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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
National
Aaron Curran

Why the Beatles quit touring at the height of their fame

As the Fab Four rode the wave of their global stardom, cracks began to show.

The passion the lads had for creating music was clear, and John, Paul, George and Ringo all felt at home in the studio in their early days. However one aspect would always prove an issue among the band - touring.

The band halted all tours in 1966, with Paul citing the main reason being they could not hear themselves performing on stage. However, this was just one aspect of the decision.

READ MORE: The Beatles' childhood homes and where they are now

Whereas nowadays a band or artist would need to tour to make a fortune, in the 1960s, the Beatles were able to rake in a fortune from record sales alone. The quartet used their time away from the stage to focus on studio work.

In 1975, Lennon explained his stance on returning to touring, he said: "I think it would be a drag, I am sure I enjoyed parts of it, but not much of it. My decision was already made on touring a long time ago.”

In the Beatles Anthology documentary, Ringo Starr said: "It was coming to the end for me. Nobody was listening at the shows. That was OK at the beginning, but we were playing really bad.”

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