Why Did The Beatles Break Up? Inside the Band’s Differences — and Why It Wasn’t the First Time They Wanted to Split

The Beatles was comprised of Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr

The Beatles are arguably the greatest band of all time, releasing memorable music and marking historic milestones until their unexpected breakup in 1970.

The four musicians that comprised The Beatles — John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr — were known as “The Fab Four.” They exploded onto the scene in the U.K. in 1962 before reaching incomprehensible levels of popularity and acclaim when they visited America in 1964 — covered in the Beatles ‘64 documentary released on Nov. 29 — culturally referred to as “Beatlemania.”

After ceasing touring in 1966, The Beatles released Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band — one of the most critically and commercially successful albums of all time —in 1967, but tragedy struck that year. Their manager Brian Epstein, who previously handled much of The Beatles’ business affairs, died.

In the following years, the band experimented with their sound, creating more classic albums like Abbey Road and Let it Be. Outside of the studio, Lennon married Yoko Ono in 1969 and began bringing her to recording sessions, which caused tension.

These events and growing creative differences amongst the group contributed to the breakup. Each Beatle had differing reasons as to why exactly they broke up, but a constant theme was that they were going in opposite directions, as Starr summed up in an interview on Private Sessions in February 2008.

“It was a bit of a drag it broke up even though we all wanted it. We had been working steady for eight years and we’d been these brothers,” Starr said. “We all wanted it. We’d all grown up a little more, and we weren’t prepared to put in the time and energy for each other.”

From moments that unfolded behind the scenes to how dynamics were affected, here's a look at why The Beatles broke up and how their legacy lives on today.

What was the last album The Beatles released before they broke up?

The last album The Beatles released was Let It Be in May 1970.

The making of the work was chronicled in the three-part documentary The Beatles: Get Back, which painted a portrait of a band who loved playing together but struggled at times due to their creative talent and differing opinions.

Although Let It Be was the last album released by The Beatles, Abbey Road was the final album they recorded together.

According to Rolling Stone, Let It Be was mostly recorded by January 1969, but the following month, the group shifted their focus to making Abbey Road, lasting through the summer. The Beatles eventually circled back to Let It Be and put it out as their last album the next year.

How many times did The Beatles break up?

Although The Beatles publicly disbanded in 1970, it wasn’t the first time the band had dealt with a split. They broke up a total of three times, with the first coming in 1968 when Starr walked out during the recording sessions of The White Album.

In the 1995 documentary The Beatles Anthology, Starr recalled a sense of not belonging. After telling Lennon and McCartney about his decision to leave, they also revealed that they felt like outsiders. Still, Starr took a step back from music and used the time to travel with his family until the band convinced him to return.

"That time was pretty stressful because I had left the Beatles. I couldn't take it anymore," the drummer told PEOPLE in August 2019. "[The other Beatles] were sending me messages: 'Come on home.' When I got back and I went to the studio, George had put flowers everywhere. It was beautiful."

As is covered in the The Beatles: Get Back documentary, Harrison later quit in 1969 during the recording of the song "Get Back" due to creative differences with McCartney.

“It’s like George said, he didn’t get enough satisfaction anymore, because of the compromise he had to make to be together,” Lennon said in the documentary.

After his bandmates met with Harrison twice, they agreed to go in a different creative direction while recording Let It Be. In addition, they moved from Twickenham Studios to Apple Studios and scrapped the idea of a live TV special.

Why did The Beatles break up?

Over the years, fans have pointed to different reasons why The Beatles broke up, but it seems that the band simply grew apart and no longer shared the same vision after eight years together.

“[The Beatles] happened, and it was good, but it was also good to carry on and do something else. In fact, it was a relief,” Harrison told The Dick Cavett Show in November 1971. “Some people can’t understand that because Beatles was such a big deal. They can’t understand why we should actually enjoy splitting up."

He continued, "But there’s a time when people grow up and leave home or whatever they do and go through change, and it was really time for change.”

Around the time Let It Be was released in May 1970, McCartney put out a press release a month prior stating that he was taking a break from The Beatles for a variety of differences but didn't know if it was temporary or permanent, according to The New York Times.

Despite this news, Lennon had already told The Beatles that he was ready to part from the group during a meeting in late 1969, according to McCartney.

“I know [who broke up the Beatles]. John,” McCartney said on The Howard Stern Show in September 2018. “There was a meeting where John came in and said, 'Hey guys, I’m leaving the group.' "

He explained that the rest of them thought the decision was related to Ono. While reflecting, McCartney acknowledged that Lennon was "totally in love with her, and you’ve just got to respect."

Apart from the band's dynamics, Epstein’s death was also considered a contributing factor in the breakup as they took on much of their own business affairs that he used to manage.

How did Brian Epstein's death contribute to The Beatles' break up?

In 1961, Epstein went to see The Beatles perform at a local venue and quickly realized they could become something special, leading him to become their manager the following year.

Epstein has long been credited by the band members as the fifth Beatle for his role in helping their career take off. However, his untimely death at the age of 32 left the band devastated, as their manager and friend was gone. Within months, The Beatles noticed their sense of stability also diminished.

“Ever since Mr. Epstein passed away it’s never been the same,” Harrison said in a throwback clip featured in The Beatles: Get Back.

“We’ve been very negative since Mr. Epstein passed away and that’s why all of us in turn has been sick of the group. It’s discipline we lack,” McCartney replied. “We’ve never had discipline. We’ve had sort of slight, symbolic discipline, but Mr. Epstein, he sort of said, ‘Get suits on’ and we did. And so we were always sort of fighting that discipline a bit. There really is no one there now to say, ‘Do it.’ ”

After Epstein’s death, The Beatles set up a company called Apple Corps in 1968 to manage their business affairs, but their relationships became more complex. The Beatles took on much of their own business affairs and could no longer focus strictly on their creative process.

How did John Lennon and Yoko Ono's relationship contribute to The Beatles' breakup?

Lennon married Ono in 1969, and he brought her everywhere, as seen in The Beatles: Get Back when she attended nearly every minute of their studio time. While fans blamed Ono for the breakup, footage in The Beatles: Get Back and interviews with the band point to other factors at play.

One element that Ono elaborated on — and was evident in the footage — was that The Beatles were such strong artists on their own that it eventually became difficult for them to work together.

“She didn’t split The Beatles because how could one girl split The Beatles. ... [We] were drifting apart on their own,” Lennon said on The Dick Cavett Show in September 1971. “A long time ago, I said that I didn’t want to be singing 'She Loves You' when I’m 30. I said that when I was about 25 ... which in a roundabout way meant I wouldn’t be doing whatever I was doing then.”

Ono added, “Especially for John, I can say that he’s at least [outgrown] whatever they were in. I think it’s very difficult for four artists who are so brilliant and talented to be together and do everything together ... just impossible almost. So whatever they were doing was almost miraculous.”

Despite popular belief, McCartney also felt that Lennon's desire to start a new life with Ono contributed to the breakup rather than Ono’s influence. McCartney reportedly helped Lennon finish the song "The Ballad of John and Yoko."

What is The Beatles' legacy?

The Beatles are the top-selling artists of all time, topping multiple Billboard charts with their singles and albums over the years. Other notable musical publications have recognized The Beatles' influence on the industry, culture and the creation of boy bands as well.

Their 1966 album Revolver, 1967 concept album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band and 1969 album Abbey Road are frequently ranked amongst the greatest albums of all time. Songs like "Hey Jude," "Let it Be," "Yesterday," "I Want to Hold Your Hand," "A Day in the Life" and many more are often regarded as some of the greatest songs ever recorded.

While Lennon and McCartney were known as the primary singers and songwriters — especially for The Beatles’ early hits — Starr sang on songs like "Yellow Submarine" and "With a Little Help from My Friends: while Harrison performed tunes like "Here Comes the Sun" and "Something."

After The Beatles broke up, all the members had successful solo careers. Lennon’s song "Imagine" is still celebrated today, over 40 years after his death at 40 from a gunshot on Dec. 8, 1980.

McCartney found solo success creating songs like "Maybe I’m Amazed," and Harrison made the multi-platinum album All Things Must Pass, producing multiple hits, like "My Sweet Lord" and "What is Life." (He later died at 58 from lung cancer on Nov. 29, 2001.)

Meanwhile, Starr had a platinum-selling album with Ringo, featuring the hit song "It Don’t Come Easy."

The Beatles are ingrained in pop culture with their compilation album of No. 1 hits in the U.K. and U.S. called 1, earning the accolade of the top 10 selling albums of the 2000s, The Independent reported. Over 50 years after their last album, the song "Now and Then" — billed as the final Beatles song ever — was released in 2023 and earned a Grammy nomination for record of the year.

They live on in film as well, with movies centered around their music, including 2007’s Across the Universe and 2019’s Yesterday as well as documentaries like 2021’s The Beatles: Get Back and 2024’s Beatles ’64. Sony Pictures also announced that four upcoming biopics on each Beatle will be released in 2027.