Ringo & Paul Say the Beatles Could Have Toured Again
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The Beatles famously walked away from touring in 1966, but looking back now, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr say that decision was never final. "It wasn't like we'd placed a wreath on the live Beatles," Starr told MOJO. Pointing out that their 1969 rooftop performance "showed that we could still do that stuff," he added, "We could maybe have gone out live again. It didn't happen. But it was never like, 'Oh, that's dead, the Beatles are dead. It was always a possibility that we would do it again.'" In fact, as Starr pointed out, McCartney -- who was sitting next to him during the interview -- "tried one time to get us to go out again." Not that McCartney got much of anywhere with his fellow Beatles on that point. "But you didn't listen to me!" McCartney's quoted as howling in "mock outrage" -- and prompting Starr to absolve himself of responsibility. "I listened," he insisted. "It was the others!" Starr's sentiments echo comments he recently made during an interview with Bloomberg, in which he suggested that, had the Beatles managed to find a way to stay together, they'd probably still be touring today -- much like the Rolling Stones. "We would," he agreed. "We would have gotten over our difficulties and gotten on the road again." Sadly, that didn't happen, but Beatles fans hoping to relive the band's live work have a new opportunity later this fall, when director Ron Howard's documentary The Beatles: Eight Days a Week -- The Touring Years debuts in theaters and on the Hulu streaming service. "It will explore their inner workings - how they made decisions, created their music and built their collective career together - all the while, exploring the Beatles' extraordinary and unique musical gifts and their remarkable, complementary personalities," promises a press release. "The film will focus on the time period from the early Beatles' journey in the days of the Cavern Club in Liverpool to their last concert at Candlestick Park in San Francisco in 1966."
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In fact, as Starr pointed out, McCartney -- who was sitting next to him during the interview -- "tried one time to get us to go out again." Not that McCartney got much of anywhere with his fellow Beatles on that point. "But you didn't listen to me!" McCartney's quoted as howling in "mock outrage" -- and prompting Starr to absolve himself of responsibility. "I listened," he insisted. "It was the others!"
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I'd like a trip to and back from that alternate universe to see how that unfolded.
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edcrawf:
I'd like a trip to and back from that alternate universe to see how that unfolded.
Oh yeah!
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Maybe The Beatles were so unique and special a band they were meant to be like fireworks blazing and then flaring out, not go on and on like the Stones or The Who, etc. The desire to follow their own paths individually would have grown stronger and stronger, an irresistible force, their being so tremendously talented and having already reached the epitome of success as the first Super Star band--they could not have risen any higher and maybe the only way left was down. And they didn't want to get that badly let down.
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They could have done both--solo and Beatles' work, from time to time.
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Sounds too good to be true! "They could have done both."--Sounds like Heaven
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SusyLuvsPaul:
Sounds too good to be true! "They could have done both."--Sounds like Heaven
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The Beatles were magic live. Anyone who doubts that just needs to watch the rooftop concert. I'm sure they would have reunited late in their solo careers for a bunch of one-off concerts like Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd.
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JoeySmith:
The Beatles were magic live. Anyone who doubts that just needs to watch the rooftop concert. I'm sure they would have reunited late in their solo careers for a bunch of one-off concerts like Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd.
There are many reasons why they were, and still are, the biggest band on Earth. Live concerts were one of them. As Lennon said about their live act, when The Beatles played straight rock, "there was no one to touch us in Britain".
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I'm glad that they didn't tour again! The Beatles already proved to themselves during the rooftop concert what could have been had they toured later. They proved to themselves that they are and will always be, the greatest touring band in the history of popular music. By the time The Beatles broke up, they had already accomplished everything that a band can possibly accomplish. The Beatles didn't have anything left to prove.
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They didn't have anything left to prove. That doesn't mean they didn't have anything more to give.
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crisstti:
They didn't have anything left to prove. That doesn't mean they didn't have anything more to give.
Hi crisstti! How are you? The Beatles had accomplished more than any band in Rock n' Roll history, they didn't have anything left to prove being Beatles! All four still had more to give, they just didn't want to give more being in The Beatles. All four accomplished so much during their solo careers, some solo careers shorter than the others. The music that all four contributed as solo artists speak for itself. The Beatles are the ONLY band in music history that has all 4 members inducted in the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame as solo artists! What does that tell you? Welcome to the Forum Crisstti or should I say welcome back!
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The Beatles were always unique & stood apart from their peers. By late 1969, The Stones & Dylan started touring again...The Beatles, meanwhile, showed us how to end on top.
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As George said in 1974' "if you want the Beatles, go see Wings." I did, and George was right.
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wingsoverkc:
As George said in 1974' "if you want the Beatles, go see Wings." I did, and George was right.
I'm not sure if that was a fair or accurate statement. I believe Paul only played 4 or 5 Beatles songs during his 1975-1976 world tours and even less in his 1979 UK tour and Paul was pressured to do so. He even snuck them in during the middle of the concert and they were not the big hits. It was all about Wings. Yes I would agree with George after 1990 but not in the mid 70s.
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Ahh, "Yesterday", "The Long and Winding Road", and "Lady Madonna" were all #1 songs.
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JoeySmith:
wingsoverkc:
As George said in 1974' "if you want the Beatles, go see Wings." I did, and George was right.
I'm not sure if that was a fair or accurate statement. I believe Paul only played 4 or 5 Beatles songs during his 1975-1976 world tours and even less in his 1979 UK tour and Paul was pressured to do so. He even snuck them in during the middle of the concert and they were not the big hits. It was all about Wings. Yes I would agree with George after 1990 but not in the mid 70s.
George may have meant that in a negative way, but there is (regardless) an element of truth in what he said. Paul continued where the Beatles left off with a band that did live shows. He recorded songs in which the other three weren't interested (Let It Be movie sessions and recordings) on his first solo album. Paul still is a Beatle and a lot of his early songs with Wings would have made fantastic Beatles songs!
