I’m the old Allen. —Allen Klein 1 Trying to control the spending at Apple was like riding the back of a tiger; it’s hard enough to hold on, but if you let go the tiger turns around and eats you. It wouldn’t have been so bad that Apple had turned into a three-ring circus if at least there had been a ringmaster to run the show. But with no final authority to control the cash flow, money was simply pissed away. The Beatles had already spent £400,000 earmarked for investments by the accountants, mostly on undeserving or farfetched schemes. Among other fruitless projects, they had sunk money into the design of a new “demobilization suit” and a puppet show in Brighton. Individually the Beatles had overdrawn their company accounts as well. John was £64,000 in the red, Paul £66,000, and George and Ringo £35,000 each. The largesse of the Beatles, combined with the willingness of those who benefited from it, bordered on organized crime.
