Lennon-McCartney: A Bond Endures
Paul McCartney Reveals How Hurtful John Lennon Rift Eased into Lasting Friendship
Paul McCartney has reflected on his friendship with late John Lennon, describing how the bond endured even as public tensions flared during The Beatles’ final years. He traced the strain to management disputes, saying he backed entertainment lawyer Lee Eastman while others supported businessman Allen Klein, and recalled how Lennon’s public criticism initially felt deeply hurtful. McCartney said the pain eased when he reframed Lennon’s behavior as characteristic, while emphasizing that he still remembers Lennon as a close mate and songwriting partner rather than a rival. He pointed to lyrics from his recent song Days We Left Behind, including references to their early connection and a “secret code,” as a way of capturing what he valued most. McCartney also described reconciliation before Lennon’s death in 1980, including a moment when Lennon acknowledged that McCartney “might have been right.” Separately, McCartney is set to share more stories in a June 10 live chat tied to his upcoming album The Boys of Dungeon Lane.
Key Points
McCartney said the two began mending their friendship “around 1975 after John’s son Sean was born,” recalling that they “chit-chatted about everything from parenting woes to baking adventures.”
He added that reconciliation also included a grudging shift on the management dispute—when Lennon “reluctantly agreed” that the man McCartney had backed (described as the “scam artiste”) was “really… a crook.”
For the June 10 session, McCartney’s fan event is described as a live chat at London’s Roundhouse, and it will include discussion of his upcoming album plus his “2021 jam sessions with producer Andrew Watt,” and even his duet with Ringo Starr.
In describing Lennon’s public criticism, McCartney used the vivid phrase “It was very hurtful, like sticking little daggers in me,” and later reframed it by saying: “Wait a minute, this is John… That’s just what he does.”
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