The Beatles turned down £20million offer to reunite for key reason – all to do with sharks

The Beatles, a legendary rock band, agreed to reunite for a sizable sum, but they turned down for an unorthodox reason.

Ringo Starr, the band’s drummer, revealed they were offered a staggering $50million in 1976 – equivalent to £200million today – for a one-off performance. The Fab Four chose not to accept the attractive offer despite it. Starr and the band’s other surviving member, Paul McCartney, briefly reunited at McCartney’s show in London late last year.

After their split in 1970, however, a full reunion of the Beatles never materialized. Their final live performance was held on Abbey Road Studios’ rooftop where they performed brand-new songs like “Don’t Let Me Down” and “Get Back.”

The band members then collaborated on one another’s solo projects, with the release of the song “When We Was Fab” featuring George Harrison and Starr. Each member also featured on Starr’s 1974 solo album ‘ Ringo’, but they never collaborated as a full band on the record. Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and John Lennon each contributed to separate songs, and they never reunited as a full group.

Reflecting on the last time he worked with all three Beatles, Starr remarked: “I didn’t leave the studio thinking that will be the last record we’d ever make. I never thought that. I didn’t think it would be the last time we’d ever tour together either”.

But this could have changed in 1976 when, according to Starr, the band was offered a substantial amount to get back together. Their reunion was thwarted for an unusual reason despite each member’s belief that they would eventually change and perform live.

A bizarre twist was used to make the shocking offer from Bill Sargent: the opening act was a sharkfighter. The Beatles turned down the comeback because, according to CultureSonar’s report via Entertainment Tonight Canada, “the opening act was a guy biting a shark.”

Wally Gibbins, an Australian adventurer, would have been able to watch a Great White shark battle it live on television from Western Samoa in this odd spectacle. As a result, the Fab Four decided not to participate in the televised performance.

Despite this strange proposal, Starr and McCartney have since reunited on stage for the Got Back tour, sans any shark-related antics.

Instead, they performed popular tracks from ‘ The White Album ‘ and ‘ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’. McCartney’s tour left fans in awe, with four sold-out shows taking place in Manchester and London.

McCartney later reunited with Starr and his original bass guitar, which is thought to have been stolen 51 years ago, honoring both Harrison and Lennon during the performances.

Source: Mirror