{"id":102241,"date":"2025-05-15T01:15:10","date_gmt":"2025-05-15T01:15:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/102241\/"},"modified":"2025-05-15T01:15:10","modified_gmt":"2025-05-15T01:15:10","slug":"paul-mccartney-reveals-how-allen-klein-ruined-let-it-be","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/102241\/","title":{"rendered":"Paul McCartney reveals how Allen Klein ruined ‘Let It Be’"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Allen<\/p>\n

(Credits: Far Out \/ IMDB)<\/p>\n

Wed 14 May 2025 21:00, UK <\/p>\n

Dictatorships, drug raids, and concert riots, The Beatles<\/a> saw it all during their rise to musical stardom, and nothing seemed to stand in their way. From humble origins as a skiffle outfit in Liverpool, the Fab Four rose to become the most powerful group on the face of the planet, altering the musical landscape forever. Ultimately, though, this unparalleled success took its toll on the group and, towards the end of their reign, they were forced to reckon with their biggest challenge yet: surviving the management style of Allen Klein.<\/p>\n

A name that is sure to send shivers down the spines of any rock star, Klein was an infamous figure within the music industry of the 1960s. The New Jersey-born businessman first entered the industry during the late 1950s, initially setting himself up as an accountant and earning clients like Sam Cooke, Jimmy Bowen, Neil Sedaka, and Bobby Vinton, among various others. However, it was only when Klein moved into management that his infamous reputation began to form.<\/p>\n

Klein is perhaps most notable for his management of The Rolling Stones<\/a>, which began at the band\u2019s commercial peak in 1965. The manager was initially brought on board to renegotiate the band\u2019s contract with Decca, which proved to be very lucrative for the Stones, but much more lucrative for Klein himself. After a few years with the band, Mick Jagger grew suspicious of Klein\u2019s management tactics and eventually entered into a lengthy period of litigation against Klein and his company, ABKCO, which retained the rights to The Rolling Stones\u2019 discography.<\/p>\n

Alongside The Stones, Klein also began managing The Beatles in 1969, much to the chagrin of Paul McCartney. The businessman had been brought onboard to try and save the economic nightmare that Apple Corps turned out to be, and essentially get the band\u2019s affairs in order<\/a>. Soon, though, his grip on the band\u2019s finances bled into The Beatles\u2019 musical output, leading to certain disagreements throughout the recording of Let It Be. <\/p>\n

McCartney, who was the only Beatle to try to resist the hiring of Klein, resented the manager\u2019s involvement in the recording of the album. At the time, The Beatles were already fraught with arguments and strained relationships, owing to years spent cooped up in a studio together, but Klein\u2019s involvement seemed to signal the beginning of the end for Macca. \u201cWe made Let It Be, but because of all the fraught personal relationships, the final straw was Allen Klein coming in,\u201d he told The Word in 2003.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was his decision that Let It Be wasn\u2019t good enough and that it needed strings, needed tarting up,\u201d McCartney recalled. \u201cSo he brought in Phil Spector. Poor old Phil, it\u2019s not really his fault. He had to tart it up \u2013 literally, put tarts on it. And a few strings.\u201d He explained, \u201cSo when the album came out, I liked it, but I\u2019d had an early copy before all that happened, an acetate. And I was listening to this acetate one night and thinking, \u2018Jeez, this is brave\u2019. It was The Beatles stripped back, nothing but four guys in a room with Billy Preston.\u201d<\/p>\n

That stripped-down version of the album, however, was not the record that was made available to audiences. \u201cIt was almost scary, cos we\u2019d always double-tracked, harmonised and so on. I remember being in this empty white room and getting a thrill,\u201d McCartney shared. \u201cIt was very minimalist, and I was impressed. And then it got reorganised, re-produced for disc.\u201d<\/p>\n

Before too long, Klein\u2019s involvement with the band led McCartney to announce his departure. Unhappy with this new management style along with his unwanted dictation of the band\u2019s musical output, the songwriter left The Beatles in 1970, and began legal proceedings to formally dissolve the band\u2019s partnership. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Related Topics<\/p>\n

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