Paul McCartney blames John Lennon for Beatles break-up: ‘I didn’t instigate the split. I wanted to continue’

‘This was my band, this was my job, this was my life, so I wanted it to continue’

Paul McCartney has claimed that he “wanted to continue” performing with The Beatles when the band famously split in 1970.

The singer-songwriter, who has often been credited with instigating the band’s dissolution, stated in a new interview that John Lennon had “instigated” the split.

McCartney addressed the topic in a forthcoming episode of the new BBC Radio 4 interview series This Cultural Life, previewed by The Guardian.

“I didn’t instigate the split. That was our Johnny,” McCartney said of the Fab Four’s falling out. “This was my band, this was my job, this was my life, so I wanted it to continue.”

Speaking about the rumours that he himself had instigated the band’s split during an interview with the press, McCartney said: “I had to live with that because that was what people saw. All I could do is say, ‘No.’”

“I am not the person who instigated the split,” he said. “Oh no, no, no. John walked into a room one day and said I am leaving the Beatles. Is that instigating the split, or not?”

The last months of the Beatles are set to be the focus of a new TV documentary directed by Peter Jackson. Titled Get Back, the series will be released next month.

McCartney’s BBC interview is broadcast on 23 October. On 25 October, recordings of McCartney reading from his new book of lyrics will be available to hear on BBC Sounds.