

Groovin’ Up Slowly (A Beatles Fan Album YouTube Channel) Episode 38: What If The Beatles Never Broke Up? Beware of Darkness (The 1970 Album That Never Was)
What if The Beatles never broke up… and 1970 gave us one more album?
This album, Beware of Darkness, imagines that moment.
For song selection I used John’s real-life suggestion (as a possible follow-up to Abbey Road) of a fairer split—4 songs each for John, Paul, and George, plus 2 for Ringo. This fan album reconstructs a world where the band keeps going after Abbey Road. My hope is that this selection of songs sounds like an album, not a playlist.
For example, I do not include any of the so-called “diss” tracks or any of George’s overtly religious songs. I just don’t think The Beatles would have recorded them (though they are some of my personal favorites).
Every choice matters. The 14-track limit forces tough cuts, just like the original UK Beatles albums. Songs can reach slightly back in time, but never forward—keeping the project grounded in what 1970 could have been.
This isn’t about replacing the real albums. It’s about reimagining the story—and inviting geeky fans like me into it. Come on…every fan has their own version of this record… you probably had it on a mixtape (yeah, I went there).
So here’s the question: if The Beatles had one more chance… would it sound like this?
Here is the tracklist for this album:
- Remember
- Another Day
- What Is Life (Session Outtakes/Jams - Take 1)
- $15 Draw (special guests Pete Drake, Jerry Reed, and Charlie Daniels)
- Working Class Hero
- Maybe I’m Amazed (I cheat a bit and use the live version, which I prefer)
- All Things Must Pass
- Loser’s Lounge (special guests Pete Drake and Charlie Daniels)
- Hold On
- Every Night
- Going Down To Golder’s Green
- Look At Me
- Junk
- Beware Of Darkness
Here’s a link to Episode 38 of Groovin’ Up Slowly:
Here’s a link to this album on Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5PwZgP2eoIZw2afegwJIBp?si=349d3605bff44d15
Here’s a link to this album on Apple Music:
Here’s a link to the YouTube playlist for this album:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLB5dkZQ7h7GhH4ogP_2pvxWIw7yvuke9R
Here’s a link to the Substack essay for a bit of a deeper dive into this album…
https://groovinupslowly.substack.com/p/what-if-the-beatles-never-broke-u