1968

1968: Enter Linda & Yoko

In February 1968, The Beatles travel to India to stay with the Maharshi in India. For George this part of a long-term commitment to Eastern mysticism. The other are less impressed. They come home angry and disillusioned.


Tension is rising within the band. Relations are particularly difficult between Lennon and McCartney. The two songwriters were going in different directions musically and personally. Increasingly they write and record without the presence of the other.


The public blames this division on their new girlfriends. Paul is now with the American photographer and heiress, Linda Eastman. John is leaving his wife and child, Cynthia and Julian for the Japanese experimental artist, Yoko Ono.

Without direction

They cannot agree on a new manager. Paul wants his future father-in-law to manage them. The others prefer an aggressive show-business lawyer named Alan Klein.


The recording sessions for The White Album (1968) are tense and unhappy. Lennon insists on Yoko accompanying him. ‘We want to spend every minute together,’ he tells Ringo. For the others her constant presence is unsettling


When Yoko is ill her bed is transported to the studio.  She has a microphone and gives her artistic  opinions. Not all the group members appreciate her contribution.

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