(Credits: Bruce McBroom / Apple Corps LTD)
Thu 9 October 2025 21:24, UK
Every one of The Beatles probably didn’t need to worry about working another day in their lives after they broke up.
They were among the biggest acts in the world, and even if their business dealings had taken a dent thanks to Apple, they would most likely go down as four of the most famous artists in the world. But even if they had built an empire, only one of them managed to get to see another career milestone happen all over again.
But looking through all of their solo careers, none of them were intended to sound the same, either. If anything, the fact that Ringo Starr had the most success right out of the gate is almost comical. He was far from the most adventurous songwriter, but after cutting a bunch of cover albums, he did have a bit of momentum to work with beyond the typical ground zero that everyone else did.
The same could be said of George Harrison as well. He had been stockpiling one song after another to put on the band’s albums, so when he finally got the chance to let loose, All Things Must Pass would remain one of the finest albums made by an ex-Beatle. Then again, the fact that it was a triple album was bound to set off some alarm bells with people that preferred a more cohesive tracklist.
And while John Lennon and Paul McCartney wrote like clockwork at that point, both of them were going in incredibly different directions. Both of them hit a lot knowing that the band they started back in the day was officially dead, but their responses to it couldn’t have been more opposing. Lennon was ready to expunge his demons and lash out in pain on Plastic Ono Band, but after McCartney, Macca felt that it was a good idea to move on and get weird on records like RAM.
Although Lennon did come out looking like a much better artist when McCartney formed Wings, it wasn’t like the ‘Cute One’ didn’t know what he was doing. The whole point behind getting a new band was to get himself a fresh start, but once they graduated to playing stadiums all around the world again, they managed to hit every single major city with the same gusto that the Fab Four had back in the day.
Were the songs as good? Not by a long shot, but McCartney’s tenacity to keep pushing forward earned him a pretty pay day by the time he reached old age. Even with the help of projects like The Beatles Anthology, McCartney managed to rack up over 100 million copies of his solo albums sold, making him the only former Beatle to reach those figures as a solo artist.
Granted, it’s not like he doesn’t have a tiny bit of an advantage. Lennon’s death put any hope of him making more solo albums to an end, and even if Harrison was making great tunes up until his death in 2001, there was an extended period where he got out of the music business and didn’t bother making records for a company that only viewed him as a product rather than a legitimate artist.
But McCartney was one to bow out of the industry. He knew that he was a star whether he liked it or not by the end of the band’s time together, and even if he continued playing music for absolutely no one, he was determined to keep going no matter what the cost. Because even if he wasn’t making a fortune, he was always going to be happy playing what he loved.
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