Which Beatle Had the First Chart Success As a Solo Artist After the Break-up?

Q: Directly after the break, who had the first chart success as a solo artist? My guess is Ringo.

Not as simple a question as on first glance, since several solo Beatle products were released in the year leading up to the "official" break-up announcement, which is usually pegged to Paul's announcement on April 10, 1970 (although Ringo, George, and John had attempted to quit before this, none had made such a public pronouncement until Paul's press release for the McCartney LP). Running down the 1970 UK top 10 chart successes for the solo Beatles, we have:

- John's "Instant Karma! (We All Shine On)" single reaching #5 (Released: 6 February 1970)
- Ringo's Sentimental Journey LP reaching #7 (Released: 27 March 1970)
- Paul's McCartney LP reaching #2 (Released: 17 April 1970)
- George's "My Sweet Lord" single reaching #1 (Released: 23 November 1970)
- George's All Things Must Pass LP reaching #1 (Released: 27 November 1970)
- John's Plastic Ono Band LP reaching #8 (Released: 11 December 1970)

So, to summarize, we have John with a hit single while the split is occurring, Ringo with a chart success right before the official break-up, and Paul with a hit LP a week after. George was the most successful overall that year of the Beatles, scoring two #1 releases in the UK (the McCartney LP, however, did make it to #1 in the U.S.).

While the release dates may seem trivial, these dates for the early solo efforts were contentious among the Beatles themselves, as they each had work to be released along with the group's Let It Be LP. Ringo at one point visited Paul at his home on Cavendish Avenue to try to resolve these matters, and was met with Paul waving his fingers in Ringo's face and yelling, "I'll finish you all now," and "You'll pay!"

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