Paul McCartney lifts lid on why 'The Beatles' never returned as a band

Paul McCartney has explained why The Beatles never reunited in the years after their split.

Although the legendary band officially broke up in 1970, rumours about a possible reunion continued throughout the decade. The four members did occasionally work together on solo material, but they never returned to the studio as a complete group.

McCartney has now addressed the concern in a new interview with Apple Music host Zane Lowe, saying the band members already felt their journey had reached its natural end.

“I think we knew we’d finished and we’d all said it’s full circle, this is great," the 83-year-old musician began.

He explained that everyone had moved on with their personal lives, with John Lennon focused on his relationship and life with Yoko Ono, while McCartney himself had started a new chapter with his wife Linda McCartney.

"John was off with his life with Yoko, you couldn’t say, ‘Would you mind coming back and we’ll do a bit more Beatles?’” McCartney pointed out. “I wouldn’t have put that to him, I could see what he was doing, it was a different life. And I was too, with Linda, you know?”

Even though the band never reunited fully, they sometimes contributed vocals or instruments to each other’s solo projects over the years.

“We were doing, y’know, ‘would you play drums on this for me’, ‘would you play bass on this for me’, ‘would you sing on this’, on bits and pieces. So it was great to get around to it in the end on this.”

The discussion came as McCartney, who is promoting his latest album The Boys of Dungeon Lane, spoke of his latest solo music, including a new track featuring Ringo Starr. He noted that working closely with Starr again felt meaningful after all these years.

“Well, there’s only one left. Now, currently, it’s Ringo,” he told Amelia Dimoldenberg on Chicken Shop Date, before adding, “During The Beatles, I think we all used to look up to John; he was like the leader, even though there wasn’t officially a leader of the group. He was very witty, and he was great to have in the group.”

Elsewhere in recent interviews, McCartney also admitted that Lennon was viewed as the natural leader of The Beatles during the band’s peak years. 

“I think all of us might have said John was the leader of the group,” he told Dimoldenberg.