{"id":315118,"date":"2026-02-24T18:13:12","date_gmt":"2026-02-24T18:13:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/315118\/"},"modified":"2026-02-24T18:13:12","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T18:13:12","slug":"how-a-harp-sparked-the-breakup-of-the-beatles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/315118\/","title":{"rendered":"How a harp sparked the breakup of The Beatles"},"content":{"rendered":"

24 February 2026, 09:00<\/p>\n

\"How<\/p>\n

How a harp caused the break up of The Beatles.<\/p>\n

Picture:
\nGetty<\/p>\n


\n\"Facebook
\n<\/a><\/p>\n

Paul McCartney told a British court there were six reasons The Beatles should legally break up. One of them was the use of a harp in \u2018The Long and Winding Road\u2019.<\/p>\n

It might seem a bit dramatic to break up a band because of a harp<\/a>. But that\u2019s exactly what happened to The Beatles \u2013 at least in part. <\/p>\n

In the summer of 1968, Sir Paul McCartney<\/a> sat at his piano in the farmhouse he\u2019d bought on Scotland\u2019s Kintyre peninsula. Inspired by the vista stretching out before him, he penned a soulful elegy: \u2018The Long and Winding Road\u2019.<\/p>\n

He recorded a demo, followed by a couple of stripped-back variations with The Beatles, after they returned to the studio to record their Get Back project. Plagued by disagreements, dodgy equipment, Lennon\u2019s heroin use and an alleged (but later denied) fistfight, the sessions were far from harmonious. <\/p>\n

George Harrison even quit the band for a few days, announcing after lunch: \u201cSee you round the clubs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lennon suggested Eric Clapton as a replacement guitarist \u2013\u00a0he had already recorded with the band on Harrison\u2019s \u2018While My Guitar Gently Weeps\u2019 \u2013 but ultimately, Harrison returned to complete the project.<\/p>\n

Read more: When Paul McCartney asked an English trumpeter to play the painfully high \u2018Penny Lane\u2019 piccolo trumpet solo<\/a><\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The Beatles recording the \u2018Get Back\u2019 project.<\/p>\n

Picture:
\nAlamy<\/p>\n

With those disagreements seemingly settled, The Beatles finished recording and sent the album off to be mixed and mastered \u2013 but the troubles didn\u2019t end there. <\/p>\n

By the time it was ready for release, The Beatles had already recorded Abbey Road and decided to release that first, pushing Get Back\u2019s release date back. Then, six days before Abbey Road hit the shelves, John Lennon dropped a bombshell: he \u201cwanted a divorce\u201d from the group. Get Back was sidelined, once again. <\/p>\n

In early 1970, American record producer Phil Spector was brought on to save the project, now renamed Let It Be. He made various changes to the already recorded songs, including an overdubbing session to create his signature \u2018Wall of Sound\u2019. Ringo was the only Beatle present.<\/p>\n

To \u2018The Long and Winding Road\u2019, Spector added eight violins, four violas, four cellos, three trumpets, three trombones, two guitars, a fourteen-strong women\u2019s choir, and a fateful harp<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Read more: 10 best pieces ever written for the harp<\/a><\/p>\n

After finishing the album, Spector sent an acetate version to all four of The Beatles, with a long letter explaining his changes and a note: \u201cIf there is anything you\u2019d like done to the album, let me know and I\u2019ll be glad to help.\u201d<\/p>\n

John, Paul, George and Ringo all telegrammed back to give their approval. But between then and the album\u2019s release, McCartney had a change of heart. <\/p>\n

He wrote a letter to the band\u2019s manager, Allan Klein, detailing his grievances:<\/p>\n

\u201cDear Sir, In future no one will be allowed to add to or subtract from a recording of one of my songs without my permission. <\/p>\n

\u201cI had considered orchestrating \u2018The Long and Winding Road\u2019 but I decided against it. I therefore want it altered to these specifications: <\/p>\n

Strings, horns, voices and all added noises to be reduced in volume.Vocal and Beatle instrumentation to be brought up in volume. Harp to be removed completely at the end of the song and original piano notes to be substituted. Don\u2019t ever do it again.<\/p>\n

Signed, Paul McCartney.\u201d<\/p>\n

Klein tried to call McCartney, but he\u2019d changed his number without telling anyone. Eventually he replied to a telegram saying his letter \u2018spoke for itself\u2019.<\/p>\n

Production had already started on the physical copies for Let It Be, so Klein decided not to interfere. The album was released without McCartney\u2019s requested changes.<\/p>\n

In early 1971, McCartney took Klein and his three bandmates to London\u2019s High Court, to officially dissolve the partnership. He cited six reasons as to why they should legally split up \u2013\u00a0one of which was all the changes made to \u2018The Long and Winding Road\u2019.<\/p>\n

The legal case became something of a media frenzy, with Time magazine even dubbing it \u2018Beatled\u00e4mmerung\u2019 in reference to the finale of Wagner\u2019s<\/a> Ring Cycle<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Ultimately, the court ruled in McCartney\u2019s favour, and on 9 January 1975 The Beatles officially split up, thanks to Allan Klein, Phil Spector, and a harp.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"24 February 2026, 09:00 How a harp caused the break up of The Beatles. Picture: Getty Paul McCartney…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":315119,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[93,61,60,278],"class_list":["post-315118","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-music"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/315118","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=315118"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/315118\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/315119"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=315118"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=315118"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=315118"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}