Break-up of the Beatles Lennon was in a fragile state of mind after returning from the band's sojourn in India in early 1968 and was disillusioned and resentful that their Transcendental Meditation guru, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, had not fulfilled Lennon's expectations. Lennon became discontented over his personal identity and his artistic role within the Beatles and entered another period of drug use, which coincided with a deterioration in his marriage and family life. He began to develop an intense interest in the work of Yoko Ono, a Japanese-American conceptual artist whom he had first met at one of her exhibitions in 1966. The pair
B-Sides The Beatles warmed up on obscure Beatles B-sides they used to play in clubs, we soon realized there was some unfinished Beatles business for The Smithereens, especially in light of the success of "Meet The Smithereens!", and the idea for a follow up was born." The initial recording sessions for "B-Sides The Beatles" took place at the same time as the band were recording the "Live in Concert! Greatest Hits and More" album at The Court Tavern in New Brunswick, New Jersey between January 30 - February 2, 2008. Since The Beatles' early recordings were made between tours in limited time, The