Paul couldn’t take any more of it. They had all agreed not to announce the band’s breakup, but in an interview in April 1970, Paul finally spilled the beans. The Daily Mirror headline shot around the world: PAUL LEAVES THE BEATLES. Newspapers everywhere quickly picked up the story. “Beatle Paul McCartney confirmed today that he has broken with the Beatles—but ‘did not know’ if it was temporary or permanent.”

  What did John have to say about this? A reporter called him the next afternoon. John was angry. He had no idea Paul was going public with the news.

  For an instant, Paul’s announcement brought everything to a standstill. A silence filled the void. The music fell silent. All the tension melted away. For the moment, the world as they knew it stopped spinning, seemed perfectly at peace. As the Beatles, they had been to the toppermost of the poppermost, as John used to joke. They had encountered the crowds, heard the screams, felt the love. Seen the light. In a brief and shining interval, they had lived a dream that no Liverpool lad could imagine—a magical, fabulous dream out of a fairy tale. An unforgettable dream. “It was wonderful and it’s over,” John said to all those waiting for a sign. “And so, dear friends, you’ll just have to carry on. The Dream Is Over.”

  But the legend of the Beatles had only just begun.

  ENDNOTE

  Even after the Beatles’ breakup, there would be the release of Let It Be, in all its overproduced splendor, and then one after another Beatles rereleases—red album collections, blue album collections, rock albums, movie albums, number ones, and studio tapes, all exposing not just old fans but new ones to the magic and the myth. Each of the Beatles, with varying degrees of success, would go on to solo careers, cheesy duets (Paul), and gray-haired all-star supergroups (Ringo and George). There would be huge stadiums of fans cheering Wings, Paul’s post-Beatles group, and strollers in Manhattan’s Central Park who would smile as John and Yoko passed by, as if one of the most normal things in the world was one of the Beatles acting, well, like anyone else. There would be the December night in 1980 when a deranged man walked up to John outside his home and shot him in the back, ending his life. There would be the night nineteen years later when an intruder broke into George’s home and stabbed him, then the Tuesday in 2001 when George succumbed to cancer. Ringo’s ex-wife, Maureen, died of cancer in 1996; Paul’s “lovely Linda” died of cancer, too, in 1998. But not all was grim.

  There would be babies born to Beatles and to Beatles fans, millions of people who lived their lives to a sound track crafted by four Scouse boys who had either grown up or passed along. And the story changed as the players aged. Paul was no longer Paul—he was Sir Paul, knighted by the queen in 1997. John was no longer John—he was Saint John, a role model to angry young rock ’n rollers everywhere. George was no longer a third wheel—he was George Harrison, an artist in his own right and a humanitarian who organized benefit concerts to feed the poor and change the world, something and then some. And Ringo—well, he was still Ringo. Always would be. Sure, he married a former movie star, and his son Zak became the drummer he feared he would, but otherwise, life remained full of simple pleasures. The sickly boy who had almost died so many times outlived two of his bandmates and many others in this story. Lives begun together ended apart, as happens everywhere, even in pop songs.

  But the Beatles were no longer just boys who had played rock ’n roll. They had been mere teenagers when it all happened; when the band split, Paul was all of twenty-nine years old; John and Ringo, thirty; and George, twenty-seven. But on the radio, on vinyl and cassette and CD, they became not kids, not a band, not anything like anything else. They were the Beatles. A vastness of talent, of charm, of genius, incomprehensible, an ocean like the one the four boys had once looked out on, peering west from the hills of Liverpool. And from them, a flood of song and love and pain and beauty, a flood that cascaded out of the Cavern and Hamburg and London into the world, a flow that pushed aside what had come before and, in the end, nourished.

  • • • • •

  Once, always, and forever: the Beatles.

  DISCOGRAPHY

  US SINGLES

  “My Bonnie” / “The Saints.” April 23, 1962. Decca 31382 (Tony Sheridan and the Beat Brothers)

  “Please Please Me” / “Ask Me Why.” February 25, 1963. Vee-Jay VJ 498

  “From Me to You” / “Thank You Girl.” May 27, 1963. Vee-Jay VJ 522

  “She Loves You” / “I’ll Get You.” September 16, 1963. Swan 4152

  “I Want to Hold Your Hand” / “I Saw Her Standing There.” December 26, 1963. Capitol 5112

  “Please Please Me” / “From Me to You.” January 30, 1964. Vee-Jay VJ 581

  “Twist and Shout” / “There’s a Place.” March 2, 1964. Tollie 9001

  “Can’t Buy Me Love” / “You Can’t Do That.” March 16, 1964. Capitol 5150

  “Do You Want to Know a Secret” / “Thank You Girl.” March 23, 1964. Vee-Jay VJ 587

  “Love Me Do” / “P.S. I Love You.” April 27, 1964. Tollie 9008

  “Sie Liebt Dich” / “I’ll Get You.” May 21, 1964. Swan 4182

  “A Hard Day’s Night” / “I Should Have Known Better.” July 13, 1964. Capitol 5222

  “I’ll Cry Instead” / “I’m Happy Just to Dance with You.” July 20, 1964. Capitol 5234

  “And I Love Her” / “If I Fell.” July 20, 1964. Capitol 5235

  “Matchbox” / “Slow Down.” August 24, 1964. Capitol 5255

  “I Feel Fine” / “She’s a Woman.” November 23, 1964. Capitol 5327

  “Eight Days a Week” / “I Don’t Want to Spoil the Party.” February 15, 1965. Capitol 5371

  “Ticket to Ride” / “Yes It Is.” April 19, 1965. Capitol 5407

  “Help!” / “I’m Down.” July 19, 1965. Capitol 5476

  “Yesterday” / “Act Naturally.” September 13, 1965. Capitol 5498

  “Day Tripper” / “We Can Work It Out.” December 6, 1965. Capitol 5555

  “Nowhere Man” / “What Goes On.” February 21, 1966. Capitol 5587

  “Paperback Writer” / “Rain.” May 30, 1966. Capitol 5651

  “Eleanor Rigby” / “Yellow Submarine.” August 8, 1966. Capitol 5715

  “Strawberry Fields Forever” / “Penny Lane.” February 13, 1967. Capitol 5810

  “All You Need Is Love” / “Baby, You’re a Rich Man.” July 17, 1967. Capitol 5964

  “Hello Goodbye” / “I Am the Walrus.” November 27, 1967. Capitol 2056

  “Lady Madonna” / “The Inner Light.” March 18, 1968. Capitol 2138

  “Hey Jude” / “Revolution.” August 26, 1968. Apple 2276

  “Get Back” / “Don’t Let Me Down.” May 5, 1968. Apple 2490

  “The Ballad of John and Yoko” / “Old Brown Shoe.” June 4, 1969. Apple 2531

  “Something” / “Come Together.” October 6, 1969. Apple 2654

  “Let It Be” / “You Know My Name (Look Up the Number).” March 11, 1970. Apple 2764

  “The Long and Winding Road” / “For You Blue.” May 11, 1970. Apple 2832

  US ALBUMS

  Introducing the Beatles. July 22, 1963. Vee-Jay VJLP 1062 (mono), SR 1062 (stereo)

  A: “I Saw Her Standing There” “Misery” “Anna (Go to Him)” “Chains” “Boys” “Love Me Do”

  B: “P.S. I Love You” “Baby It’s You” “Do You Want to Know a Secret” “A Taste of Honey”

  “There’s a Place” “Twist and Shout”

  Meet the Beatles. January 20, 1964. Capitol T-2047 (mono), ST-2047 (stereo)

  A: “I Want to Hold Your Hand” “I Saw Her Standing There” “This Boy”

  “It Won’t Be Long” “All I’ve Got to Do” “All My Loving”

  B: “Don’t Bother Me” “Little Child” “Till There Was You” “Hold Me Tight”

  “I Wanna Be Your Man” “Not a Second Time”

  The Beatles Second Album. April 10, 1964. Capitol T-2080 (mono), ST-2080 (stereo)

  A: “Roll Over Beethoven” “Thank You Girl” “You Really Got a Hold on Me”

  “Devil in Her Heart” “Money (That’s What I Want)” “You Can’t Do That”

  B: “Long Tall Sally” “I Call Your Name” “Please Mr. Postman” “I’ll Get You” “She Loves You”

  A Hard Day’s Night. June 26, 1964. United Artists UA 6366 (mono), UAS 6366 (stereo)

  A: “A Hard Day’s Night” “Tell Me Why” “I’ll Cry Instead” “I’m Happy Just to Dance with You”

  (two instrumentals by George Martin & Orchestra)

  B: “I Should Have Known Better” “If I Fell” “And I Love Her” “Can’t Buy Me Love”

  (two instrumentals by George Martin & Orchestra)

  Something New. July 20, 1964. Capitol T-2108 (mono), ST-2108 (stereo)

  A: “I’ll Cry Instead” “Things We Said Today” “Any Time at All” “When I Get Home” “Slow Down” “Matchbox”

  B: “Tell Me Why” “And I Love Her” “I’m Happy Just to Dance with You”

  “If I Fell” “Komm, Gib Mir Deine Hand”

  The Beatles Story. November 23, 1964. Capitol TBO-2222 (mono), STBO-2222 (stereo)

  A: Interviews, excerpts from “I Want to Hold Your Hand” “Slow Down” “This Boy”

  B: Interviews, excerpts from “You Can’t Do That” “If I Fell” “And I Love Her”

  C: Interviews, excerpts from “A Hard Day’s Night” “And I Love Her”

  D: Interviews, excerpts from “Twist and Shout” “Things We Said Today” “I’m Happy Just to

  Dance with You” “Little Child” “Long Tall Sally” “She Loves You” “Boys”

  Beatles ’65. December 15, 1964. Capitol T-2228 (mono), ST-2228 (stereo)

  A: “No Reply” “I’m a Loser” “Baby’s in Black” “Rock and Roll Music”

  “I’ll Follow the Sun” “Mr. Moonlight”

  B: “Honey Don’t” “I’ll Be Back” “She’s a Woman” “I Feel Fine”

  “Everybody’s Trying to Be My Baby”

  The Early Beatles. March 22, 1965. Capitol T-2309 (mono), ST-2309 (stereo)

  A: “Love Me Do” “Twist and Shout” “Anna (Go to Him)” “Chains” “Boys” “Ask Me Why”

  B: “Please Please Me” “P.S. I Love You” “Baby It’s You” “A Taste of Honey”

  “Do You Want to Know a Secret”

  Beatles VI. June 14, 1965. Capitol T-2358 (mono), ST-2358 (stereo)

  A: “Kansas City” “Eight Days a Week” “You Like Me Too Much” “Bad Boy”

  “I Don’t Want to Spoil the Party” “Words of Love”

  B: “What You’re Doing” “Yes It Is” “Dizzy Miss Lizzy” “Tell Me What You See” “Every Little Thing”

  Help!. August 13, 1965. Capitol MAS-2386 (mono), SMAS-2386 (stereo)

  A: “Help!” “The Night Before” “You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away”

  “I Need You” (three instrumentals by George Martin & Orchestra)

  B: “Another Girl” “Ticket to Ride” “You’re Going to Lose That Girl”

  (three instrumentals by George Martin & Orchestra)

  Rubber Soul. December 6, 1965. Capitol T-2442 (mono), ST-2442 (stereo)

  A: “I’ve Just Seen a Face” “Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)”

  “You Won’t See Me” “Think for Yourself” “The Word” “Michelle”

  B: “It’s Only Love” “Girl” “I’m Looking Through You”

  “In My Life” “Wait” “Run for Your Life”

  Yesterday…And Today. June 20, 1966. Capitol T-2553 (mono), ST-2553 (stereo)

  A: “Drive My Car” “I’m Only Sleeping” “Nowhere Man”

  “Dr. Robert” “Yesterday” “Act Naturally”

  B: “And Your Bird Can Sing” “If I Needed Someone” “We Can Work It Out” “What Goes On?”

  “Day Tripper”

  Revolver. August 8, 1966. Capitol T-2576 (mono), ST-2576 (stereo)

  A: “Taxman” “Eleanor Rigby” “Love You To” “Here, There and Everywhere”

  “Yellow Submarine” “She Said, She Said” B: “Good Day Sunshine”

  “For No One” “I Want to Tell You” “Got to Get You into My Life”

  “Tomorrow Never Knows”

  Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. June 2, 1967. Capitol MAS-2653 (mono), SMAS-2653 (stereo)

  A: “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” “With a Little Help from My Friends”

  “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” “Getting Better”

  “Fixing a Hole” “She’s Leaving Home” “Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!”

  B: “Within You Without You” “When I’m Sixty-four” “Lovely Rita” “Good Morning,

  Good Morning” “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts

  Club Band (reprise)” “A Day in the Life”

  Magical Mystery Tour. November 27, 1967. Capitol MAL-2835 (mono), SMAL-2835 (stereo)

  A: “Magical Mystery Tour” “The Fool on the Hill” “Flying” “Blue Jay Way”

  “Your Mother Should Know” “I Am the Walrus”

  B: “Hello Goodbye” “Strawberry Fields Forever” “Penny Lane” “Baby You’re a Rich Man”

  “All You Need Is Love”

  The Beatles (White Album). November 25, 1968. Apple SO-383 (stereo only)

  A: “Back in the U.S.S.R.” “Dear Prudence” “Glass Onion” “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da”

  “Wild Honey Pie” “The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill” “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”

  “Happiness Is a Warm Gun”

  B: “Martha My Dear” “I’m So Tired” “Blackbird” “Piggies” “Rocky Raccoon”

  “Don’t Pass Me By” “Why Don’t We Do It in the Road” “I Will” “Julia”

  C: “Birthday” “Yer Blues” “Mother Nature’s Son” “Everybody’s Got

  Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey” “Sexy Sadie” “Helter

  Skelter” “Long, Long, Long”

  D: “Revolution I” “Honey Pie” “Savoy Truffle” “Cry Baby Cry”

  “Revolution 9” “Good Night”

  Yellow Submarine. January 13, 1969. Apple SW-153 (stereo only)

  A: “Yellow Submarine” “Only a Northern Song” “All Together Now” “Hey Bulldog”

  “It’s All Too Much” “All You Need Is Love”

  B: Seven instrumentals by the George Martin Orchestra

  Abbey Road. October 1, 1969. Apple SO-383 (stereo only)

  A: “Come Together” “Something” “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer” “Oh! Darling”

  “Octopus’s Garden” “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)”

  B: “Here Comes the Sun” “Because” “You Never Give Me Your Money”

  “Sun King” “Mean Mr. Mustard” “Polythene Pam” “She Came in Through the Bathroom

  Window” “Golden Slumbers” “Carry That Weight” “The End” “Her Majesty”

  Hey Jude. February 26, 1970. Apple SW-385 (stereo only)

  A: “Can’t Buy Me Love” “I Should Have Known Better” “Paperback Writer”

  “Rain” “Lady Madonna” “Revolution”

  B: “Hey Jude” “Old Brown Shoe” “Don’t Let Me Down” “The Ballad of John and Yoko”

  Let It Be. May 18, 1970. Apple AR-34001 (stereo only)

  A: “Two of Us” “I Dig a Pony” “Across the Universe” “I Me Mine” “Dig It”

  “Let It Be” “Maggie Mae”

  B: “I’ve Got a Feeling” “One After 909” “The Long and Winding Road”

  “For You Blue” “Get Back”

  SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY

  Badman, Keith. The Beatles: Off the Record. London: Omnibus, 2000.

  Baker, Glenn. The Beatles Down Under: The 1964 Australia and New Zealand Tour. Sydney: Glebe, Wild and Woolley, 1982.

  Beatles, The. The Beatles Anthology. San Francisco: Chronicle, 2000.

  Best, Pete, and Patrick Doncaster. Beatle! The Pete Best Story. London: Plexus, 1985.

  Best, Pete, and Bill Harry. The Best Years of the Beatles! London: Headline, 1997.

  Braun, Michael. Love Me Do: The Beatles’ Progress. London: Penguin, 1964.

  Brown, Peter, and Steven Gaines. The Love You Make. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1983.

  Clayson, Alan. George Harrison: The Quiet One. London: Sidgwick & Jackson, 1989.

  ———. Ringo Starr: Straight Man or Joker. New York: Paragon, 1991.

  Coleman, Ray. Lennon. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1984.

  ———. McCartney: Yesterday and Today. London: Boxtree, 1995.

  Davies, Hunter. The Beatles. 2nd rev. ed. New York: Norton, 1996.

  DiLello, Richard. The Longest Cocktail Party. New York: Playboy, 1972.

  Epstein, Brian. A Cellarful of Noise. London: Souvenir Press, 1964.

  Fawcett, Anthony. John Lennon: One Day at a Time. New York: Grove, 1976.

  Flippo, Chet. McCartney: The Biography. London: Sidgwick & Jackson, 1988.

  Freeman, Robert. The Beatles in America. London: Mirror Books, 1964.

  Goldman, Albert. The Lives of John Lennon. New York: William Morrow, 1988.

  Green, Jonathon. All Dressed Up: The Sixties and the Counterculture. London: Jonathan Cape, 1998.

  ———. Days in the Life. London: Heinemann, 1988.

  Harrison, George, with Derek Taylor. I, Me, Mine. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1980.

  Harry, Bill. The Beatles Who’s Who. London: Aurum, 1982.

  ———. The Encyclopedia of Beatles People. London: Blandford, 1997.

  Harry, Bill, ed. Mersey Beat: The Beginnings of the Beatles. London: Omnibus, 1977.

  Hopkins, Jerry. Yoko Ono. New York: Macmillan, 1986.

  Kozinn, Allan. The Beatles. London: Phaidon Press, 1995.

  Leigh, Spencer. Drummed Out! The Sacking of Pete Best. London: Northdown, 1998.

  Leigh, Spencer, and Peter Frame. Let’s Go Down the Cavern. London: Hutchinson, 1984.

  Lennon, Cynthia. A Twist of Lennon. London: Star, 1978.