This episode features Conan O'Brien joining host Tom Holland to discuss The Beatles' final years from 1966-1970, covering their transition from live performances to studio experimentation.

The conversation explores the band's creative peak with albums like Revolver, Sgt. Pepper, the White Album, and Abbey Road, while examining the personal and professional tensions that led to their breakup.

Key moments include John Lennon's 'bigger than Jesus' controversy, Brian Epstein's death, the Maharishi retreat in India, the chaotic Magical mystery tour film project, and the formation of Apple Corps.

O'Brien, a devoted Beatles fan, shares insights on their creative process, the impact of drugs and spirituality, Yoko Ono's role, and why their timing in ending the band was 'impeccable,' cementing their association with the 1960s.

Revolver and the End of Live Performance

Revolver (1966) is considered by many, possibly even The Beatles themselves, as their greatest album, featuring songs like 'Eleanor Rigby' and 'Tomorrow Never Knows' that were nearly impossible to perform live with 1960s technology

Live performances had become frustrating because screaming audiences couldn't hear the music and the band was essentially 'lip-syncing' with small Vox amps piped through PA systems in giant stadiums

"We just became like lip-syncing, you know, miming. And we didn't, we almost, sometimes things would break down and nobody'd know" - Beatles member describing live show deterioration

Philippines Disaster and 'Bigger Than Jesus' Fallout

The Beatles inadvertently snubbed Imelda Marcos in the Philippines when they declined an invitation to the palace that was announced publicly but never actually extended to them

The Marcos family portrayed it as a deliberate insult

The band faced physical threats and a traumatic airport departure

They vowed never to return to the Philippines

John Lennon's March 1966 comment that The Beatles were 'more popular than Jesus' sparked outrage in America's Bible Belt, with DJs organizing record burnings and the Ku Klux Klan getting involved

"I'm not saying that we're better or greater or comparing us with Jesus Christ as a person or God as a thing or whatever it is. You know, I just said what I said and it was wrong or was taken wrong and now it's all this" - John Lennon's tearful press conference apology

The controversy revealed a growing cultural divide in America that would become more apparent in 1967's Summer of Love and later exploited by Nixon's campaign

Sgt. Pepper and the Summer of Love

After taking a break in late 1966, The Beatles reconvened to create Sgt. Pepper, though the double A-side 'Strawberry Fields Forever'/'Penny Lane' was removed from the album to serve as a single

"Strawberry Fields Forever might be my favourite Beatles song" - Conan O'Brien, noting both songs show 'both sides of this incredible songwriting team and their perfection'

'Penny Lane' and 'Strawberry Fields Forever' failed to reach number one in the UK, knocked off by Engelbert Humperdinck, and the album was outsold by The Sound of Music soundtrack in 1967

Sgt. Pepper was marketed as a 'concept album' about a fictional band, though Paul McCartney admitted 'they give up' on the concept and most songs had nothing to do with it

The album coincided with The Beatles' increasing LSD use, particularly John Lennon who was 'positively green from it,' though they maintained creative discipline rooted in music hall structure and production values

Brian Epstein's Death and the Maharishi

Brian Epstein died of an overdose in August 1967 while The Beatles were in Bangor, Wales with the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, leaving them 'completely traumatized' in front of cameras

"I knew then we'd had it" - John Lennon's later reflection on Epstein's death, recognizing he was the figure who held the band together

The Maharishi told them 'not to get overwhelmed by grief and to whatever thoughts we have of Brian, to keep them happy,' but John appeared skeptical even in the moment

In early 1968, The Beatles traveled to the Maharishi's retreat in Rishikesh, India, where they wrote most of the White Album despite not finding spiritual enlightenment

Ringo brought a suitcase full of Heinz baked beans due to stomach concerns

John had a major falling out with the Maharishi and wrote 'Sexy Sadie' (originally titled 'Maharishi')

George Harrison had a life-changing experience with Indian spirituality that would define his future path

"Someone wrote a really thoughtful piece which said, He's an important part of The Beatles story because after Brian's death, they've all had it. They're fraying. Their lives are chaotic. And they do a very unusual thing for the biggest stars on Earth. They go to a retreat" - Conan O'Brien on the Rishikesh period

Magical Mystery Tour and Creative Missteps

Paul McCartney's idea for Magical mystery tour involved drawing a circle on paper and sectioning it off with arrows as the entire planning process for the film

The film aired on BBC on Boxing Day 1967 in black and white and was panned by critics, seen as The Beatles losing their minds, though it contained brilliant moments like the 'I Am the Walrus' sequence

"I love the video they made in Magical mystery tour for I Am the Walrus. They seem to be at some kind of military complex. And it looks like they spent all of seven minutes setting up the scene" - Conan O'Brien praising the spontaneous creativity

The White Album and John's Heroin Use

The White Album (officially titled The Beatles) was deliberately stark in design, contrasting with refref-book-sgt--pepperSgt. Pepper's technicolor, and released as a double album despite George Martin's later regret

"People say maybe it could have been this or it could have been that. And maybe there's some songs in there that are too many. And he said, oh, come on. It's The Beatles. It's the White album" - Paul McCartney defending the double album format

John Lennon was heavily using heroin during this period, which visibly impaired him in footage and created strain during recording sessions

John met artist Yoko Ono and became infatuated, though Conan argues 'I don't think Yoko broke up The Beatles' - the breakup would have happened regardless

Paul McCartney wrote 'Hey Jude' for John and Cynthia's son Julian after their breakup, driving to Weybridge to visit them, and the song became a massive hit despite breaking conventions with its length

Get Back Sessions and the Rooftop Concert

Peter Jackson's Get Back documentary revealed The Beatles were 'still making each other laugh' during the supposedly difficult 1969 sessions, showing Paul composing 'Get Back' in the background while Linda and Yoko talked

"This is the biggest band in the world, and they've got, you know, there's not a bowl of cocaine, it's toast" - Conan O'Brien on the very British nature of the sessions

The famous rooftop concert on the Apple Building in Savile Row almost didn't happen - 'they're still in a back room as the equipment's all set up and they're ready to go on the rooftop. They're still deciding whether or not they're going to come out'

George Harrison walked out during the sessions after John told him that manager Allen Klein 'knows me as well as you do or better' after just one meeting, despite George being with John since 1957-58

Apple Corps Chaos and Money Problems

The Beatles founded Apple Corps as a tax dodge with a 1960s idealistic approach of 'get rid of the pigs and the man and the capitalists and just let groovy people like Magic Alex, a Greek engineer, come up with lunatic schemes'

"Apple basically, they're saying, come in and rip us off. And so loads of people do come and rip them off" - describing the financial chaos of the venture

Paul wanted his father-in-law Lee Eastman to manage their finances while the other three Beatles wanted Allen Klein, creating a major rift in the band

"Magical mystery tour. Hey, how hard could it be to make a movie? You know, the Apple boutique, how hard could it be to make a shop and sell groovy clothes? Apple Music, how hard could it be to just get rid of the obstacles and let groovy people be groovy?" - Conan on their naive approach

Abbey Road: The Perfect Ending

Abbey Road was actually their final studio album despite Let It Be being released later, recorded after the Get Back sessions in 1969

"The moment on Abbey Road that I find the most moving is 'You Never Give Me Your Money,' which is Paul singing about being bogged down in paperwork and arguments over finance and cash" - Conan identifying the emotional core

Conan attended Saturday Night Live's 50th anniversary and watched Paul McCartney perform the Abbey Road guitar solo medley from perfect seats: 'out of body experience'

"One of the things that makes them a true rarity in show business is their timing was impeccable always. And they ended on this beautiful note and then never came back" - Conan on why The Beatles remain culturally significant

The Beatles' breakup announcement in 1970 cemented their association with the 1960s: 'In history books, 500 years from now, if there's a section on the 60s and there are only three photographs, one of them is going to be of The Beatles'