George Harrison Already Had A Plan B For The Beatles Breakup

George Harrison firmly believed that all things must pass, including his iconic group, The Beatles. While it’s worth acknowledging that the Fab Four’s extensive work remains popular even by today’s standards, Harrison and even his bandmates weren’t so sure if The Beatles would remain so in the future, at the start of the Beatlemania in 1963.

John Lennon once said in an interview that the lads constantly remained worried about their future. “How long are you going to last?” Lennon said. “Well, you can’t say, you know. You can be big-headed and say, ‘Yeah, we’re going to last ten years.’ But as soon as you’ve said that you think, ‘We’re lucky if we last three months,’ you know.” An established fanbase and several hits couldn’t prove the band’s longevity, so, it was only fair that the members had backup plans in case the bubble would burst sooner than later.

Before The Beatles disbanded in 1970, George hoped he’d saved enough money in 1963. With that money, he’d launch his record label, and desired to help aspiring artists who also wished to be as popular as his band. “I hope to have enough money to go into a business of my own by the time we do flop,” Harrison said.
“And we don’t know—it may be next week; it may be two or three years. But I think we’ll be in the business, either up there or down there, for at least another four years. I’d like to make records, you know, with other artists. I don’t mean perform. I mean as a producer,” he added.

He wasn’t well aware that the band would go on for another seven years and would produce numerous hits and legendary albums.

After the band’s official breakup, it would take time for him to fulfill his ultimate goal, as he had prior commitments to achieve first. One of those is to produce his extremely successful solo album All Things Must Pass, and also to record several albums. George never liked the idea of playing in front of an audience since the beginning, so he’d been present only at a handful of concerts post-Beatles.

In 1974, George was able to achieve his goal of registering with a record label. Through A&M Records, he founded his own record company, Dark Horse. It also became a way for George to meet his 2^nd wife, Olivia.