Four Sides of the Circle

The Beatles in the 1970s? If you think the story ends with Let It Be then think again. The group didn’t formally disband until the close of 1974 when they all signed a dissolution contract, making the period 1970-1974 the Beatles’ ‘second phase’. Of course they weren't recording as a four-piece any longer but creative collaborations continued in various combinations throughout these years, as their paths endlessly crossed in and out of the studio.

Using a song-by-song format, Four Sides Of The Circle goes through all the formal recordings from 1970-1974, including classic, ostensibly ‘solo’ records like John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band, Band On The Run, All Things Must Pass and so on. Every song – released and unreleased – is discussed and critiqued with an appreciative eye and an emphasis on the music, which is detailed and sequenced to present the true chronology for the first time.

While it’s known that Starr appears on half of All Things Must Pass, Harrison on half of Imagine etc, less well known is the occasion on which Lennon and McCartney recorded together in America, or the time in 1971 when George Martin scored several songs for McCartney, and when Wings were asked to appear live at one of Lennon’s concerts. And at one stage, three of the quartet were back together in an American studio, working on a track written by Lennon for Starr to sing.

You can read about these and many other events in this book, which will fascinate and inform even the most hardened Beatles fan, and shine a welcome light on the marvellous music they continued to make together and alone. It also includes a blow-by-blow account of the Beatles’ real break-up in the middle of the 1970s, covering the twists and turns which culminated in Florida, and a decisive stroke of Lennon’s pen. Four Sides Of The Circle finally completes the Beatles’ fascinating, long and winding story.