An Unhappy Film and Two Weddings

At the start of 1969, the band needed new plans. Paul was full of ideas for the band's future. They decided to write an album and then play it on stage - all in front of cameras. This was the start of Let It Be.

It was a bad time. The band weren't happy together, and all the cameras made everything worse. George even left the band for a short time after angry words with Paul. Things only got better when a guest musician, American Billy Preston, joined them.

The cameras filmed everything. The cameramen didn't know it at the time, but in fact they were recording the end of the group. The film Let It Be is difficult to watch at times. The idea of a big concert soon died. Looking for a way to end the film, the band decided to play a few songs on the Apple building's roof. People in London looked up in surprise as the Beatles played 'Get Back' above them. For a short time, the old days were back! In Ringo's words, when the music was good, they forgot all the problems. Finally, the police asked the band to stop. They never played live together again.

Producer George Martin didn't want to touch the long Let It Be recordings. So American Phil Spector took the job. Finally, the Let It Be album came out after the end of the Beatles. Paul didn't like Spector's work on it. Both he and George Martin hated the strings on The Long and Winding Road'. In 1969, Paul married for the first time and John married for the second time. Even the two marriages showed the differences between the two men.

Paul married American photographer Linda Eastman on 12 March. They wanted a quiet wedding, but nothing could be quiet for a Beatle. Hundreds of fans cried as Paul and his new wife drove away.

Weeks later, John and Yoko were married in Gibraltar. The story is told in the song 'The Ballad of John and Yoko.' Later, they invited reporters to a 'bed-in' at their hotel. They stayed in bed for seven days. They wanted people to think about the meaning of love. (At a later 'bed-in', they recorded the song 'Give Peace a Chance'.) John and Yoko gave their opinions on a lot of subjects, like the Vietnam War. John sent his MBE back to the British government. He had more and more interests in his life, and the band wasn't one of them. But the Beatles stayed together for one more record.

The Last Album