Schrödinger’s Beatles

“The Irish Beatles experts and podcasters Jason Carty and Steven Cockcroft refer to the period between Lennon quitting the band on 20 September 1969, and the news of the band’s split becoming public on 10 April 1970, as ‘Schrödinger’s Beatles’. In the Schrödinger’s Cat thought experiment, a poor cat is both dead and alive at the same time, just as during this period it was impossible to say whether the band was still a going concern or beyond hope. It could have been, as Lennon had told his band, the end of The Beatles. But his bandmates and the staff at Apple knew how changeable Lennon’s moods were. It could easily have been just another row that passed. The Beatles industry continued on as normal after Lennon informed the others of his decision to quit. A new deal with EMI was signed, and work on the Let It Be album continued. Had McCartney given Lennon more attention and listened to his concerns, without the pressure of business differences, it is conceivable that they could have repaired their relationship. Had Lennon regained enthusiasm for something other than Yoko and the heroin that the pair were by then taking, and become creatively engaged with his bandmates again, it is conceivable that he would have returned.”

  “Ironically, Paul was the only Beatle who never left the group. Ringo had been the first to quit, in 1968, when post-Rishikesh tensions between the Beatles first became undeniable, Yoko arrived in the studio, and he felt unloved and an outsider. He flew to the Mediterranean and spent two weeks on Peter Sellers’ yacht. During this holiday, he learned that cave-dwelling octopuses arranged shiny stones, bits of tin cans or whatever they found on the ocean floor outside their caves, like a garden, and a song was born. As he later recalled, he then ‘got a telegram saying, “You’re the best rock’n’roll drummer in the world. Come on Home, we love you.” And so I came back. We all needed that little shake-up. When I got back to the studio I found George had had it decked out with flowers – there were flowers everywhere. I felt good about myself again.’ ”