by The John Lennon Song That The Beatles Rejected
By the late 1960s, The Beatles were no longer a single, unified creative force. Each member was writing independently, pulling the band in different directions—and nowhere was that tension clearer than with John Lennon’s song “Cold Turkey.”
Written in 1969, Cold Turkey was one of Lennon’s rawest and most confrontational compositions. Stripped of metaphor and polish, the song documented heroin withdrawal in brutally direct terms. Its jagged guitar riff, pounding rhythm, and anguished vocal were a far cry from the melodic refinement that had defined much of The Beatles’ catalog.
Lennon believed Cold Turkey should be released as a Beatles single. Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr disagreed.
Their objections weren’t just musical. The subject matter was stark, uncomfortable, and deeply personal—far removed from the band’s carefully balanced public image. Musically, the track was deliberately repetitive and abrasive, lacking the layered arrangements the group typically favored. To the others, it didn’t sound like a Beatles record.
For Lennon, the rejection cut deep. It confirmed what he already suspected: that his artistic instincts were no longer aligned with the band. Rather than rework the song, he took it outside the group and recorded it with the Plastic Ono Band, releasing it as a solo single in October 1969.
The result was shocking, intense, and uncompromising. Cold Turkey reached the UK Top 20 and became one of the earliest statements of Lennon’s post-Beatles identity—confessional, confrontational, and unconcerned with mass approval.
In hindsight, the Beatles’ rejection of Cold Turkey marked more than just a disagreement over a song. It symbolized the widening gap between Lennon and the band he was already mentally leaving behind. What The Beatles turned down became one of the clearest signals that the end was near—and that John Lennon was ready to tell his story without filters, even if it meant doing it alone.
