Beatles Decline $100m Offer to Reunite

But who needs ‘em now that we got Beatles Rock Band?

By Blurt Staff

Interesting little bit of Beatles trivia surfaced on the web this morning via the popular "Lefsetz Letter." Blogger and music industry watchdog Bob Lefsetz, in discussing this week's release of Beatles Rock Band, made the following observation:

"The Beatles never did reunite.  Their flame burned for less than a decade.  They realized they'd done it, there was nowhere left to go, and the band splintered, its members going in different directions.  You'd like to believe, unlike the Police, unlike every classic act with more members alive than dead, they wouldn't have reunited, solely for the bucks.  We'll never know."

Responding to Lefsetz' comments, superstar manager Bill Silva shared a personal anecdote outlining the time he approached Paul, George and Ringo about getting back together for a one-off concert - with a $100 mil guaranteed payoff!

Wrote Silva:

"When we were partners with Universal we offered them a guarantee of $100,000,000.00 for one show at Dodger Stadium on January 1, 2000. We estimated with worldwide tav, pay-per-view, licensing, sponsorships that the "one show only" would be like a Super Bowl for music, and would have potentially generated over $500,000,000 to them. For one show. We got radio silence from their various reps--all who acknowledged it was a legitimate offer. Finally, months after we'd sent the first proposal, Neil Aspinall agreed to meet with me. He spoke of the various Beatles projects and timelines for the next decade, and saw me out saying, ‘So you see, we can never afford to tarnish the legacy and the memory of the Beatles with a live performance that may not match what fans hope it to be.' I'd say they didn't  put the money first from my one little glimpse..."

Amen.