Paul McCartney Reflects on His Complex Friendship with John Lennon

Once the most iconic duo in pop culture, Paul McCartney and John Lennon wrote around 180 songs together in the 1960s with the Beatles. Despite their success, the two drifted apart, leading to the band’s eventual breakup. The Beatles also included George Harrison and Ringo Starr.

Over five decades later, and 45 years after Lennon’s passing, McCartney reflects on the challenging times in his friendship with Lennon. Now 83, McCartney recently discussed this in an interview with NME. He described the period as painful but still holds fond memories of Lennon.

Their rift began over disagreements on the Beatles’ management. McCartney supported his father-in-law, Lee Eastman, while the others preferred Allen Klein. McCartney’s refusal to sign an agreement with Klein led to the band’s dissolution in 1974.

Despite the challenges, McCartney released a solo album, “The Boys of Dungeon Lake.” He recalls that the criticisms from Lennon were difficult but came to understand them.

“It was just annoying, because you thought, ‘I’ve got to answer him back, what am I going to do?’ But I suddenly realized, ‘Wait a minute, this is John. This is the guy I’ve known since I was 16. That’s just what he does.’ It didn’t sting so much once I realized it was just John being John.”

In 1975, the two musicians managed to mend their friendship, bonding over life and parenting. McCartney acknowledges that enduring those rocky times was necessary.

He stated, “Even though it was a painful period, we kinda had to go through it, or someone would have robbed us.” McCartney felt vindicated when Lennon eventually agreed on his view of Allen Klein.

“I’d suffered because they all thought I was the nutter, I was the crook,” McCartney added. Lennon finally admitted, albeit reluctantly, that McCartney’s concerns about Klein were correct.

McCartney cherishes the moment Lennon conceded, “It was good to hear John say, ‘I think Paul might have been right’ begrudgingly. He wasn’t one to say, ‘Yeah, you know what Paul told me…!’ He was like, ‘Yeah, he was right.’ So that made it much better.”