John Lennon: Mind Games - Full Album

Paul McCartney on Allen Klein and the Beatles' Money (1973)

"The Beatles could reform now that the manager Allen Klein is no longer involved. When Klein was there, the road was closed against the four of us ever working together. Now, as far as I am concerned, the road is open again. I saw Klein as a sharp operator who could only do harm with the Beatles. The others disagreed. Now they have come round to my way of thinking . . . There's no reason why we should not all work together again now. Klein was one of my main worries. He promised the Beatles the earth but the only one to make any real profit was Klein. At last the others have decided that it was simply not in their best interest to have him as manager . . . Klein takes a percentage and if he could have had his way he would have owned the Beatles lock, stock, and barrel. As it is, the money we earn goes into a central pot. Even some of the money I get with Wings goes into the pot. Every time we say we'd split the pot, Klein would say, 'Think of poor old Ringo, he'll get far less than anyone. You'll have to give him some of your share.' Now I hope it's possible we can all own our own out of what we have earned and divide the pot between the four of us. We've all lived well but we have never touched a penny of the lump of money we have earned as Beatles."

John Lennon on the Beatles' Red and Blue Albums (1973)

"Allen Klein knocked out the basic list for the Red and Blue albums and then we'd just look down it and say, 'Yes, no,' and so on. I made sure they put that picture which I got Linda to take of the same pose as our very first album . . . No one can release old Beatles product without an okay from each of us. I like packages, you know. I approve of anything I would buy myself. I'd buy the Beatles' one . . . I asked for George Martin to reproduce the tracks. I was involved in that respect, just checking on the condition of them, because I didn't want lousy versions going out. I wanted them to be as it was. I asked Capitol/EMI, 'Please ask George Martin to take care of this . . . at least he knows what to do. I don't want some strange guy, you know, making dubbed versions of it and putting it out . . .' I want to talk to George Martin, why were we always putting drums on the right and why wasn't it in the middle? I was surprised. I always thought in terms of mono. Anyway, I wasn't that sold on stereo."

Pattie Boyd Pictures

Linda McCartney on the James Paul McCartney TV Special (1973)

"The American critics were very square about it, I mean really square. They said Paul was too cute and what that has to do with it, I don't know! I think everybody expects God to appear whenever Paul does anything. Personally, I liked the show. But we had to compromise a lot in it, like a lot of our ideas were not in it. You see, it depends if you are going towards the critics or the people. The people loved it."

Paul McCartney on "Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five" (1973)

"This was originally a little thing I couldn't get words to, except for the first phrase. But the words just came to me the day we were due to record, and I think it's turned out quite well."

In His Life: The John Lennon Story