Paul McCartney revealed that he was a bit jealous of how fans responded to John Lennon’s death. After the break up of The Beatles, Lennon and McCartney shared an icy relationship by trading insults in the media and via songs. However, the two resolved an ill-will from the breakup by the mid 1970s.
John Lennon’s death had many around the world stunned, as the 40-year-old musician was shot outside his New York apartment by a lone assailant when returning from the studio. When told of the news of Lennon’s death, Paul McCartney, like many others, was shocked , as Lennon was just returning to the music scene, recording his first album since taking time off to raise his second born son, Sean.
That album, Double Fantasy , went on to win the 1981 Album of the Year, despite early criticism of the album. Paul McCartney lamented that John Lennon’s death made his former songwriting partner a martyr.
Paul McCartney spoke of how each member of The Beatles were on an equal footing before the tragic event in New York. He said, “Post-Beatles George did his record, John did his, I did mine, Ringo did his. We were equal. When John got shot, aside from the pure horror of it, the lingering thing was, OK, well now John’s a martyr. A JFK.”
“So what happened was, I started to get frustrated because people started to say, ‘Well, he was The Beatles’. And me, George and Ringo would go, ‘Er, hang on. It’s only a year ago we were all equal-ish’.”
McCartney went on to explain Lennon had his share of “not so great” recordings, as well. However, the 73-year-old doesn’t seem too bothered by the concept.
“Yeah, John was the witty one, sure. John did a lot of great work, yeah. And post-Beatles he did more great work, but he also did a lot of not-great work. Now the fact that he’s now martyred has elevated him to a James Dean, and beyond. So whilst I didn’t mind that — I agreed with it — I understood that now there was going to be revisionism. It was going to be: John was the one.”
The Beatles is universally acknowledged as one of the greatest and most influential music acts of all time. McCartney explained that the creative force within the band and how each member had their own individual role that attributed that success to the Fab Four.
“We knew we were different. We knew we were something other groups weren’t: Lennon’s skill, intelligence, acerbic wit, McCartney’s melody, whatever he’s got, Harrison’s spirituality, Ringo’s spirit of fun, great drumming. We all played, which is pretty hard.”
Is Paul McCartney right to feel that John Lennon’s death overshadowed the other three Beatles’ careers?
[Photo by Ethan Miller / Getty Images]
