It’s been more than 50 years since the Beatles dropped their debut album, and the releases keep coming. The Fab Four’s early days were just revisited with the On Air — Live at the BBC, Volume 2 compilation, their U.S.-only output is being repackaged as a 13-CD retrospective, and soon, fans will be able to own a series of interviews that John Lennon and Yoko Ono did with journalist/film director Howard Smith.
On April 15, MVD Entertainment Group will put out I’m Not the Beatles: The John & Yoko Interviews With Howard Smith, 1969-1972, an eight-CD box set that collects five conversations John and Yoko had with Smith between 1969 and 1972. According to an official announcement, the discussions touch on a range of topics, including fame, activism, performing, and, of course, the Beatles’ infamous breakup, which was totally not Yoko’s fault, according to Paul McCartney.
“A musical breakup had already started long before the women came into it,” Lennon said in a 1972 interview with the Village Voice reporter and radio personality. “It was inevitable.” When asked if the Beatles would ever reunite, the Imagine singer told Smith, “What would be the point? There’s no reason to. There’s just no reason on earth for us to do it.” (It’s probably safe to say that Paul and Ringo disagree.)
To hear Lennon talk about the band’s flame-out, stream the Q&A snippet below. And to pre-order I’m Not the Beatles: The John & Yoko Interviews, 1969-1972, head over to SeeOfSound.
