Video: 'Paul McCartney At The Start Of High Court Battle - 19 February 1971'

(Friday, February 19, 1971; during the Break-up of The Beatles) — A bearded Paul McCartney, wearing a blue suit and open-necked white shirt, and his American wife, Linda Eastman, appeared today in courtroom 16 of Britain’s High Courts of Justice in London to break up The Beatles partnership that made him and John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr world figures and millionaires.

McCartney’s counsel, David Hirst, asked the court to appoint a receiver to control the group’s business until the court decides whether the partnership, Beatles and Company, should be dissolved.

Video: 'Why Did The Beatles Break Up?'

The defendants were the other Beatles, John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, and their management company, Apple Corps Ltd. Each of The Beatles had a 5 per cent interest In the partnership; Apple Corps had the remaining 80 percent.

McCartney’s suit came before the court briefly a month ago and was adjourned to enable the defendants to provide evidence. Hirst’s opening statement was largely a rerun of complaints made earlier against Allen Klein, The Beatles’ American manager, whose hiring in 1969 McCartney had opposed.