Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr didn’t think The Beatles fame “would last a week”
Despite the Beatlesmania of the 1960s, it seems the members themselves never thought the world’s obsession with The Beatles would last anywhere near this long. Following the release of the band’s final single, ‘Now and Then’, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr explained how they believed the band’s fame would be fleeting.
Stunned by the response to the new release, the two surviving Beatles are astonished that they still have such a tremendous legion of fans. Talking to the Sunday Times, Ringo Starr said: “None of us thought it would last a week” when talking about the band’s success and revealing he’d made plans to train as a hairdresser once the fuss died down.
“I was going to open a hairdresser’s, George would get a garage,” he added. “But it went on and then it ended. And at the right time I think. But, you know, that didn’t stop us playing with each other.”
McCartney’s thought process was the same, initially viewing their 1960s success as a flash in the pan, stating, “When we started we thought that, maybe, we’d have ten years – that was the maximum span for a rock’n’roll group.”
Neither member would’ve predicted that The Beatles would enjoy such a fruitful period during that ten-year recording career, gaining global fame like no group had ever seen before. But 60 years on, new music would still be received with the same international excitement.
The Beatles’ fanbase has only grown since their 1970s split as the digital age allowed new generations to discover their music. “The beat’s still going on, you know?” Ringo Starr said, “How many streams did we do last year? One billion? Three billion? It blows me away.”
The new single ‘Now and Then’ was completed using an old forgotten demo tape of John Lennon and old recordings of George Harrison, allowing the four members to come together one last time. The track is already on course to secure yet another number one for The Beatles.
Never Miss A Beat
The Far Out Beatles Newsletter
All the latest stories about The Beatles from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.