John Lennon turns 80: What the musician thought about a possible Beatles reunion

Musician didn’t want to be singing the band’s early love songs when he was 30

A resurfaced interview reveals John Lennon’s personal views on the break-up of The Beatles.

Lennon, who would have turned 80 today, died on 8 December 1980, 10 years after the group parted ways.

Many often wonder whether Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr would have reunited had Lennon not been killed, but the musician himself dismissed this idea in 1971.

During an interview with Daily Express, he said: “There’s no reason why we should ever play together.”

Lennon also expressed his happiness at the band's disintegration due to the fact that Harrison was given the chance to spread his wings musically.

Harrison released the beloved triple-album All Things Must Pass in 1970. It is widely considered to be the best of all the solo Beatles’ respective records.

“Listen to the music,” Lennon added. “Would George have ever flourished like that if we’d carried on with the group? No chance. There was no room.”

He continued: “It’s far better music because we’re not suppressed. In The Beatles, by the time [we] were at [our] peak, we were cutting each other down to size.”

Lennon thought George Harrison ‘flourished’ after the band broke up (Getty Images)

He said that their talents were restricted due to the fact they had to try to “fit into come kind of format”, which in turn “limited our capacity to write and perform”.

Part of his decision to leave was because he didn’t want to be performing classic hits like “She Loves You” when he turned 30.

The Beatles broke up when Lennon was 30.