It’s been over 40 years since the controversial book The Love You Make: An Insider’s Story of the Beatles was first published. 

Nicknamed by fans as The Muck You Rake, it contains interviews with Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr three years after John Lennon’s death.

These had been conducted by Peter Brown, personal assistant to Brian Epstein, senior executive at Apple Corps and John Lennon’s best man at his wedding to Yoko Ono. 

What was set to be the “last word” on The Beatles, alongside those in their inner circle, ended up being considered “too honest” in what was claimed including the rumour that Lennon and Epstein had had an affair in 1963.

Following the backlash, the rest of the recordings were locked away in a vault, only to be uncovered by Brown and co-author Steven Gaines for a new book today.

All You Need Is Love: The End of the Beatles (Unpublished, unvarnished and told by The Beatles and their inner circle) contains previously unreleased content from over 100 hours of interviews. According to The Times, the book’s villain is Allen Klein, the New York accountant who managed The Beatles after Epstein’s death. He horrified McCartney by firing everyone around the band, but Lennon had fallen for him.

Gaines claims: “The interviews suggest it is because Allen Klein offered Yoko a million dollars for her movie project. She was enticed and John would do anything Yoko said.” Klein was simultaneously managing the Rolling Stones and Mick Jagger ended up in a very awkward situation during one meeting

Brown divulged: “I asked Mick Jagger to come over and explain to the four Beatles who this Allen Klein was. And John, in his wonderful way, had Klein turn up to the same meeting, which was deeply embarrassing. It made Mick very uncomfortable too.”

All You Need Is Love: The End of the Beatles by Peter Brown and Steven Gaines is published on April 11, 2024.