Paul McCartney recalled that his relationship with John Lennon had become strained towards the end of the Beatles and said that his former partner’s criticism had hurt him.
McCartney spoke about his friendship and disagreements with Lennon in an interview with NME. “Towards the end of the Beatles, John spoke very badly of me,” the musician said.
She said that, at the time, she experienced the attack as something personal and difficult to digest. “At the time, it was very painful, like having little daggers stuck in me. It was just irritating, because you thought, ‘I have to answer him, what do I do?’ But suddenly, I realized, ‘Wait a minute, it’s John.’ This is the guy I’ve known since I was 16. This is just what he does. It didn’t hurt as much when I realized it was just John being John,” she said.
The singer also said he doesn’t compose with the obligation to “pay homage” to Lennon or George Harrison in mind. “I think so, I don’t think about it much,” he said.
Commenting on the lyrics for the new album, he cited a song in which he mentions the beginning of his collaboration with Lennon in Liverpool. “In one of the songs, ‘Days We Left Behind,’ I talk about ‘We met on Forthlin Road,’ which is where I lived in Liverpool, and ‘We created a secret code that we’d never reveal.’ I don’t feel like I have to be respectful. He’s just a friend—he’s just this guy I met, and we wrote songs together, so I don’t feel any responsibility. I hope he’s the one who’s responsible,” he said.
MANAGEMENT CONTROVERSY HAS HELPED DIVIDE THE GROUP
McCartney recalled that friction between the band members had escalated due to disagreements over who should handle the band’s business affairs. He stated that he supported lawyer Lee Eastman, while the others favored manager Allen Klein.
According to McCartney, time strengthened his opinion of Klein and fostered a rapprochement with Lennon. “I was fortunate because we had separated because of business problems and everything else, and John eventually agreed with my view that the guy they wanted to bring in[Klein]he was a fraud, and I suffered because they all thought I was crazy, that I was a fraud,” he said.
The musician said he received recognition from Lennon, albeit reluctantly, and felt that there was a necessary side to that difficult period. “So, when it was confirmed that I was right, it was nice to hear John say, ‘I think maybe Paul was right,’ reluctantly,” he said. “Even though it was a painful time, in a way we had to go through it, otherwise someone would have robbed us,” he added.