The Beatles split up in tears in 1970. After years of estrangement, John Lennon and Paul McCartney found themselves, by the greatest of coincidences, at Burbank Studios in Los Angeles. They haven’t spoken to each other for four years, and have since settled their accounts through songs. But that day, their friendship will be stronger.
On March 28, 1974, the two legends are both located in California. Lennon, in the midst of his separation from Yoko Ono, then went through his famous “Lost Weekend”. He spends his time partying, notably with Elton John and Harry Nilsson, whose album he is currently producing. And that evening, Paul and Linda McCartney showed up unexpectedly in the studio.
Very naturally, the former Beatles take up the instruments again. McCartney sits down on drums to reform their legendary tandem for one evening. But the result was not great: “We were all stoned,” Paul McCartney later admitted. These chance reunions will nevertheless serve as reconciliation.
“Think of me from time to time, my old friend”
The two former friends will also reunite in 1976 at Lennon’s house in New York. That evening, they watch the satirical show together Saturday Night Live, tour not far away. With humor, the presenter then shows the camera a small check intended for the Beatles if they come to reform on his set. Paul and John glance at each other and hesitate to disembark. This will be their last evening together.
Because on December 9, 1980, tragedy struck. John Lennon is murdered by one of his fans in front of his apartment building in New York. A few months earlier, on the phone with his old friend, he had slipped a phrase that would resonate with Paul McCartney for a long time, “Think of me from time to time, my old friend.” Upset by the disappearance of his early accomplice, he dedicates a piece to him Here Today, where he sings: “I still remember how it was before. And I can’t hold back my tears anymore.”
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