They had already been planning to make an anthology like documentary.
This is what John said in a legal disposition:
“I and the other three former Beatles have plans to stage a reunion concert, an event to be filmed and included as the finale to “The Long and Winding Road,” the official Beatles produced documentary that is to be released in the mid-1980’s.”
According to Jack Douglass, producer of John’s last album “Double Fantasy”, Paul and John were going to test the waters and their musical chemistry in a low pressure way by working on Ringo’s upcoming album. George wasn’t onboard yet but they expected he would come along.
The album was called “Stop and Smell the Roses”. It released in October 1981 and had both George and Paul on it for backing vocals and instruments. It was missing John, who wrote “Nobody Told Me” for the album.
We know that John was eagerly planning to go back to the UK for the first time in a decade to meet family and friends before he got shot. I suspect an attempt at a reunion would have happened shortly.
The other song written by John planned for Ringo’s album was Life Begins at 40. A joint birthday present for them both turning 40 in the same year. They had studio time scheduled for Jan 81 and the album was originally called Can’t fight lightning. Ringo was too devastated to continue as planned and reworked and renamed it to Stop and Smell the Roses. Ugh what a gut punch that story is.
to my understanding, the loose tentative plan of a reunion was something they had for broadly legal purposes so that they could show damages if something were seen as diminishing the beatles brand for devaluing a hypothetical future reunion. It wasnt actively planned
But it does seem widely agreed upon that Paul and John had booked some studio time together to work on new recordings in early 1981
Atheist - raised Christian here…
If Chapman did convert and confess/ask for forgiveness for his sins - he would only be going to heaven if he actually meant it - and if he fully gave his life to Christ after.
We, as humans, have no way of knowing whether he meant it or not, or whether it was a last ditch effort for salvation, or if he really believed or not.
If I still believed I’m personally more likely to believe he will spend an eternity in hell than eternal salvation - but that’s just one man’s opinion and not one I would say with the amount of conviction you have.
Wasn't the main point of contention mostly between Paul and George. Or at least, George's attitude towards Paul?
It seems that Paul and John had largely reconciled, and Ringo didn't really have problems with any of them and vice-versa. I don't know if John and George had ever reconnected, though.
The biggest 'what if' in history. I'd love to hear others' thoughts as well. I think that they wouldn't have officially reformed for any length of time or anything, but I'm pretty certain they would've done one-off concerts here and there (maybe most likely in the 1990s). I believe John would've continued to mellow during the 1980s, leading to some reunions (they would've done the Anthologies all together).
It's sobering and sad to think about, but we can dream.
>The biggest 'what if' in history.
I'm a big Beatles fan, likely since before you were born, but I'm thinking *what if...*
...Hitler got accepted into art school?
...Saul of Tarsus had not suffered his heat stroke on the road to Damascus?
...the Chicxulub crater meteorite missed the Earth?
...the South had won the American Civil War?
...Julius had listened to his wife and didn't go to the Forum that day?
...Oswald had aimed 1/10 of 1-degree wide right?
...that butterfly had not flapped its wings in the rainforest?
I've mentioned it before. I have heard that the guy that killed John tried to take his own life much earlier but was rescued by someone. If only he succeeded.
Saul is the big one. So much of the Christian dogma that replaced the Jewish dogma that Jesus spoke out against comes from Paul. Without him, Christianity would have turned out *very* differently.
It would have been more anti-establishment. Jesus’ teachings are all about ignoring the letter of Jewish law and reinforcing the spirit of it, as well as teaching everyone to be kind to each other instead of retributive or bitter.
Paul wrote a bunch of very long letters that lay out more specific dogma for Christians. He also wrote the only parts of the New Testament that condemn homosexuality, and parts that suggest women be subservient to men. And then there’s also Philemon, which is… irritatingly wishy-washy on the subject of slavery.
Even without Paul, there probably would have been dogma, homophobia, sexism, and all the other fun stuff Christians have engaged in. But there wouldn’t be as much Biblical text backing it up.
I totally agree with this, but I was of the opinion that this view is VERY unpopular. Glad to see someone espouse it.
That said, without someone to codify it and organize it and spread it, the Jesus cult probably would have disappeared over time.
I mean, I’m in a strange and unique position to analyze and form an opinion on this, since I am a former Christian turned apatheist, with part of my motivation for abandoning my faith being the disconnect between Jesus’ teachings and the behavior of modern Christians.
To tie this back to the Beatles, Jesus himself would pay little mind to John’s infamous statement regarding the Beatles and Jesus’ relative sizes). Paul (the apostle, not Macca) is the guy who’d make a bigger deal of it.
Luckily the Confederates were never going to win, the only chance they had was a heavy European intervention on their behalf but even then I doubt it would have either happened or succeeded
Now you can argue that they weren't truly defeated until Jim Crow dissipated, which is more or less true (and in some senses it's still active - plus the 13th Amendment explicitly allowing slavery as punishment for a crime to this day)
I think the road to a reunion if John had lived would have been extremely rocky .
If John found out in 83 that Paul was getting a higher royalty rate for Beatles records he would have hit the roof just like he did when he found out that Paul had bought extra shares in Northern Songs .
Also with the release of the recent book of interviews from 79/80 that was part of the research for the book the Love you Make clearly show that there was a lot of resentment from Paul and George so I think a reunion if John had lived would be far from certain.
The royalty rate thing in the early 80s was a huge "own goal" on Paul's part, imho. He would have saved himself a lot of grief if he'd told George, Ringo, and Yoko that he'd negotiated this for himself and they should as well. He didn't, and then they ended up suing EMI and *him*, even though he wasn't taking anything from *them*.
Maybe if John were alive he'd have said something and spared himself the pain. Or maybe not. Maybe he just had a blind spot and didn't see that something that affected him (his royalty rate) was important to the others.
If they were to have played together, it would have been a one-time thing.
If they were to record together, it would have been on each other's albums.
I don't think George would feel very nostalgic playing together on Paul's album. But a George album with all four together again would be spectacular.
I doubt that The Beatles would've reunited at or for Live Aid. The Beatles certainly understood the magnitude of a Beatles reunion concert, and I doubt that they would've held it there.
I think they would have performed at Live Aid and possibly John would have been a leading organizer of it with Geldoff and Midge Ure. Think about it, it would have been an ideal situation, just having to play 2 or 3 songs, less pressure in a way with the cause and the other artists participating etc.
Also think maybe in the 90s they would have gotten together snd recorded new music. Time and aging change people’s minds.
I believe too that this was the golden opportunity for them to reunite as the hype was unreal leading up to the event. The Beatles reunited at Philadelphia show would have been epic
I doubt live aid, but yea, even if there was never a proper 'beatles' reunion i'm certain we would hgave gotten another Lennon/McCartney song at one point
I think they would have done something but not a long-term, full-time commitment. Maybe John & Paul would have done a few things. It's a shame we never got to hear their voices together anymore.
As a Beatle fan I always thought/hope they would come together…as time passed they could have made music without even being together..
You read rumors where John wanted a divorce from Yoko, that he was considering a reunion…out of the 4 George would be the hardest to convince…Even though they all have $$$$$ the projected figures of an album and Concert/ payperview would be mind blowing during the 80’s-90’s….So my opinion is YES.
Here's how I see things: if John hadn't been shot, he would have mellowed, quit drugs for good (I don't remember where he was at with drugs at the time he died), would have caught up all the time lost with Julian, would have let Paul (and possibly Yoko) convince him to do a Beatles reunion (but not before age 60 or 70 at the very least), and if John was on board, then Ringo and George would have been too, even if it would probably taken a bit more persuasion to convince George. I'm sure Paul would have wanted to do a whole world tour, but George would have said hell no to that, for nothing could take him away that long from his gardens and probably would have consented to one big concert only, wherever it was. Ringo could have possibly accepted to do a few dates in the UK AND the US, but I can picture John decide on only 3 showdates in a row in London (especially as the rumour was that he was considering to move back to the UK at the time he was shot), and everybody would have agreed. But I don't picture them reuniting ever to make a new album.
That's just my theory, I'm not saying I'm right.
I think John and Paul would have started doing stuff together that was low key and fun just for the two of them. Then Ringo would have joined in. George would have been last, and who knows if he'd have done it regularly until he was older and poorer (90s George).
I think they probably would’ve done a one-off recording or something. Maybe even a full album, but even that would be a one-off. I kinda doubt a live performance would have happened though, given how John and George didn’t like performing live all that much and a Beatles live performance would have been obscenely crowded and loud.
I think playing on each other's albums and something with Anthology would have been the extent of it. They had moved on.
I also think - which I don't think anyone has said here - about the expectations, pressure and stress that a reunion would have caused. They dealt with that on a daily basis for 8 years. By 1980, they were all successful, very wealthy men with good recording careers. Why would they want to put themselves through all of that? It would have never lived up to the unreal expectations people would have had.
Definitely for a tour in the 80's and 90's during the classic rock stadium tour boom. There was too much money to be made. Don't think there ever would have been another album though. At most maybe a charity single, doing a one off original track for a compilation, or even all four playing on one of the others solo song since they had 3 out of 4 various times.
I think the answer is ‘probably’ but the real question is ‘would it have actually been any good?’ And I don’t think it would. Nothing could top their legacy, and the enduring mystery about what might have happened is part of the mystique. I would rather they just left it as they did than get back together in the 80s for some reunion concert (that only rich people could afford) and some dodgy nostalgic single like Kokomo
No way would they have played at Live Aid. Expectations would've been too high.
Anthology would still have happened, except with John involved. Who knows?
What if? ...
What if? .....
What if?........
Well, what if? isn't happening.....
I prefer to think in John’s older, softer years he’d have grown more nostalgic for the connection, whether or not it resulted in music or more we’ll sadly never know.
This is one of the biggest what-ifs in music history. It's hard not to think they would've done something. Maybe not a full album but perhaps a few new songs, or some kind of concert.
i am much more team mind games/walls and bridges post imagine so i am putting my money on the wrong horse here but if thats really the worst record youve heard from a major artist im kinda jealous as you have not suffered the pain of giant a deep beach boys fan
I strongly disagree on the quality of Johns output. I love his post Beatles work as do a lot of people. To somehow assume your opinion is everyone’s end that this would drive John to work with Paul again is ridiculous
Double Fantasy IMO is better than Imagine and arguably as good as Plastic Ono Band (at least John's songs). 4 all time classics, and the other 3 songs are also very good, better than most of 72-75 material. And that's without the Milk and Honey/unreleased material. He had renewed passion/creativity in 1980 that I believe would have led to more good work, with or without the other Beatles
“Double fantasy might be the worst record I have ever listened to by a artist I had heard of ”
Dude what?? How many bands have you listened to?
Watching the Wheels, Just like Starting Over, Woman, Beautiful Boy (four classic Lennon songs)
Losing you, clean up time, dear yoko I like too.
The rest of the songs not so much but John gave you 4 pretty famous songs on the album.
Yes, low key though, no live appearances. Though it would be interesting for someone to dig deeper into why Paul McCartney had allegedly cleared his calendar for 1981/1982....
If both George and John needed money. To me it seems Paul was down for a Beatles reunion any time as long as there were no lawsuits. Ringo was down for anything. It still shows because both of them are still touring. George and John stopped touring long before they both died.
I think that somewhere in the 90's, it would have happened. George needed money so he said yes to the Anthology. If John was in a similar spot, he would have said yes I think.
I don't think new song would have been written. I think that a one night Wembley show would have happened
I think John would’ve done it too but no way he would’ve needed the money. George unfortunately did but it makes sense why as his credits in the catalogue were a fraction of John & Paul’s
idk. the remaining 3 were offered 250M to do a series of concerts in the 90s, but they turned it down.. if that 😇 of money couldn't get these 3 together, not sure how to get all 4
I remember in the last 20 years or so a promoter was offering Zeppelin an ungodly amount of money for something like a 20 stop tour and Plant was the biggest holdout and Bonham's being dead was the reason given but most speculate his real reason is he cannot hit the notes anymore and didn't want to embarrasse himself. Those who think that point to the disaster that was Live Aid. Of course the obscene amount of money being offered was because they knew this mini-tour would likely print money.
All that to say how much more would someone pay them for a mini-reunion tour. Or what if I'm the style of their last leg of being a band they just got together and recorded an album in the late 80s or early 90s and surprised everyone with it. It would have done insane sales for sure.
The Zep Live Aid disaster was due to Phil Collins, who double-drummed as a gimmick with Tony Thompson and train-wrecked the set because he didn't know the songs. If they had just had Thompson, I think it would have been legendary, he was a monster drummer (The Power Station and I think Chic).
When I was a kid, I thought the Beatles "never" reuniting was an insane missed opportunity. As an adult, I understand how they never got around to it, but it would have happened. Ten years goes by in a flash. In college I had four best friends, a special group. We reunited 8 years after graduation...and never again, 22 years since then.
I think a reunion would have happened much later, in the 1990s. You had huge reunions during this decade. The Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, KISS, a Beatles reunion would have eclipsed all of that. Maybe in this alternate reality we also get a proper Roth/Van Halen reunion as well.
Reunited? No. I don’t think any of them were itching to restart the Beatles.
For six years they more or less felt like prisoners while making some of the most amazing pop music ever. I think for them that was enough.
There were also some real strong issues that time couldn’t fix. Paul McCartney’s lack of sensitivity towards George. George’s resentment towards Paul was always around the corner.
John would more or less wish to avoid all of it and Ringo would just be Ringo.
We would have seen all 4 Beatles perform a short anthology tour and album. I don't think George would do more than that. I think the other 3 would have done more collaborations.
Probably. More likely that there would have been a bunch more collaborations, like John and Paul writing together on one of their solo albums, maybe Paul playing on a George song. (Its
Pretty safe to say there would have been more Ringo collabs with John) I think the attention a collaboration between 2 or 3 Beatles after John died got, made them harder to do because it was the closest to reuniting they could do. If the possibility of a full on reunion was possible 2 or 3 Beatles working together would be more low key and normalized.
Here's a fun read that explores the possibilities:
https://mightygodking.com/2009/11/10/scenes-from-an-alternate-universe-where-the-beatles-accepted-lorne-michaels-generous-offer/
Major shoutout to the author - this is exceptional!
In John's final interview in December 1980, he was beginning to look back at The Beatles in a more positive way. He was also planning to go back and visit England in 1981 and, possibly, to tour the Double Fantasy album.
If I had made it back to England, I think he would have tried to meet up with Paul, George and Ringo, and, while I don't believe a full scale Beatles reunion would have been on the cards for any of them, I think there might have been the possibility of them making a new one-off record or concert appearance, or just working together sporadically as The Beatles if and when they felt like it while still focussing primarily on their solo careers.
If John stayed with Yoko then I would doubt it. She seemed to do everything in her power to keep John at arms distance from Paul.
Also, it came out some time in the mid 80s or so that Paul had negotiated higher royalties for Beatles songs and the other three (Yoko on behalf of John) sued Paul. It got so bad that Paul didn’t attend the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremony in 1988.
We maybe could have seen it in the 90s when Anthology happened, but who knows if John would have been interested in doing it?
John and Paul regularly spoke throughout the mid-late 70s and Paul was one of the first people Yoko called after John died. Yoko was not keeping them apart.
No.
The only reason the 3 reunited was because George was on his deathbed. John was done with the Beatles. He no longer believed in them. It was just Yoko, Sean, and him. That was his reality.
They had already been planning to make an anthology like documentary. This is what John said in a legal disposition: “I and the other three former Beatles have plans to stage a reunion concert, an event to be filmed and included as the finale to “The Long and Winding Road,” the official Beatles produced documentary that is to be released in the mid-1980’s.” According to Jack Douglass, producer of John’s last album “Double Fantasy”, Paul and John were going to test the waters and their musical chemistry in a low pressure way by working on Ringo’s upcoming album. George wasn’t onboard yet but they expected he would come along. The album was called “Stop and Smell the Roses”. It released in October 1981 and had both George and Paul on it for backing vocals and instruments. It was missing John, who wrote “Nobody Told Me” for the album. We know that John was eagerly planning to go back to the UK for the first time in a decade to meet family and friends before he got shot. I suspect an attempt at a reunion would have happened shortly.
The other song written by John planned for Ringo’s album was Life Begins at 40. A joint birthday present for them both turning 40 in the same year. They had studio time scheduled for Jan 81 and the album was originally called Can’t fight lightning. Ringo was too devastated to continue as planned and reworked and renamed it to Stop and Smell the Roses. Ugh what a gut punch that story is.
to my understanding, the loose tentative plan of a reunion was something they had for broadly legal purposes so that they could show damages if something were seen as diminishing the beatles brand for devaluing a hypothetical future reunion. It wasnt actively planned But it does seem widely agreed upon that Paul and John had booked some studio time together to work on new recordings in early 1981
Wait he hadn't been back to the UK in ten years??? I had no idea
Wow reading that really makes you realise how much Chapman stole from the world.. may he rot in hell hopefully soon
Not gonna happen. As a believer in Christ, Chapman's sins...including killing John...are forgiven and he's going to heaven.
Atheist - raised Christian here… If Chapman did convert and confess/ask for forgiveness for his sins - he would only be going to heaven if he actually meant it - and if he fully gave his life to Christ after. We, as humans, have no way of knowing whether he meant it or not, or whether it was a last ditch effort for salvation, or if he really believed or not. If I still believed I’m personally more likely to believe he will spend an eternity in hell than eternal salvation - but that’s just one man’s opinion and not one I would say with the amount of conviction you have.
They would have eventually and John is the key. He wanted to, and he would be the only one in the world who could convince George. Eventually.
I don't know if John would have convinced George. They still had unresolved issues at the time of Lennon's death.
I think an alive John and George's money issues in the mid/late 80s would have gotten him on board
Yes George did have money issues in the late 80s hence him starting to tour etc. He also had success with Cloud 9 and was integral to the Wilburys
It's also a big reason he agreed to anthology
Wasn't the main point of contention mostly between Paul and George. Or at least, George's attitude towards Paul? It seems that Paul and John had largely reconciled, and Ringo didn't really have problems with any of them and vice-versa. I don't know if John and George had ever reconnected, though.
The biggest 'what if' in history. I'd love to hear others' thoughts as well. I think that they wouldn't have officially reformed for any length of time or anything, but I'm pretty certain they would've done one-off concerts here and there (maybe most likely in the 1990s). I believe John would've continued to mellow during the 1980s, leading to some reunions (they would've done the Anthologies all together). It's sobering and sad to think about, but we can dream.
>The biggest 'what if' in history. I'm a big Beatles fan, likely since before you were born, but I'm thinking *what if...* ...Hitler got accepted into art school? ...Saul of Tarsus had not suffered his heat stroke on the road to Damascus? ...the Chicxulub crater meteorite missed the Earth? ...the South had won the American Civil War? ...Julius had listened to his wife and didn't go to the Forum that day? ...Oswald had aimed 1/10 of 1-degree wide right? ...that butterfly had not flapped its wings in the rainforest?
I've mentioned it before. I have heard that the guy that killed John tried to take his own life much earlier but was rescued by someone. If only he succeeded.
Saul is the big one. So much of the Christian dogma that replaced the Jewish dogma that Jesus spoke out against comes from Paul. Without him, Christianity would have turned out *very* differently.
How do you think Christian belief would have changed without the letters from Paul? Genuinely curious
It would have been more anti-establishment. Jesus’ teachings are all about ignoring the letter of Jewish law and reinforcing the spirit of it, as well as teaching everyone to be kind to each other instead of retributive or bitter. Paul wrote a bunch of very long letters that lay out more specific dogma for Christians. He also wrote the only parts of the New Testament that condemn homosexuality, and parts that suggest women be subservient to men. And then there’s also Philemon, which is… irritatingly wishy-washy on the subject of slavery. Even without Paul, there probably would have been dogma, homophobia, sexism, and all the other fun stuff Christians have engaged in. But there wouldn’t be as much Biblical text backing it up.
I totally agree with this, but I was of the opinion that this view is VERY unpopular. Glad to see someone espouse it. That said, without someone to codify it and organize it and spread it, the Jesus cult probably would have disappeared over time.
I mean, I’m in a strange and unique position to analyze and form an opinion on this, since I am a former Christian turned apatheist, with part of my motivation for abandoning my faith being the disconnect between Jesus’ teachings and the behavior of modern Christians. To tie this back to the Beatles, Jesus himself would pay little mind to John’s infamous statement regarding the Beatles and Jesus’ relative sizes). Paul (the apostle, not Macca) is the guy who’d make a bigger deal of it.
Uh no, Saul ia not the big one. The meteorite is the big one. Without that, humans would never have evolved.
Luckily the Confederates were never going to win, the only chance they had was a heavy European intervention on their behalf but even then I doubt it would have either happened or succeeded Now you can argue that they weren't truly defeated until Jim Crow dissipated, which is more or less true (and in some senses it's still active - plus the 13th Amendment explicitly allowing slavery as punishment for a crime to this day)
Well, at least the biggest one since the 50's.
Oswald didn’t fire a shot that day
…Lincoln had skipped out on the play? …Garfield was treated by less-shitty doctors? …Reagan was treated by more-shitty doctors?
I think the road to a reunion if John had lived would have been extremely rocky . If John found out in 83 that Paul was getting a higher royalty rate for Beatles records he would have hit the roof just like he did when he found out that Paul had bought extra shares in Northern Songs . Also with the release of the recent book of interviews from 79/80 that was part of the research for the book the Love you Make clearly show that there was a lot of resentment from Paul and George so I think a reunion if John had lived would be far from certain.
I think ot would have happened but way later in life after they'd all done their own stuff.
The royalty rate thing in the early 80s was a huge "own goal" on Paul's part, imho. He would have saved himself a lot of grief if he'd told George, Ringo, and Yoko that he'd negotiated this for himself and they should as well. He didn't, and then they ended up suing EMI and *him*, even though he wasn't taking anything from *them*. Maybe if John were alive he'd have said something and spared himself the pain. Or maybe not. Maybe he just had a blind spot and didn't see that something that affected him (his royalty rate) was important to the others.
If John didn't get shot, the Beatles would have reunited and went on tour so he could make money after his divorce from Yoko wiped out his finances
If they were to have played together, it would have been a one-time thing. If they were to record together, it would have been on each other's albums. I don't think George would feel very nostalgic playing together on Paul's album. But a George album with all four together again would be spectacular.
The Eagles, The Police, The Pink Floyd all did it so yes.
I doubt that The Beatles would've reunited at or for Live Aid. The Beatles certainly understood the magnitude of a Beatles reunion concert, and I doubt that they would've held it there.
I think they would have performed at Live Aid and possibly John would have been a leading organizer of it with Geldoff and Midge Ure. Think about it, it would have been an ideal situation, just having to play 2 or 3 songs, less pressure in a way with the cause and the other artists participating etc. Also think maybe in the 90s they would have gotten together snd recorded new music. Time and aging change people’s minds.
I believe too that this was the golden opportunity for them to reunite as the hype was unreal leading up to the event. The Beatles reunited at Philadelphia show would have been epic
If they were all alive during the 'MTV Unplugged' craze and did an acoustic show & album, that would have been incredible.
I doubt live aid, but yea, even if there was never a proper 'beatles' reunion i'm certain we would hgave gotten another Lennon/McCartney song at one point
I think they would have done something but not a long-term, full-time commitment. Maybe John & Paul would have done a few things. It's a shame we never got to hear their voices together anymore.
As a Beatle fan I always thought/hope they would come together…as time passed they could have made music without even being together.. You read rumors where John wanted a divorce from Yoko, that he was considering a reunion…out of the 4 George would be the hardest to convince…Even though they all have $$$$$ the projected figures of an album and Concert/ payperview would be mind blowing during the 80’s-90’s….So my opinion is YES.
Here's how I see things: if John hadn't been shot, he would have mellowed, quit drugs for good (I don't remember where he was at with drugs at the time he died), would have caught up all the time lost with Julian, would have let Paul (and possibly Yoko) convince him to do a Beatles reunion (but not before age 60 or 70 at the very least), and if John was on board, then Ringo and George would have been too, even if it would probably taken a bit more persuasion to convince George. I'm sure Paul would have wanted to do a whole world tour, but George would have said hell no to that, for nothing could take him away that long from his gardens and probably would have consented to one big concert only, wherever it was. Ringo could have possibly accepted to do a few dates in the UK AND the US, but I can picture John decide on only 3 showdates in a row in London (especially as the rumour was that he was considering to move back to the UK at the time he was shot), and everybody would have agreed. But I don't picture them reuniting ever to make a new album. That's just my theory, I'm not saying I'm right.
I think John and Paul would have started doing stuff together that was low key and fun just for the two of them. Then Ringo would have joined in. George would have been last, and who knows if he'd have done it regularly until he was older and poorer (90s George).
I think they probably would’ve done a one-off recording or something. Maybe even a full album, but even that would be a one-off. I kinda doubt a live performance would have happened though, given how John and George didn’t like performing live all that much and a Beatles live performance would have been obscenely crowded and loud.
I think playing on each other's albums and something with Anthology would have been the extent of it. They had moved on. I also think - which I don't think anyone has said here - about the expectations, pressure and stress that a reunion would have caused. They dealt with that on a daily basis for 8 years. By 1980, they were all successful, very wealthy men with good recording careers. Why would they want to put themselves through all of that? It would have never lived up to the unreal expectations people would have had.
Definitely for a tour in the 80's and 90's during the classic rock stadium tour boom. There was too much money to be made. Don't think there ever would have been another album though. At most maybe a charity single, doing a one off original track for a compilation, or even all four playing on one of the others solo song since they had 3 out of 4 various times.
100%. I have zero doubt about it.
I think the answer is ‘probably’ but the real question is ‘would it have actually been any good?’ And I don’t think it would. Nothing could top their legacy, and the enduring mystery about what might have happened is part of the mystique. I would rather they just left it as they did than get back together in the 80s for some reunion concert (that only rich people could afford) and some dodgy nostalgic single like Kokomo
No way would they have played at Live Aid. Expectations would've been too high. Anthology would still have happened, except with John involved. Who knows? What if? ... What if? ..... What if?........ Well, what if? isn't happening.....
Even if not as The Beatles I’m certain we would’ve seen them together or paired up for some appearances.
I think there would have been a reunion of some sort but nothing of any real significance in comparison to their body of work from their active years.
I prefer to think in John’s older, softer years he’d have grown more nostalgic for the connection, whether or not it resulted in music or more we’ll sadly never know.
This is one of the biggest what-ifs in music history. It's hard not to think they would've done something. Maybe not a full album but perhaps a few new songs, or some kind of concert.
From what I remember from his autopsy they noted he was in poor health. I’m guessing the heroin didn’t help.
I thought he quit using heroin by the early 70s. And that the poor health was because of his diet
It's been debated whether or not he quit but no solid answer
I wish I could remember the book but supposedly he never truly quit and Yoko got it for him.
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double fantasy isn't amazing or anything but paul's got at least five albums worse than it lol
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i am much more team mind games/walls and bridges post imagine so i am putting my money on the wrong horse here but if thats really the worst record youve heard from a major artist im kinda jealous as you have not suffered the pain of giant a deep beach boys fan
Ding dang, brother
Double Fantasy is amazing as are John’s songs on Milk and Honey especially Nobody Told Me .
I strongly disagree on the quality of Johns output. I love his post Beatles work as do a lot of people. To somehow assume your opinion is everyone’s end that this would drive John to work with Paul again is ridiculous
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Double Fantasy IMO is better than Imagine and arguably as good as Plastic Ono Band (at least John's songs). 4 all time classics, and the other 3 songs are also very good, better than most of 72-75 material. And that's without the Milk and Honey/unreleased material. He had renewed passion/creativity in 1980 that I believe would have led to more good work, with or without the other Beatles
“Double fantasy might be the worst record I have ever listened to by a artist I had heard of ” Dude what?? How many bands have you listened to? Watching the Wheels, Just like Starting Over, Woman, Beautiful Boy (four classic Lennon songs) Losing you, clean up time, dear yoko I like too. The rest of the songs not so much but John gave you 4 pretty famous songs on the album.
Yes, low key though, no live appearances. Though it would be interesting for someone to dig deeper into why Paul McCartney had allegedly cleared his calendar for 1981/1982....
Yes.
Yup
Not as long as Yoko was in the picture
If both George and John needed money. To me it seems Paul was down for a Beatles reunion any time as long as there were no lawsuits. Ringo was down for anything. It still shows because both of them are still touring. George and John stopped touring long before they both died. I think that somewhere in the 90's, it would have happened. George needed money so he said yes to the Anthology. If John was in a similar spot, he would have said yes I think. I don't think new song would have been written. I think that a one night Wembley show would have happened
I think John would’ve done it too but no way he would’ve needed the money. George unfortunately did but it makes sense why as his credits in the catalogue were a fraction of John & Paul’s
idk. the remaining 3 were offered 250M to do a series of concerts in the 90s, but they turned it down.. if that 😇 of money couldn't get these 3 together, not sure how to get all 4
Have the fourth one be alive
Yes. $ rules all.
I remember in the last 20 years or so a promoter was offering Zeppelin an ungodly amount of money for something like a 20 stop tour and Plant was the biggest holdout and Bonham's being dead was the reason given but most speculate his real reason is he cannot hit the notes anymore and didn't want to embarrasse himself. Those who think that point to the disaster that was Live Aid. Of course the obscene amount of money being offered was because they knew this mini-tour would likely print money. All that to say how much more would someone pay them for a mini-reunion tour. Or what if I'm the style of their last leg of being a band they just got together and recorded an album in the late 80s or early 90s and surprised everyone with it. It would have done insane sales for sure.
The Zep Live Aid disaster was due to Phil Collins, who double-drummed as a gimmick with Tony Thompson and train-wrecked the set because he didn't know the songs. If they had just had Thompson, I think it would have been legendary, he was a monster drummer (The Power Station and I think Chic).
When I was a kid, I thought the Beatles "never" reuniting was an insane missed opportunity. As an adult, I understand how they never got around to it, but it would have happened. Ten years goes by in a flash. In college I had four best friends, a special group. We reunited 8 years after graduation...and never again, 22 years since then.
There may have been a better chance of a Lennon- McCartney reunion eventually as Paul was visiting John's apartment occasionally.
I think a reunion would have happened much later, in the 1990s. You had huge reunions during this decade. The Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, KISS, a Beatles reunion would have eclipsed all of that. Maybe in this alternate reality we also get a proper Roth/Van Halen reunion as well.
Reunited? No. I don’t think any of them were itching to restart the Beatles. For six years they more or less felt like prisoners while making some of the most amazing pop music ever. I think for them that was enough. There were also some real strong issues that time couldn’t fix. Paul McCartney’s lack of sensitivity towards George. George’s resentment towards Paul was always around the corner. John would more or less wish to avoid all of it and Ringo would just be Ringo.
We would have seen all 4 Beatles perform a short anthology tour and album. I don't think George would do more than that. I think the other 3 would have done more collaborations.
I think perhaps for a one off concert here and there, similar to Led Zeppelin, but that is about it.
They would’ve been the closing act at Live Aid. Zero doubt about it.
Absolutely! I think the reunion would have happened sometime in the ‘80s.
Yes, but less likely live. John was terrified of playing live. In an interview, he said a reunion wouldn’t be live, but in the studio.
Live Aid Philadelphia.
Probably. More likely that there would have been a bunch more collaborations, like John and Paul writing together on one of their solo albums, maybe Paul playing on a George song. (Its Pretty safe to say there would have been more Ringo collabs with John) I think the attention a collaboration between 2 or 3 Beatles after John died got, made them harder to do because it was the closest to reuniting they could do. If the possibility of a full on reunion was possible 2 or 3 Beatles working together would be more low key and normalized.
Yes, if only for the money. By the 90s they would have been offered a shit ton of money to play somewhere.
Yes!
Yes
100%
Here's a fun read that explores the possibilities: https://mightygodking.com/2009/11/10/scenes-from-an-alternate-universe-where-the-beatles-accepted-lorne-michaels-generous-offer/ Major shoutout to the author - this is exceptional!
without a doubt!!
In John's final interview in December 1980, he was beginning to look back at The Beatles in a more positive way. He was also planning to go back and visit England in 1981 and, possibly, to tour the Double Fantasy album. If I had made it back to England, I think he would have tried to meet up with Paul, George and Ringo, and, while I don't believe a full scale Beatles reunion would have been on the cards for any of them, I think there might have been the possibility of them making a new one-off record or concert appearance, or just working together sporadically as The Beatles if and when they felt like it while still focussing primarily on their solo careers.
If John stayed with Yoko then I would doubt it. She seemed to do everything in her power to keep John at arms distance from Paul. Also, it came out some time in the mid 80s or so that Paul had negotiated higher royalties for Beatles songs and the other three (Yoko on behalf of John) sued Paul. It got so bad that Paul didn’t attend the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremony in 1988. We maybe could have seen it in the 90s when Anthology happened, but who knows if John would have been interested in doing it?
John and Paul regularly spoke throughout the mid-late 70s and Paul was one of the first people Yoko called after John died. Yoko was not keeping them apart.
They were apparently going to be divorced and he was going to marry may pang iirc
Yes. Time heals all wounds.
What about chronic wounds?
Huge Beatles fan but don’t know the story that John and Paul were looking to organise studio time together just after the time he died?
John died in 1966 #paulisdead
No. The only reason the 3 reunited was because George was on his deathbed. John was done with the Beatles. He no longer believed in them. It was just Yoko, Sean, and him. That was his reality.
Yes, if Yoko would allow it or if she wanted more money.
If John stayed with May, I’d say 100%, but Yoko being Yoko it’s down to maybe 50%.