“And in the end / the love you make / is equal to the love you take” – so go the lyrics to the last song on Abbey Road, the final album recorded by the Beatles during their time together. Although Abbey Road was the last record they made together in the summer of 1969, it wasn’t the final release of new music by the band. That honor would fall on Let It Be, the re-mixed (by Phil Spector) version of the group’s “back to basics” Get Back sessions from early ’69, which were finally released amid the band’s dissolution in May 1970. Here’s how Get Back and other factors contributed to the demise of the greatest band of the rock era:

The Beatles final live performance was on the rooftop of the Apple building in London, on January 30, 1969, the next-to-last day of the difficult sessions for what eventually became the Let it Be. While the band was playing, the local police were called because of complaints about the noise. Although the group was simply asked to end their performance, the band members later remarked in the Anthology video that they were disappointed they were not arrested – pointing out that the police hauling the band members off in handcuffs would have been “an appropriate ending” for the film.
The Beatles recorded Abbey Road in the summer of 1969. The completion of the song “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)” for the album on August 20th was the last time all four Beatles were together in the same studio.

John Lennon announced his departure to the rest of the group on September 20th, but agreed that no announcement was to be publicly made until a number of legal matters were resolved. Much of the business disagreements the band had can be traced back to their decision to hire New York attorney Allen Klein as their first manager after the death of Brian Epstein. While Lennon, George Harrison, and Ringo Star all wanted Klein, Paul McCartney pusehd for the father of his then girlfriend Lee Eastman. All past Beatles decisions had been unanimous, but this time the four could not agree. Lennon, Harrison and Starr felt the Eastmans would put McCartney’s interests before those of the group. In 1971, it was discovered that Klein, who had been appointed manager, had stolen £5 million from The Beatles’ holdings. Years later, during the Anthology interviews, McCartney said of this time, “Looking back, I can understand why they would feel that he [Lee Eastman] was biased for me and against them.” Other issues getting in the way included the constant inclusion of Yoko Ono at Lennon’s side during all recording sessions and meetings, and the frustration that Harrison was having with his backlog of songs and little space to fit them onto Beatles albums.

In March 1970, the Get Back session tapes were given to Phil Spector, who had produced Lennon’s solo single “Instant Karma!”. Spector’s wall-of-sound production values went against the original intent of the record, which had been to record a stripped-down live performance. McCartney was deeply dissatisfied with Spector’s treatment of “The Long and Winding Road” and unsuccessfully attempted to halt release of Spector’s version of the song.

On April 10, 1970, McCartney broke the facade and publicly announced his departure from the Beatles, signalling the end of the group. The world was stunned and – whether deliberate or not – the media circus surrounding the band’s dissolution proved to be beneficial to market McCartney, which was released a week later. Advance copies sent to the press included a Q & A package containing questions McCartney could – and probably would – have been asked about the Beatles’ break-up and their future; he gave a strong impression of his views, but stated that he did not know whether the group’s break-up would be temporary or permanent.

On May 8, 1970, the Spector-produced version of Get Back was released Let It Be, followed by the documentary film of the same name. The Beatles’ partnership was finally dissolved in 1975. Ultimately, personal interests grew stronger than collective interests and animosity made it impossible for both group and individual pursuits to mutually coexist contemporaneously.

Although there were sporadic collaborative recording efforts among the band members, all four Beatles never fully and simultaneously collaborated as a recording or performing group ever again. After Lennon’s death in 1980, McCartney, Harrison, and Starr reconvened for Harrison’s “All Those Years Ago.” The trio reunited as The Beatles for the Anthology project in 1994; using the two unfinished Lennon demos “Free As A Bird” and “Real Love” for what would be the last two songs under The Beatles name.

Beatles – Free as a Bird

Beatles – Rain