Paul McCartney Admitted He Was Afraid of John Lennon Before He Met Him
After watching an impressive performance by John Lennon at a church festival, Paul McCartney introduced himself to his future bandmate. Before this moment, he had mostly avoided even making eye contact with Lennon. He explained that Lennon’s reputation was intimidating; McCartney worried that even looking at him the wrong way could lead to a fight.
Paul McCartney said he found John Lennon intimidating
Lennon was older than McCartney, which already inspired a level of intimidation in the younger boy. Beyond that, though, Lennon’s reputation concerned McCartney. Lennon got into fights, landed in trouble at school, and dressed in a way that worried parents.
“There was a lot of aggression around Liverpool; there were lots of Teddy boys, and you had to try to avoid them if you saw them in alleyways,” McCartney said in The Beatles Anthology. “If, like John, you were a guy who had lived on his own, you had to put up some kind of a front. So he grew long sideburns, he had a long drape jacket, he had the drain-pipe trousers and the crepe-soled shoes. He was always quite defensive because of that.”
McCartney admitted he worried that looking at Lennon the wrong way would end badly for him.
“I would see him from afar, from the bus,” he said. “This Ted would get on the bus, and I wouldn’t look at him too hard in case he hit me, because he was just that much older. This was before I got to know him.”
The musician did his best to earn this reputation
McCartney had a reason to feel intimidated by Lennon. His future bandmate worked hard to build his reputation.
“I did fight all the way through Dovedale [primary school], winning by psychological means if ever anyone looked bigger than me,” Lennon said, “I threatened them in a strong enough way that I would beat them, so they thought I could.”
He explained that his aggression came from a desire for power and control.
“I was aggressive because I wanted to be popular,” he said. “I wanted to be the leader. It seemed more attractive than just being one of the toffees. I wanted everybody to do what I told them to do, to laugh at my jokes and let me be the boss.”
Paul McCartney and John Lennon were more alike than they thought
Despite McCartney’s relative meekness and Lennon’s aggression, the two were more similar than they might have thought. Lennon admitted that his behavior was a result of his tumultuous childhood; he grew up with his aunt and uncle after his parents separated, rarely saw his father, and dealt with the deaths of his uncle and mother. He wanted the control he lacked in his home life and admitted to pretending to be tougher than he felt to achieve this.
The two musicians would eventually bond over their mothers’ deaths, but they had a lot in common before this. They were both ambitious and dedicated musicians, even if they approached their craft differently. They were both able to express more vulnerability through song. While Lennon had a hard outer shell, McCartney recognized the way tragedy impacted him. He was able to see beyond his reputation, which is why they worked so well together.
