda Elwood

This is perhaps the most catchy and uplifting song on the album. The beat has a true early 2000s vibe, with a funky twist that is reminiscent of production greats such as Timbaland or Dre. The rap flow is impeccable as well, highlighting yet another side of Zanda’s incredible talent and versatility.

Señorita – Zanda Elwood

"Señorita" blends Latin influences with trap, adding a touch of flair to the usual hard-hitting beats, this time accompanied by a clean electric guitar part that adds so much rhythm and melody all at once. The beat strays from the usual 808 type drum machine sound, going for a more uptempo pop vibe that really brings some variety to the album.

Ra-Ta-Tata – Zanda Elwood

The trap beat is punchy, with tight hi-hats and a deep bassline creating a strong foundation for Zanda’s flow. This is perhaps one of the heaviest tracks on the album when it comes to bass content in the mix, as it builds a truly massive wall of sound, while retaining a minimalistic tone.

Early Lemon Berry – Zanda Elwood

This track leans into a more mellow trap beat, but it also showcases Zanda’s respect for the old-school rap scene. The flow has a classic vibe, which really stands out and sets the bar higher, but showcasing that sometimes “less is more.” Zanda’s flow is never flashy, as he know that the genuine content of his lyrics and storytelling is already enough to really make the song special.

Caffine – Zanda Elwood

This song is a heavy hitter, but at the same time it's also a very personal background that gives more insights into the upbringing of this artist.

BLVD – Zanda Elwood, Loeaze

Zanda and Loeaze set out to bring a modern vibe with this one, and the production is really engaging, with a lot of stop-and-go features that make it so dynamic. There are many highs and lows in terms of the track being kind of like a rollercoaster, with different rhythms and melodic parts colliding.

If I Try – Zanda Elwood, Jayden Hope

"If I Try" brings a more melodic element into the mix, with Jayden Hope's vocals adding more depth to the track. The guitars are crisp and expressive, perfectly merging with the rest of the beat, but allowing the vocals to really stand out in this production.

Bad Company – Zanda Elwood

"Bad Company" is a gritty, raw track with heavy bass and another nod to old-school hip-hop. The saturation on the bass drum especially is very tasteful, adding more crunch to the mix, but still allowing the vocals to shine.

Breezy – Zanda Elwood, Jye Simpson, Lil Sknow

Zanda, Jye Simpson, and Lil Sknow deliver some of the best performances on the album. The first verse is crazy, with a lot of sustained phrasing that bring so much energy to the song, without overpowering it. This song brings so much variety to the mix, and it really works.

Know The Pilot – Zanda Elwood, Slothy

Know The Pilot" combines haunting melodies with a heavy but slow trap beat, creating a moody soundscape that contrasts with the aggressive edge of the vocals.

RTS – Zanda Elwood

It’s always impressive when rappers are able to go without an actual drum beat in the intro and keep their groove with their vocals alone: this is exactly what’s happening here, as the vocals really drive this song, keeping a relentless pace even when the beat relaxes.

Lana Del Rey – Zanda Elwood

"Lana Del Rey" stands out with its dreamy tone, with a hooky and soft piano that adds a beautiful texture throughout the mix. The vocals are unique, so expressive, almost like poetry to music.

No, No, No – Zanda Elwood

This is another contender when it comes to being one of the catchiest songs on the album, and it’s one of the release’s best tracks. This is the kind of song that would drive people crazy at a club!

See Through – Zanda Elwood

"See Through" closes the album on a reflective note, with atmospheric synths and a slow trap beat creating a moody vibe. Zanda’s introspective lyrics are as personal as ever, serving as a very intimate yet still powerful ending to this epic album.

To conclude, this album is a monumental achievement that not many rappers, established or up-and-coming, would dare to even attempt. Inspired by artists like ChillinIt, Post Malone, and Jelly Roll, Amongst Da Khaos stands out for its honesty and exploration of real-life situations. It's a documentation of Zanda’s journey and how he’s turned chaos into art.

[latestupdates2022]

Free Lyrics by Timaya

Free Lyrics by Timaya Timaya Lyrics Read the official lyrics for “Free” by Timaya below. Free, the sixth track on Timaya’s new album, Gladiators, is a captivating blend of infectious beats and soulful lyrics. Gladiator Album Cover Art Timaya – Free Lyrics Hey yo Badman FreeFree my mindFree my mindFreeFree my mindFree my mindFree from bad energyFree like a birdFreeFree my mind That’s why I dey…

[reggae-vibes-com]

Junior Murvin - Badman Possee

Junior Murvin - Badman Possee | Well Sharp Records proudly presents the inaugural reissue of Junior Murvin's second album. #wellsharprecords #juniormurvin #leeperry #mikeydread #rootsradics Read the full article

[haveyoulistenedtothisalbum-poll]

Tracklist:

Sheezus • L8 CMMR • Air Balloon • Our Time • Insincerely Yours • Take My Place • As Long as I Got You • Close Your Eyes • URL Badman • Silver Spoon • Life for Me • Hard out Here • Interlude • Somewhere Only We Know

Spotify ♪ YouTube

[halationorganization]

Doppelgenger 3rd Album『Eternal Journey』

前作Acceptから8年の時を経て、遂に3rd Album完成！ Psydub、Psybreaksを濾過し、Hip Hop、Dub、Jungle…様々な要素を盛り込んだ完全オリジナルDoppelgenger Worldが此処に。

Doppelgenger /Eternal Journey

GRZCD-007

1.Dub You Crazy 2.Hanazono City 3.Tsutenkaku 4.Antonio Adrian 5.Before or After 6.Eternal Journey 7.Magic Water 8.Mountain Lion 9.Badman Riddim 10.Slow Motion

[airadam]

Episode 175 : You're Forced To Chill

"Speaking to the people that matter, with my mind."

- Grap

While a lot of December up this way has been surprisingly mild, but there was an absolutely vicious period - was lucky that the heating in the house only died after the worst had passed. Still, it's fixed now, so I didn't freeze to death putting this episode together! As we draw towards the end of the year, the themes here might be wintery and seasonal, but the tunes are heat :)

As promised, here's the link for WORKINONIT - definitely support this collective (and the venue that hosts the monthly events!) if you want to support grassroots talent 💯

Twitch : @airadam13

Mastodon : @airadam@mastodon.me.uk

Show/Stream Schedule : events.airadam.com

Playlist/Notes

Median : Median Alleviates The Drama

A deep cut from the heyday of the Justus League, with 9th Wonder (of course) chopping it up on this breezy beat for his Winston-Salem, North Carolina, compatriot to get busy on. You may not know Median as he only recorded two albums, his last in 2011, but he's a grounded yet imaginative writer who is well worth your listening time. Of interest to many who do take the time to dig into his history will be "Brenda's Baby" from the 2007 "Median's Relief" LP, his sequel to 2Pac's famous "Brenda's Got A Baby".

Soul Supreme : Mood Swings

Big shout to Jim Bane of Eastern Bloc who gifted me the "Poetic Justice" LP on wax for my birthday earlier this year! Amsterdam's Soul Supreme has been giving us quality music for a long while now, but in recent times has been locked in what sounds like an awful legal dispute with a record company and another producer. Despite still being in the thick of it, he delivers his commentary in the form of instrumental music on this album, which is even clearer when you read the track titles. The interplay between the horns and his keyboard work are the highlight on this particular track, but for the full effect, sit down and listen to the whole album end-to-end.

Cookin Soul : Kamaal Xmas Time

Cookin Soul usually comes out with a special Xmas release each year, mixing up an artist you know well with seasonal sample flips. This track comes from the 2002 "A Tribe Called Xmas" collection, and takes Q-Tip's verse from "Mind Power" and adds on a few more lines I can't place before going full Christmas - but keeping that boom-bap!

Noveliss & Mega Ran : Memory Card

One of the OGs of leaning fully into video game culture in Hip-Hop alongside the Clear Soul Forces veteran and manga writer Noveliss? You know the references are going to be fire. Hir-O provides the beat, and both MCs bring it as they centre the concept of the memory card (ask your parents if you don't know) on this standout from their "Maverick Hunters" album.

Bounty Killer, A.R.P, Curly, and Tulokk  : Evils Of Your Mind (Edited)

Devil on one shoulder, devil on the other? Almost like a dancehall version of Eminem's "Guilty Conscience" (especially with that second voice), this is a big single from 2001 on the "Heavyweight" riddim that also appears on the 2002 "Ghetto Dictionary : The Mystery" album as "Evils Of The Mind". 2002 was a busy time for the Warlord, who also dropped "Ghetto Dictionary : The Art Of War" that same year.

Kuartz & Vybz Kartel : Clarks (Kuartz Real Badman Remix)

If you're a DJ, especially in a city like Manchester where crowds react to big sounds, get "Hybrid Dialects" just for this monster! A local producer with worldwide rep and reach, Kuartz has done the home scene proud and on his latest release, the industrial, digital vibes come through loud and clear. The cold, wintery feel on the intro make it a perfect inclusion this dark month. Kuartz bends and effects the voice of Vybz Kartel as much as any other instrument on the track, making for a sound system killer! 

Da Beatminerz & KRS-ONE : Seckle

KRS was one of the first to really bring that reggae/dancehall flavour into the Hip-Hop arena, and Da Beatminerz have had that as an element of their style since they debuted on the production for the first Black Moon album, so this is a union you know is going to come correct. Slow and low single, with the soundclash samples at the front, back, and in the hook, this loping, skipping beat allows Kris to come through clear as a bell on the mic, still, after almost forty years of recording. Continue to enjoy new artists, but support the veterans too!

NYG'z ft. Rave : Itz On

Rugged and triumphant in equal measure, this was the big opening track on the first and so far only LP from NYG'z, "Welcome 2 G-Dom" from 2007. Guest emcee Rave (sometimes credited elsewhere as R.A.V.E Roulette) features on six of the album's fifteen tracks, which definitely puts him in "honourary group member" territory! Production is handled by DJ Premier, who also released this album on his own label Year Round Records - truly backing this crew in every way possible. PS - the apostrophe setup in the artist name and song title are verbatim from the release, don't come after me :)

Paul Wall & Termanology : Talk About It

As I say, you might not think that Houston's Paul Wall and Lawrence (Massachussetts) native Termanology are the most obvious MC pairing in the world, but my goodness, they fit togther perfectly. They already gave us one excellent LP in "Start 2 Finish" and now they're back with "Start, Finish, Repeat". It might just be in my head, but it feels like they each lean towards each other - Paul Wall with slightly more wordplay in his flow, and Termanology dialling back on the trademark syllable barrages he can unleash at any time. Large Professor bases his production around a great soul sample I added to my own collection this year, spices up the hook with some cuts.

Curren$y ft. Mac Miller : Money Shot

I've always been iffy about including this one from 2014's "More Saturday Night Car Tunes" - partly because the sound quality isn't great, but also because if I'm honest, I don't think the late Mac Miller's verse on this is his finest work. That said, I know many people online disagree with me and love it! Curren$y is solid here, but for me, the real star is the production by Sap - taking a great late 70s slow jam sample, and speeding it up (which speaks to how slow the original is), layering a suitably straightforward drum track, and then trying to turn your speakers inside out in the closing seconds! I blend out during that segment, just in case...don't want any of you coming after me for damages 😄

Luxury Elite : Parkway

A bit of vaporwave for this interlude, pure 80s vibes on this slow, moody instrumental from the "World Class" album. Luxury Elite digs out some of those really obscure 80s samples for her work, and it's all about just vibing out to the loops and little change-ups.

Mega Ran, Young RJ, Erick Roberson, Abstract Orchestra, Daru Jones, Marcel P. Black : Black Is Beautiful

Apologies to Marcel P. Black - the digital file I read the artist information on at first didn't have his name, but he kills it on the third verse and rightly deserves major respect here. This is a gorgeous and poetic track about Blackness from the 2020 "2 Hands Up" album by Young RJ and Mega Ran, which is not just (or even mostly) about police violence, but a varied and well-rounded LP. Young RJ produces this one in not just the sense of getting on a beat machine, but pulling in Leeds crew Abstract Orchestra, frequent collaborators with the Detroit scene, plus the Grammy-winning drummer Daru Jones and shaping the union into this exceptional song.

Amp Fiddler : Eye To Eye

I first heard this track on a Qool DJ Marv mix, and it was years before I could tell you who the artist was! It turned out to be just one facet of the talents of the brilliant Joseph "Amp" Fiddler, who featured this track on his debut album "Waltz Of A Ghetto Fly". It's a classic piece of funky soul, which could easily have been written twenty-plus years earlier, but had all the quality and polish to stand out in the early 21st century. RIP Amp.

InI : Mind Over Matter

Classic, if relatively little-known heat from the 90s. This Mount Vernon crew had their debut "Center of Attention", from which this is taken, shelved due to friction with the label and legal issues around ownership, but it was heavily bootlegged before eventually surfacing officially in 2003. Solid rhymes here from Grap Luva, Rob-O, and Ras G, atop some vintage SP-1200 action courtesy of Pete Rock, who produced the whole project.

Platinum Pied Pipers ft. Invincible : Detroit Winter

After that brief trip to New York State, we close out the section by bringing it right back to Detroit, this time to the PPP duo (Waajeed and Saadiq) for a track from their debut album, 2005's "Triple P". MC Invincible of the Anomalies crew kills it on the mic with their almost monotone flow, describing the bitter coldness of Detroit in detail, making it a suitable selection for this time of year. Musically, the piano riff is the standout element, but if you listen really closely, you can also hear a famous rhythm sample in the background quietly holding it down too!

[EZ Elpee] Capone-N-Noreaga : Calm Down (Instrumental)

"Calm Down" never made it onto the classic C-N-N debut album "The War Report" due to sample clearance problems - hey, I guess Bette Midler wasn't down with the Queensbridge thug life - but you might get lucky and find it on a promo 12" somewhere. If you're really lucky though, you might find an instrumental LP of tracks from the LP, including a couple that, like this one, didn't end up on the final release. Nice beat by EZ Elpee, just a shame it didn't get the shine it deserved!

Souls Of Mischief : A Name I Call Myself

I really didn't know what to end this episode with, but settled on a track from a much-loved LP which turned thirty this year. This was a deep album cut, produced by Del The Funkee Homosapien, with some really clever sample combinations underneath the cheerfully-rhymed X-rated lyrics! It's great to see how Souls' music has continued to reflect their journeys through life, from this during their teenage years through to the present day - and by the way, they were pioneers in using the internet to promote their music.

Please remember to support the artists you like! The purpose of putting the podcast out and providing the full tracklist is to try and give some light, so do use the songs on each episode as a starting point to search out more material. If you have Spotify in your country it's a great way to explore, but otherwise there's always Youtube and the like. Seeing your favourite artists live is the best way to put money in their pockets, and buy the vinyl/CDs/downloads of the stuff you like the most!

Check out this episode!