(CNN)When the biggest set successful British philharmonic history, the Beatles, broke up successful 1970, fans pointed the digit astatine co-lead vocalist Paul McCartney.
Now, much than fractional a period later, McCartney has revealed it was, successful fact, John Lennon who instigated the split.
In an upcoming interrogation connected BBC Radio 4, helium told writer John Wilson: "John walked into the country 1 time and said, 'I'm leaving the Beatles.' And helium said, 'It's rather thrilling. It's alternatively similar a divorce.' And past we were near to prime up the pieces," McCartney said successful a preview that aired connected the station's Today programme Monday.
While Wilson highlighted that McCartney was the 1 to writer his bandmates to extremity the concern partnership, helium besides said being blamed for the band's breakup had "frustrated McCartney for fractional a century."
McCartney said Lennon's determination to permission the set was driven by his pursuit of societal justice, including movements specified arsenic "bagism," wherever helium and his wife, Yoko Ono, wore bags to impulse radical not to justice others based connected their appearance.
Lennon and Ono besides held "bed-ins" for bid successful Amsterdam and Montreal successful 1969, whereby they laic successful furniture successful edifice rooms for a week successful protestation against conflict, peculiarly the Vietnam War.
"The constituent of it truly was that John was making a caller beingness with Yoko and helium wanted to spell successful a bag, and helium wanted to prevarication successful furniture for a week successful Amsterdam, for peace," McCartney said. "You couldn't reason with that."
McCartney described the breakup arsenic the "most hard play of my life" and said helium could person imagined the Beatles continuing for longer if Lennon had not instigated the split.
"The Beatles were breaking up and this was my band, this was my job, this was my life," helium said. "I wanted it to continue, I thought we were doing immoderate beauteous bully worldly -- you know, 'Abbey Road,' 'Let It Be,' not bad."
McCartney volition merchandise a publication of commentaries connected his opus lyrics adjacent month, edited by Irish writer Paul Muldoon, and including songs written for the Beatles.
He besides told Wilson helium and Lennon had written a four-page play successful the "kitchen sink" genre earlier they started the Beatles.
The afloat interrogation volition beryllium broadcast connected October 23.