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TL;DR:

  • John Lennon cited meeting Yoko Ono as the catalyst of The Beatles’ breakup.
  • He said the breakup of the band inspired a lot of nastiness.
  • The negative reception to their relationship caused John and Yoko to work more on their music.
Yoko Ono and John Lennon in black-and-white
Yoko Ono and John Lennon | Susan Wood/Getty Images / Contributor

John Lennon said his relationship with Yoko Ono led to The Beatles’ breakup. In addition, he compared the breakup to the lyrics of a famous song. Notably, George Harrison’s cover of the song appeared on one of his most famous albums.

John Lennon said he didn’t get 1 song until he met Yoko Ono and The Beatles broke up

The book All We Are Saying: The Last Major Interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono features an interview from 1980. In, John attributed the dissolution of The Beatles to his relationship with Yoko. “You know the song: ‘Those wedding bells are breaking up that old gang of mine,'” he said. “Well, it didn’t hit me till whatever age I was when I met Yoko, who was 26.” For context, “Wedding Bells Are Breaking Up That Old Gang of Mine” is a pop standard.

John discussed how his relationship with Yoko evolved. “1966, we met, but the full impact didn’t … we didn’t get married till ’68, was it?” he said. “It all blends into one bleeding movie! But whatever, that was it.”

John Lennon said The Beatles’ breakup made everybody ‘so upset’

John didn’t anticipate the end of The Beatles. “The old gang of mine was over the moment I met her,” he said. “I didn’t consciously know it at the time, but that’s what was going on. As soon as I met her, that was the end of the boys, but it so happened that the boys were well-known and weren’t just the local guys at the bar. These were guys everybody else knew.”

John said the reaction to his marriage to Yoko wasn’t warm. “But it was the same thing — but everybody got so upset about it and angry!” he said. “Only Yoko and I were so involved with each other we just went and made the records.” Subsequently, John said he and Yoko were affected by the nasty rhetoric that surrounded their love.

Related

John Lennon Said The Beatles’ ‘Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds’ Was About His Desire for Someone Like Yoko Ono

George Harrison covered ‘Wedding Bells Are Breaking Up That Old Gang of Mine’

Notably, “Wedding Bells Are Breaking Up That Old Gang of Mine” is connected to another Beatle: George Harrison. George covered the song, and that cover appeared on some editions of his album All Things Must Pass. Considering the album came out soon after The Beatles’ breakup, the cover feels like commentary on the Fab Four. The album topped the Billboard 200 for seven weeks. All Things Must Pass remained on the chart for 41 weeks.

All Things Must Pass was a big hit in the United Kingdom as well. According to The Official Charts Company, the album was No. 1 for eight weeks there. It lasted on the chart for a total of 32 weeks.

John’s relationship with Yoko helped end The Beatles, and the situation was reflected in an old tune.

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