Paul McCartney says decision to sue The Beatles was ‘very, very difficult’

The break-up of legendary group The Beatles was made all the more tricky by the lawsuits and litigation at the time.

Paul McCartney would sue the band in December 1970, taking action against John Lennon, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr. The Wings frontman would call the decision “very, very difficult” but has made it clear why he had to sue his own band. Allen Klein’s involvement with the group at that point only added to the pressure for the Fab Four, who were in the process of splitting up. McCartney says the immediate split in public opinion between himself and Lennon was tough to handle, but it worked out in the long term. The Let It Be hitmaker believes if he had not sued The Beatles, it would “have all belonged to Allen Klein.”

It wasn’t a decision McCartney took lightly. Speaking on the lawsuit against his own band with The Guardian, the veteran musician said: “The fact that I had to sue the Beatles was something that was very, very difficult, ‘cos I could see what that would do in terms of perception of me.

“People could quite easily say, ‘You know what? I’d never do that, no matter if it meant losing everything. He’s a hard-hearted bastard. And a mean bastard. And a money-grabbing bastard.’

“And doing well didn’t help. We’d tried to get Apple going, and in the short term, it had failed spectacularly. And I started doing my own business, and it started to do quite well. That’s what happened, and it resulted in that split: ‘John’s really cool, and Paul isn’t.'”

But the public image sacrifice was worth it, with McCartney reflecting further on the decision to sue the band in 2020. Speaking to GQ, the legendary songwriter says it was the “only way” to save the band from Klein and, ultimately, preserve The Beatles’ legacy.

He said: “If I hadn’t done that, it would have all belonged to Allen Klein. The only way I was given to get us out of that was to do what I did. I was thought to be the guy who broke The Beatles up and the bitch who sued his mates. And, believe me, I bought into that. It was so prevalent that for years I almost blamed myself.”

McCartney had viewed Klein as a dodgy businessman, but the other three Beatles voted him into position as their manager, to replace Brian Epstein, who died in 1967. Despite the fractured relationship between the Fab Four at the time of McCartney’s decision to sue, they would reconcile in the years to follow.

McCartney would even write a song dedicated to his former writing partner, with Here Today marking a tribute to Lennon just two years after his death. The Tug of War track still catches McCartney off guard, saying it can occasionally have him in tears.

He explained: “At least once a tour, that song just gets me. I’m singing it, and I think I’m OK, and I suddenly realise it’s very emotional, and John was a great mate and a very important man in my life, and I miss him, you know?”