The decade of the 1970s started with the breaking up of the biggest band in the world. The results were suitably cataclysmic; the largest lawsuit ever to this day in the British Isles occurred over the dissolution of the Beatles. It happened over a scheduling conflict; 'Let it Be', long delayed, was to be released at the same time as Paul McCartney's first solo album. The Cute One, who had carried the band on his commercial since 1967 with a string of masterful singles, including two on 'Let it Be', felt betrayed by the company that he founded. Then it got ugly.
Apple was at the core of the problems, the Beatles utopian corporate dream that spiraled quickly into a nightmare. Despite being the best-selling group on the planet at the time, the group was bleeding cash faster than they could take it in. Allen Klein, a New York City sharpie who had already gotten his mitts on the Animals, Kinks, Rolling Stones and Who, wanted the Biggest Band in the World. Using the rupturing fortunes of Apple as his entry point, Klein's street persona quickly won John & Yoko, now inseparable, over to his side. They, in, turn, convinced George and Ringo. Paul was the only holdout, as he was pissed.
The dust didn't settle until 1977, putting all the Beatles earning into escrow, forcing the four ex-members to find more immediate ways of making money. Much of this was in film and television. George and Ringo, not being part of the Northern Songs publishing company stock fiasco, were not as financially devastated. Surprisingly, the two of them hit the ground running.
Ringo Starr knows that he is the luckiest guy in the world. He had already establish a career as an actor with counter culture flops 'Candy' and 'The Magic Christian'. Soon he would be looning about on the set of '200 Motels' playing the part of Frank Zappa. More interestingly, he did a credible job as a Mexican bandit in the Spaghetti Western 'Blindman', a remake of the Japanese 'Zatoichi'. For an Italian Western, which were becoming more comedic over time, such as the 'Trinity' films, this is the most sexual and violent of them all, rather distasteful. Ringo is the best thing about it, delivering an great performance, as usual having nothing to do with the soundtrack.
Trying his hand at directing for the Apple Films subsidiary, Ringo next tackled the peculiarly English phenomenon of Mark Bolan. The finished product, 'Born to Boogie', feels like a continuation of 'Magical Mystery Tour'; that is, neither planning nor script were ever consulted during the making. Whether you can sit through it depends on how much you like T Rex. Let's just say that Ringo never directed again.
After that, it was back to acting, wherever, whatever. Bit parts in crazed productions like Nilsson's 'Son of Dracula, 'Lisztomania, and 'Sextette', Mae West's train wreck of a last movie. There was a decent television special, a one hour comedy with Angie Dickinson, Art Carney, John Ritter, and Carrie Fisher, retelling 'The Prince & the Pauper' from a rock perspective, harmless fun, certainly better than 'The Star Wars Christmas Special'. His last starring role was in 'Caveman', more harmless comedy. I like it; then again, I'm a sucker for stoned dinosaurs. He met the love of his life, Barbara Bach, on the set, still heading off to the sunset.
George Harrison had the most successful solo career, at least in the beginning. He filmed his charity event, 'The Concert for Bangladesh', including performances by Ringo, Bob Dylan, and Leon Russell. A masterpiece, it had a ripple effect, as Allen Klein took forever to get any profits to the needy, the beginning of the end of his time as the head of Apple. Harrison focused his attentions increasing to movie production, to the detriment of his musical career. However, he is largely credited with resurrecting the dead English film industry.
Harrison, through Apple Films, produced the little seen 'Little Malcolm & His Struggle Against the Eunuchs'. Like much of his cinema work, it was a personal product. The next year, Dark Horse Records put out 'Ravi Shankar's Music Festival From India'. When the Beatle money came in after a settlement in 1977, George set up Hand Made Productions, producing many films, some associated with Monty Python's Flying Circus.
John Lennon also has acting experience from his days as a Beatle, but went the Warhol way directing many short films with no purpose or plot, such as 'Erection' and 'Fly', all with Yoko. 'Imagine', a television documentary from 1972, was coherent enough and 70 minutes long, fodder later for other product. There were a couple of television concerts, one for John Sinclair, another for the Willowbrook Institution for Retarded Children in New York. Lennon slowly retreated from the limelight over the decade. Finally emerging in 1980 to record new music, he was senselessly gunned down outside his apartment in New York City. By a fan, no less.
Paul bounced back with 'Live & Let Die', certainly the most successful rock theme song for a James Bond movie. In one smart move, McCartney was right back on top, with hits singles like 'My Love', classic albums like 'Band on the Run'. The TV special 'James Paul McCartney' did air. both in Britain and the United States, exactly the kind of safe family entertainment expected. The more interesting 'One Hand Clapping' from the following year had more difficulty finding a market, largely unseen except on bootlegs for decades.
The 1976 Wings tour of America was the biggest concert event of the decade, the only time an ex-Beatle played arenas coast to coast. Later came the concert film 'Rockshow', a clear if unimaginative document of the event. McCartney started selling songs to movies and television shows on a regular basis, from 'Sunburn' to 'Oh Heavenly Dog' to 'Spies Like Us' to 'Same Time, Next Year', on and on and on. There were even a theme songs for British TV, 'Crossroads'.
More film work was in production, both another concert film and a television special, when John Lennon was killed in 1980. Paul went underground for a while, understandably. What is beyond comprehension is 'Give My Regard to Broad Street', a film so bad on every level, including most of the new music as well as destruction of old Beatle classics, as to boggle the mind. After that, McCartney went safely corporate.
Too bad, because there was an interesting project being done at the same time. Paul's interest in animation had not stopped with Bruce McMouse; he was funding a small group of artists to do Disney-quality shorts based on children's stories, complete with excellent original music he provided. Eventually released as 'The Music & Animation Special,' it deserves wider recognition, ranking among the best of the period. McCartney would continue to pump out great volumes of videos, his career as strong as ever to this day.
Apple Film kept working hard through the 1970s, collecting every scrap of Beatles footage world wide. This was eventually used in a documentary, finished some time around 1975, originally called 'The Long & Winding Road'. The Fab Four were entirely too litigious to agree on releasing it, letting it sit dormant until 1982. Trying to cram eight years of culture-shattering music into two hours was a mighty task, yet the film does hit all the high points.
The documentary did not go to waste, however. George Harrison gave a copy to Eric Idle and Neil Innes, who had created a spoof version of the Beatles called the Rutles, originally seen on the television series 'Rutland Weekend'. Viewing 'The Complete Beatles' and 'All You Need Is Cash' back to back, it's obvious that the script to the later wrote itself. Harrison did a better job of destroying the myth of the Beatles than any of John Lennon's antics, creating a masterpiece of subversion and comedic anarchy. It remains the best thing ever done by Idle, up there with 'Spinal Tap' in rock mockumentaries.
As far as killing the myth of the Beatles, nothing beats two of the most atrocious attempts at entertain during the entire 1970s, both directly related to the band but without a speck of their participation. 'All This & World War II' ranks with 'Skidoo' as the most wrong-minded attempt at cinema in the history of Western Civilization. Using old newsreel footage, much of it violent war images, a slew of musicians from Rod Stewart to Keith Moon cover Lennon & McCartney songs, creating a counter narrative to the images. That sounds much better in writing than in actuality.
The movie was pulled after four days in the theater, never getting any video release - ever, anywhere, not even Japan. Unfortunately there was a soundtrack album, a mixed bag. Peter Gabriel or Tina Turner could handle their stuff fine, Leo Sayer of Keith Moon not so much. It is worth a look, just to see how far mankind can sink. Oh, the humanity!
I can barely stand to write about 'St. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band' from 1978. Seeing it was insult enough. While not nearly as wretched as 'All This & World War II', trying to create a faux Beatles with the Bee Gees and Peter Frampton is just wrong. Bringing in George Martin to produce the music (I hope he was paid well) feels like a betrayal. In truth, not everything is horrible. Aerosmith certainly deliver, as does Billy Preston and Alice Cooper.
It's the calculated corporate nature of the entire thing that leaves such a bad taste in my mouth. After 'Tommy' was a huge success in 1974, Hollywood had to go screw it up. Without a visionary lunatic like Ken Russell to direct, the results are pure Brady Bunch. The Beatles' ultimate legacy lived on, even growing in stature, remarkable after crap like these last two pieces of shit.
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