Secrets behind the Beatles' split are about to be laid bare in the pages of rock magazine Rolling Stone, thanks to unearthed interviews with an angry John Lennon.

The Imagine singer sat down with Rolling Stone publisher Jann Wenner shortly after the Fab Four parted ways and revealed a few home truths about the real reasons behind the split - something the four former Beatles have rarely spoken about.

Wenner released the tapes for celebrated rock journalist Mikal Gilmore's study on what tore the band apart, which appears in the upcoming issue of the publication.

The 1970 tapes have also been released to U.S. TV news show Entertainment Tonight, which aired Lennon's comments on Wednesday.

Lennon can be heard telling Wenner, "We sold out... and I felt sick."

He also takes aim at longtime songwriting partner Paul McCartney, stating, "We got fed up with being sidemen for Paul."

Lennon suggests the Beatles break-up was a long time coming and the "music died" when they first hit the big time in the early 1960s, adding, "That's why we never improved."

And he was less than happy when his bandmates disrespected and "insulted" his wife Yoko Ono, adding, "They despised her... It seemed I had to be happily married to them or Yoko - and I chose Yoko."

Lennon goes so far as to suggest that the Beatles' most peaceful member, George Harrison, was the one who really drove wedge between Lennon and the band over his treatment of Ono.

He states, "George insulted her right to her face and I didn't hit him, I don't know why. Ringo (Starr) was alright but the other two really gave it to us. I'll never forgive 'em."

Gilmore's Why The Beatles Broke Up article appears in the upcoming issue of Rolling Stone.