The Beatles were only together for 10 years, but they made the most of it. The Jam’s Paul Weller thinks that the Fab Four called it quits at the right time.
In an interview with Mojo (via NME), Weller discussed the Beatles’ breakup. Of course, many wonder what would have happened to the band if they didn’t break up. Weller doesn’t like the prospect of them trying their hand at different eras of music.
“Mum and Dad had old rock ‘n’ roll records by Chuck Berry, Little Richard, and Elvis, which I loved, but The Beatles… It isn’t an exaggeration to say they changed the world for many, many people, me included,” Weller said.
“They made me see other possibilities. They made me think of other things in this life, that there wasn’t just this little town, there was a world beyond the city walls and I wanted to be a part of it, to see and feel and experience. The Beatles made life possible to explore for normal people… People like me,” he added.
Now, Paul Weller did concede that he was “devastated” when the Beatles broke up. However, he’s glad that it happened when it did. “Imagine them going through synth-pop in the ‘8os. It would have been shocking,” he explained.
The Beatles were together from 1960 until 1970. In that period, the Fab Four released 13 studio albums with some of the most iconic songs ever. They still remain one of the best-selling artists ever despite not being together for over half a century.
Their relevance remains to this day. The Beatles have been the subject of documentaries such as Peter Jackson’s Get Back series for Disney+. The streaming service also remastered their original Let It Be film from 1970.
In 2023, the first Beatles song in decades was released, “Now and Then.” It was based on an old demo from John Lennon. Both Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr recorded new parts to overdub on the track. This was a similar approach that the band took with “Real Love” and “Free as a Bird” for the Beatles’ Anthology album release.
After the band broke up, all four members embarked on their own ventures. Ringo Starr has released several albums and is still touring to this day with his All-Starr Band. George Harrison and John Lennon released music while embarking on concert tours as well.
Arguably, Paul McCartney was the most successful of the bunch. He would release several solo albums as well as some with Wings, the second band he formed. Wings was a big hit, releasing classics such as “Band on the Run,” “Jet,” and “Silly Love Songs” during their run. Similar to the Beatles, Wings lasted a decade.
Since Wings’ breakup, McCartney has remained a touring spectacle. He has embarked on 16 concert tours with a couple of different touring bands.
His most recent tour, the “Got Back” tour, commenced in April 2022. He first played dates across North America before headlining that year’s Glastonbury Festival. In 2023, McCartney revived the tour for another leg that visited Australia, Mexico, and Brazil.
