August 6, 1980. John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr and David Bowie, all together again after four years at the Hit Factory in New York City. It was here where they decided they would make their comeback. It was the first day of recording, which coincidentally was also the 20 year anniversary of the band changing their name to the Beatles. The vibe in the studio was immediately positive, with the sessions starting with informal jamming and the like. The bad blood that had persisted in previous years had faded, and all five classic members had come into the studio with new songs for the band to perform. Lennon's songs all had a homemade feel to them, with retrospect and nostalgia being a big theme for him. Meanwhile, Harrison's originals were mostly introspective and looked outward instead of inward, yet they still had a tinge of Beatles in them. McCartney's songwriting was as it always was, writing hit after hit as if it were the easiest thing in the world while always an ear for the experimental side. Bowie, meanwhile, entered the sessions with some of the best material he had ever written. Two of these songs were written in Berlin alongside Brian Eno, but were kept off his experimental solo albums because he knew they should be saved for something bigger. And to Bowie, there was nothing bigger than a Beatles reunion. The theme of the album would be retrospect while still being able to look forward, hence the title of the album. Recording would conclude in late November, mixing for the album would start in early December and the album would be released mid to late December for the holiday season. Until...
December 8, 1980. 10:50 p.m. Lennon and his wife, Yoko Ono, were walking home from an interview they had just done an hour before. Lennon was in good spirits. He had talked with the interviewer about not only his personal life, but also his return to music and his excitement to play with his old mates again. But now that was over, and the couple were to return home to their home at the Dakota to greet their son, Sean. But fate had other plans. As they were nearing the apartment, a grey pickup truck drove up beside the two, slowed down, and four shots rang out. One shot hit Ono in the shoulder, while the other three hit Lennon in the back, stomach and the heart. Both were admitted to hospital immediately. While Ono's wounds were relatively small, Lennon had died immediately from the third shot and was declared dead on arrival. A manhunt for the truck would start almost immediately, and the man inside, one Mark David Chapman, would be discovered almost a week later.
Lennon's death changed everything about the release of the Beatles' next album. What was originally a late December release was delayed indefinitely until the band decided what to do next. They took the rest of the month off to grieve, without giving much of a public presence during the time. In late January 1981, the band finally reconvened at producer George Martin's AIR studio in Montserrat, not only to get away from newly-founded bad memories of New York but also out of fear that any of the remaining Beatles could be next in line to be murdered. One thing that was for certain for all that participated in recording was that this was now going to be the final Beatles album. They all rightfully agreed that with no Lennon, there were no Beatles. So the previously completed album would be redone as a partial tribute album to their fallen comrade. To do this, the album was stretched to two LPs, with new and previously rejected songs now making it onto the album. Harrison and McCartney both wrote their own songs about Lennon, and two old Lennon demos, "Watching the Wheels" and "Grow Old with Me", were brought forth to use on the now double album. Recording would finally finish in early March.
Look Back in Anger, now three months overdue, was released on April 2, 1981 to massive critical and public acclaim. People flocked to stores to buy it not only due to Lennon's passing, but also due to Lennon and Bowie being on the album, the first time in 5 years such a thing had happened. Critics applauded the fact that there was just about nothing to criticize. The writing was superb, with songs like "Heroes" becoming a Beatles anthem, the art rock direction was applauded as doing something new even in their final hour, and the tribute to Lennon was seen not only in good taste but also extremely emotional. The Beatles' final release while still together was Bowie's final statement in the band, "Heroes", which went to #1 as a single. The B-side, curiously enough, is a German version of the A-side, titled "Helden". The band decided to do this as one final thank you to the country where they had really gotten their start as a band more than twenty years before, as well as a general thank you to all of their international fans not located in either the UK or US. The news about the breakup of the band was announced the same day, not to many people's surprise.
As of April 10, 1981, the Beatles were no more.
Ashes to Ashes
A full mix for this album can be found here:
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