April 10, 2007 15:41

Beatles' friend quits top job at Apple Corps

Neil Aspinall leaves after 40 years

Photo Gallery: The Beatles
Photo: Pa Photos

Neil Aspinall, the CEO of The Beatles' record company Apple Corp, has left the label.

Aspinall was at Apple Corp for 40 years, and was close friends with the band.

Reasons for him deciding to leave were not given with a statement simply explaining: ”He has decided to move on.”

Aspinall will be replaced as the head of Apple Corps by Jeff Jones, who had been at SonyBMG since 1995.

One of his first challenges will include releasing The Beatles' material online.

So far the Fab Four have shunned legal downloads, but EMI, who release the band's records, recently revealed they are "working on" making The Beatles' songs available through legal download sites.