McCartney: Blessing the Beatles never Re-Formed

[bottom4]

I'm a huge Macca fan. IMO, the best Beatle songs were John's that Paul got to have some input on. I for one am glad he pushed to work so hard on their tunes. We may not be here talking about them now if he didn't.

I agree... and love them all...

[brammy]

I call Bulsh (BS) on Sir Paul. He would have reformed in a minute,and was the only Beatle that really missed playing live after they stopped touring in 1966. George Harrison had the famous quotes post Beatle breakup where he stated that he would never be in a band again with Paul McCartney, & when asked about a Beatle reunion Harrison quipped "Let Sleeping Dogs Lie". It would have been John or mainly George that would have said no to a reunion. With half of the group shuffled off this mortal coil Macca gets the last word i'm afraid.

George also said that the Beatles wouldn't get back together as long as John was dead, which makes the "threetles" reunion more ironic. All of them said things in anger that were later regretted.

Personally I think that McCartney is maybe right.... maybe. But that doesn't stop me from wishing that they had gotten back together for a few more albums.

[collin]

Agreed.

Totally!

+3


Let it be ......eh?

[johnnysain]

A Beatle reunion would've had to include Yoko to get John onboard.

[lyle_from_minneapolis]

Had Lennon not been killed, I think they would have gotten together in the 80's. Probably not for an album or a tour, but I think the pull of some of those charity events like Live Aid would have been compelling to all...and the Anthology project...

One of my favorite personal musings is of the four freaking out the world by playing a small club in a surprise visit...one shot, unannounced, and no more. What a night.

[bbmusic]

I've always been a Paul fan. (Those melodies! That voice!) And I agree wholeheartedly that he was driven in large part by his tenacious grip on a musical vision -- some amazing thing in his head that he was bent on capturing, regardless of whose feelings got hurt. But he's also a showman at heart, and I think he tried to keep Beatlemania going long after the others had matured and grown out of it. Not the moptop haircuts and the screaming, but the brand management (before that term was even widely used). He would have these thoughts of "Wouldn't it be cool if the Beatles did this or that?" and John and George (in particular) just weren't into the hype anymore.

And I get the impression that he's still doing it. A lot of us would stand in line overnight to buy a 10-disc DVD set of the raw "Get Back" footage -- what a historical document! -- but it seems that Paul (and perhaps others) are invested in trying to hide the ugly Beatles from the world. Understandable, I suppose; something like the "Love" show in Vegas would lose some luster if the masses were able to see these purveyors of peace and joy being petty and cruel, and the sight of Paul McCartney, octogenarian, getting up on stage with his Hofner and barking out Beatle tunes might appear (dare I say it?) crass and feeble.

But I vote for truth and reality over business savvy. Sorry, Paul. The dream is over. I think the world is ready for the Beatles as real people.

Okay. I got off topic, sorta. I suppose my point is that I agree that Paul was probably most willing to reform, and if the others were reluctant, sad to say, it was probably because of him. I'd like to think that, in his heart, he knows that, and has made peace with it, and his spinning the lack of a reunion as a collective reticence is a some sort of business decision intended to preserve the "if only...!" spirit of it all.

Having said all that...it probably IS a blessing that they never reformed. Anybody see the Police reunion tour? Ugh...

[vynesmusic]

I couldn't agree more on this point. After all this time, I still have a strong impression that Sir Paul had a schoolboy attachment, with its accompanying schoolboy attitude, to the exclusive Club of Four that was the Boys in their heyday. It was a part of Paul's late childhood that he carried well into adulthood. Like many childhood habits, it was tough to quit.

[/quote]

"childhood habits", indeed.....that's the only thing alot of us have in common with Sir Paul these days.....it's hard to quit, even if it's been playing bars and basements for most of our lives.....owning a FireGlow Rick 12 just keeps it going, speaking for meself only......the dream goes on...

[FretlessOnly]

...and the sight of Paul McCartney, octogenarian, getting up on stage with his Hofner and barking out Beatle tunes might appear (dare I say it?) crass and feeble...

Let's be clear on one thing: I saw Macca nine months ago and he was belting out songs like he was 25.

[Scastles]

...and the sight of Paul McCartney, octogenarian, getting up on stage with his Hofner and barking out Beatle tunes might appear (dare I say it?) crass and feeble...

Let's be clear on one thing: I saw Macca nine months ago and he was belting out songs like he was 25.

I'll second that. I saw him last August, and while expecting a feeble performance, it was surprisingly very good.

[bbmusic]

Well, he's not 80 yet.

[shamustwin]

This B.S. McCartney bashing. He was about the biggest thing in the '70's, post fab 4 break up. He was top o' the heap in the Teen Idol sweeps. If he didn't reach the same quality of song, well, which one did? It was a different time, different styles of music. IMO, Lennon's quality fell the furthest, so it must mean he needed Macca more than Macca needed him.

If one can speculate what any one of them was feeling, I would assume at one time or another they all had an urge to try it again, as well as felt they were at a better point for having broken up. They were human.

McCartney it seems, has "show business in his blood". Why is that being ragged upon? It seemed to invigotrate the Beatles' career at points. I feel Macca has not let be known all of his important Fab Four contributions. Everyone from Death Cab For Cutie to Miley Cyrus to Slash has an eye on sustaining their career in music, and I would say the artistry of what they do is second to that. Music is often more career, less of a calling.

So the speculation is that Macca pined for the band more than the others. But hey, when you have that chemistry and synergy with others, that's understandable. None of you guys have jammed with guys perfectly capable of making good music, but you couldn't feel the spark?

I'm sure in the last 15 years or so he's been more than happy with his tours and being able to create very exciting live versions of his solo and Beatle work. I saw him with his current band (Rusty et al), and they were fantastic. If Lennon had survived and gone out touring with the same musicians who played on his (Lennon's) records, I doubt I could say that. And I sure wouldn't want to sit through "Oh, Yoko" live!

Just the other day I was thinking about this: there's always a "what if" regarding a life cut short. I recently heard someone speculating about Hendrix in that way. So, "what if" Lennon had been killed a decade earlier, in 1970? People most likely would have been saying "Think about all the brilliant music, the "Strawberry Fields", the "In My Life's" that he would have written". WRONG. "Imagine" aside (which IMO is slightly lame), I can't say there's anything close to his peak with Paul. It's fun, but pointless to speculate at all.

I think the Beatles' break up was at the right time, and not getting back together was the right decision.

Forgive me if I seem to be vying for the Curmudgeon Title!

[craig55]

Ever look at an old girlfriend?
20 years later?
I'ts best to keep the past in the past.
Paul wanted to get back with the Beatles as soon as he left.
But after Linda kicked his *** about drinking his life away-he snapped out of it and gave us Wings.
I liked it-others didn't.
Hindsight is always 20-20.....or 50/50 as I say....

[8mileshigher]

A Beatle reunion would've had to include Yoko to get John onboard.

I remember reading somewhere, that it was alleged that the reason John declined to perform at George's Bangladesh benefit concert, was that George's invitation was singular for JL and not for the Plastic Ono duo.

[teeder]

+1000, Jerry!

[collin]

A Beatle reunion would've had to include Yoko to get John onboard.

I remember reading somewhere, that it was alleged that the reason John declined to perform at George's Bangladesh benefit concert, was that George's invitation was singular for JL and not for the Plastic Ono duo.

Good thing it didn't happen then. I'd hate for people to have to sit through another set of Yoko's tasteless warbling.