the band's new Apple Corps business venture. Harrison and John Lennon stayed on, only to then depart hurriedly after hearing of alleged impropriety between the Maharishi and a female student. The Rishikesh sojourn was the Beatles' last extracurricular activity as a group and was followed by a divergence of opinion between Lennon, McCartney and Harrison that lasted until the band's break-up in April 1970. In his 1980 autobiography, I, Me, Mine, Harrison says that "Not Guilty" addresses "Paul-John-Apple-Rishikesh-Indian friends, etc." Rather than return to England with Lennon, Harrison extended his time away by visiting his mentor Ravi Shankar in Madras. When he returned to London in late April, according to Apple press officer Derek Taylor, Harrison "reacted with real horror" at the extravagance of Apple's operation. The company had taken out print advertisements inviting any budding artist to submit their creative ideas. The London offices were inundated with submissions, almost all of which were ignored, along with crowds of eccentrics responding to the Beatles' invitation. In a 1987 interview with Timothy White for Musician magazine, Harrison referred to "the grief I was catching" from Lennon and McCartney post-India. He explained the message behind the song: "I said I wasn't guilty of getting in the way of their career. I said I wasn't guilty of leading them astray in our going to Rishikesh to see the Maharishi. I was sticking up for myself …" The Rishikesh sojourn also resulted in Harrison's emergence as a prolific songwriter. "Not Guilty" was one of several guitar-based compositions from this period, coinciding with Harrison's re-engagement with his main instrument after two years of dedicated sitar study under Shankar. The full extent of this productivity was hidden until his 1970 solo album, All Things Must Pass, however, as Lennon and McCartney continued to dominate the Beatles' songwriting. In author Peter Doggett's description, the band's stay in Rishikesh marked the end of a period when Harrison's championing of Indian culture had guided the Beatles' musical and philosophical direction. He adds that the "old balance of power was uneasily resumed", as Harrison had to push to have his songs included on the group's albums, and Lennon, further to their self-produced 1967 TV film Magical Mystery Tour, continued to resent McCartney's attempts to manage their career. Composition The key of "Not Guilty" is E minor. It contains combined verse and choruses; each of the three verse-chorus sections begins and