Sir Paul McCartney ends five decades long Beatles feud with tech giant Apple – as he plays firm’s 50th birthday party
Sir Paul McCartney appears to no longer be carrying the weight of the decades-long legal battle between the Beatles and tech giant Apple after playing at the firm’s 50th birthday party.
The rock legend was heard doing a sound check by neighbors near the company’s California headquarters ahead of his performance at the anniversary celebration, and fans shared footage of the ensuing concert online.
The 83-year-old artist, who recently announced a new album, has released Fab Four hits including Help!, Lady Madonna and Get Back, as well as Wings singles such as Band On The Run and Let ‘Em In, as well as solo works such as Maybe I’m Amazed and Coming Up.
Sir Paul’s positive view on Tuesday comes despite a years-long split – which continues through the courts – between Apple, co-founded by the late Steve Jobs, and the Beatles companies.
The Fab Four founded their own company, Apple Corps, in 1968; These included subsidiaries devoted to areas such as books, films, electronics, and retail; the latter was on display at the ill-fated clothing boutique on London’s Baker Street.
The most successful of Apple Corps’ ventures was the label, with its early hits including Mary Hopkin’s Those Were The Days and The Beatles’ own Hey Jude.
However, the use of the Apple word and logos by two rival companies led to years of litigation; It came into sharper focus at the beginning of this century as technology company Apple Inc. moved more into music.
The release of the iPod and its accompanying iTunes music software fueled the debate over whether Apple owns the rights to music.
The Beatles founded their own firm, Apple Corps, in 1968; they are seen here in June of the previous year. From left to right: Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, John Lennon, George Harrison
Sir Paul McCartney continues his Got Back tour in the US, including back-to-back concerts in California (filmed at London’s O2 Arena on 18 December 2024)
The Beatles’ company sued Apple Computer twice, alleging trademark and music rights infringement.
Apple Corps accused the tech company of violating a 1991 agreement between them that prohibited Apple Computer from using its trademark for any application ‘whose primary content is music’.
Steve Jobs, who died in 2011 at the age of 56, founded the Apple Computer Company with Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne in April 1976.
Neil Aspinall, the Beatles’ former road manager who was in charge of the band’s commercial affairs for many years after the band’s breakup in 1970, fought his cases before his death in March 2008, aged 66.
The long-running dispute between Apple Computer and Apple Corps, which owns the estates of Sir Paul, Sir Ringo Starr and John Lennon and George Harrison, was finally resolved last year.
And the band’s music was added to Apple’s iTunes catalog in November 2010; this was heralded by the re-release of all of the Beatles’ studio albums in both mono and stereo.
Sir Ringo said at the time: ‘I’m particularly happy I haven’t been asked when the Beatles will be coming to iTunes.’
Sir Paul, who continues to tour now including two celebrity-studded concerts in Los Angeles, held his 50th anniversary event at Apple Park in Cupertino.
Sir Paul McCartney appeared to be in good spirits as he arrived for the opening night of his two-day stand at The Fonda Theater in Los Angeles on Friday last week.
This was followed by two concerts at the Fonda Theater in Hollywood, attracting crowds that included many celebrities.
Attendees included Taylor Swift, Reese Witherspoon, Al Pacino and his girlfriend Noor Alfallah, Harrison Ford, Olivia Rodrigo, Billie Eilish and Sabrina Carpetner.
Sir Paul announced last week that his new studio album, titled The Boys Of Dungeon Lane, would be released next month, with lead single Days We Left Behind being shared online.
Days of Us Gone launched its first new music release in five years at BBC Merseyside on Thursday last week, with a new portrait and artwork shot by photographer daughter Mary McCartney, 56.
Speaking about the new single, Sir Paul said: ‘It’s very much a memory song for me. The album’s name, The Boys of Dungeon Lane, comes from a lyric in this track.
‘I was just thinking about that, I often wonder if I write about the days I’ve left behind and only about the past, but then I think, how can you write about anything else?…
‘There are so many memories of Liverpool. It includes a bit halfway between John and Forthlin Road, the street where I used to live.
‘Dungeon Road is near there. I lived in a place called Speke, which was very working class.
‘We didn’t have much, but it didn’t matter because all the people were great and you didn’t realize you didn’t have much.’
His last studio album is McCartney III, released in December 2020, in which he performs all instruments.
At the time he described it as a ‘rockdown album’ and recorded it by himself during the Covid-19 pandemic at his home studio in Peasmarsh, East Sussex.
