Rock Report: McCartney Says Yoko Didn’t Break Up The Beatles

In Paul McCartney's career-spanning interview with David Frost, he maintains that Yoko Ono is not the reason for the Beatles' break up. The recent hour-long interview will air on the TV channel Al Jazeera English beginning November 9th. The Observer posted some notable quotes from the interview, including McCartney taking Yoko's part, saying, "She certainly didn't break the group up, the group was breaking up."

McCartney, who at various points over the decades has been vehemently at odds with John Lennon's widow, now credits her for helping realize some of Lennon's best solo work -- including "Imagine," saying, "I don't think he would have done that without Yoko, so I don't think you can blame her for anything. When Yoko came along, part of her attraction was her avant garde side, her view of things, so she showed him another way to be, which was very attractive to him. So it was time for John to leave, he was definitely going to leave.

The end of the group came in late 1970 when McCartney sued the other Beatles to dissolve their partnership -- which ultimately saved the group their fortune. McCartney admits that Lennon quitting the Beatles in September 1969 left him devastated on multiple fronts.

Among other topics, McCartney will talk about losing his mother when he was a teenager, losing his wife Linda, and says "I'd like to retire soon."