Paul McCartney has addressed the Beatles' separation, emphatically denying that he was to blame for the group's disintegration.

McCartney stated on an episode of BBC Radio 4's This Cultural Life set to air on October 23 that John Lennon wanted The Beatles to break up.

"I didn't start the breakup," McCartney stated. "That was our Johnny," says the narrator.

Fans have long questioned who was to blame for the band's demise, with many accusing McCartney. But, according to McCartney, the fundamental reason for the separation was Lennon's wish to "break loose."

Confusion about the breakup was allowed to grow because the band's manager asked them to remain silent until he completed a series of commercial arrangements, according to McCartney.

The conversation takes place ahead of Peter Jackson's six-hour documentary about the band's final months. The Beatles: Get Back, which will premiere on Disney+ in November, will undoubtedly explore the famed band's breakup. The Observer was the first to report on McCartney's remarks.

When challenged about his intention to go it alone by interviewer John Wilson, McCartney responded, "Stop right there. I am not the one who started the breakup. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no 'I am leaving The Beatles,' John announced one day as he came into a room. Is that what's causing the schism, or what's causing the schism?"

McCartney expressed regret for the split but added that the band was still producing "pretty good stuff."

"This was my band, my job, and my entire life." As a result, I wanted it to go on," McCartney remarked.