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Written by George, 'Here Comes The Sun' was an expression of delight at being able to slip away from the interminable business meetings which were now taking up so much of the Beatles' time. In January 1969, John and Yoko met with music business manager Allen Klein and shortly afterwards declared that he would be looking after their business affairs, despite the fact that New York lawyer John Eastman, brother of Linda, had recently been brought in to represent the Beatles collectively. This was the beginning of a bitter drawn-out conflict over who should manage the Beatles and what should be done about the chaotic state of their finances. Despite the tremendous sales of Beatles' music over the past six years, John claimed, "all of us could be broke in six months." Klein offered to restructure Apple, organize a takeover bid for the shares the Beatles didn't own in Northern Songs and renegotiate a better royalty deal with EMI. He was able to persuade John, George and Ringo of his ability to do these things but Paul remained loyal to Eastman. As a result of the Beatles' existence was now under threat and the frequent meetings at Apple were fraught with tension. One morning in the early spring, George decided it was all getting a bit too much like school, and so he took a day off from the round table routine and went to see his friend Eric Clapton at his country home in Ewhurst, Surrey. Borrowing one of Eric's acoustic guitars, George took a walk around the gardens and, basking in the first real sunshine of the year, he felt a sudden flush of optimism and started to write 'Here Comes The Sun'. "It was such a great release for me simply being out in the sun," said George at the time. "The song just came to me." |
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