"I mean, what is that Paul and John business?"

Appreciating John Lennon and Paul McCartney's relationship and musical partnership. Ship-free, just the facts and all the feels. (This is a side blog)

[appreciatingmclennon]

IT'S HAPPENING!

[carolsturka]

Well, I’ll tell you one of the things that affected me — and I never even thought about it before but the footage is there — I had an appreciation how utterly painful this must have been for Paul. Because he’s watching his closest creative collaborator — someone he’s known since he was fifteen or sixteen years old — start to drift and go towards Yoko. John’s not pushing Paul away, but Paul’s watching Yoko now become the creative collaborator John’s excited about. And can you imagine how painful that must be for Paul? How utterly, utterly painful. He’s just watching it. And he’s okay, he deals with it. He loves the Beatles, he loves John, he wants to go on with it. But boy, what a pa— and you feel it. And I never— that never even occurred to me before. You know, it’s all about John and Paul hating each other and not talking to each other, all that negative stuff. But it’s actually— you see this kind of thing happening and it’s just— it’s wow. – Peter Jackson on John & Paul.

[eppysboys]

If I Fell lyrics written by John Lennon

Autograph manuscript for “If I Fell”, from “A Hard Days Night”, aboard a U.S airline, c. late February, 1963. Written on the back of a valentine which had been given to Paul, and which was apparently the only suitable writing surface available at 30,000 feet, the manuscript is 1 page, written on the verso of the unfolded valentine on one half of the sheet, approximately 11 ½ x 6 in. “If I Fell” is one of John’s most powerfully poignant ballads, and one of the most important and early songs to appear at auction. Ostensibly written while the Beatles were in America for a famous appearance on the Ed Sullivan show, John, sitting in the plane seat next to Paul suddenly got the inspiration for one of the best songs which would be released on 1964’s landmark “A Hard Days Night.” By the cadence and subtleties of the lyrics you can tell that John already has the music in his head as he fits it with the perfect words. Time stands still, something very special is coming to life as he sits working on the back of Paul’s valentine.

[Intro] If I fell in love with you Would you promise to be true And help me understand /Cause I’ve been in love before And I found that love was more Than just holding hands. 1. If I gave [changed to give] my heart to you I must be sure From the very start that you’re Gonna love me more than her 2. If I trust in you oh please Don’t run and hide If I love you too oh please Don’t hurt my pride like her. (she) Cause I couldn’t stand the pain / And I would be sad / If our new love was in vain / 3. So I hope you see that I / Would love to love you / I hope that she will cry / When she hears that we are two /

[shroomyngroovy]

John and Paul photographed during the filming of a short BBC documentary, “The Mersey Sound,” August 29, 1963✨

[amoralto]

Visit Original Link

August, 1980: In an interview with Playboy writer David Sheff, John doesn’t take kindly to having his former bandmates’ talents underestimated.

SHEFF: Critics would criticize Ringo’s drumming by saying, you know, “If he wasn’t a Beatle—” JOHN: Ringo’s a damn good drummer. He was – he was always a good drummer. He’s not technically good— SHEFF: But critics used to criticize him all the time. JOHN: Well – yeah. I think Ringo’s drumming is underrating – underrated, the same way as Paul’s bass-playing is underrated. Paul was one of the most innovative bass players that ever played bass. And half the stuff that’s going on now is directly ripped off from his Beatle period. He was always, uh, coy about his bass-playing. He’s an egomaniac about everything else about him, but his bass-playing he was always a bit coy about. He is a great musician who played the bass like few other people could play it.

Now if you compare Paul’s bass-playing with The Rolling Stones’ bass player’s bass-playing, and you compare Ringo’s drumming with Charlie Watts’, they’re equal to, if not better. But the credit has always gone to, uh, Bill and Charlie, and Paul and Ringo didn’t get it. But we got other credits that must have made them feel bad, too, so it all equals out in the end. But I always objected to the fact that because Charlie came on a little more arty than Ringo, and knew jazz, and did cartoons, that he got credit. And I think that Charlie’s a damn good drummer and the other guy’s a good bass player, but I think Paul and Ringo stand up anywhere, any – with any of the rock drummers. Not technically great, and none of us were technical musicians, none of us could read music, none of us can write it, but as pure musicians, as – as inspired humans to make the noise, they’re as good as anybody.

[carolsturka]

John Lennon at Twickenham Studios for the Get Back sessions, 3 January 1969.

[michonnegrimes]

The Beatles arriving in Bangor with the Maharishi (1967)

[amoralto]

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January 9th, 1969 (Twickenham Film Studios, London): As everyone waits for John and George to arrive, Ringo, Mal, and director Michael-Lindsay Hogg listen as Paul tries to figure out the lyrics for the second verse of ‘The Long And Winding Road’. (Note: Mal’s reference to The Wizard of Oz reminds me of this interview he did in 1975 about him and Paul crying over John’s “I want a divorce” declarative.) 

PAUL: See I was thinking of having another – like the weather obstacle. 

MICHAEL: It’s beautiful. What’s it called?

PAUL: ‘The Long And Winding Road’. [tries playing; falters] The only trouble is I always think of the… The storm clouds and the rain / Break up over the winding road… [trails off]

…

PAUL: I suppose it should still be about this sort of winding road. I’ve just got that picture – just the winding road that leads to your door, it will never disappear, I’ve seen that road before, it’ll always lead me here, lead me to your door. [audio feedback] Oh no!

RINGO: [laughs] It’s a start.

MAL: What you’re talking is sort of like The Wizard of Oz. Did you ever see The Wizard of Oz?

PAUL: No no no, I didn’t, but I’ve—

MAL: ‘The Yellow Brick Road’?

PAUL: Yeah. I know. 

MAL: ‘The Long And Winding Road’. 

MICHAEL: It’s great. 

PAUL: You see, it’s also something… [starts playing again]

MAL: It’s got that feel about it, you know? [inaudible] —so [Dorothy] gets back to, back to the boys— [inaudible] —and she’s never going to see them again.

MICHAEL: Yeah, yeah, exactly. 

MAL: It’s a terrible feeling. 

MICHAEL: Heartbreaker, yeah. It’s great.

MAL: It made me cry.

…

PAUL: It could be like the thing that’s up ahead. The thing that’s up ahead / At the end of the road… 

MAL: Like, how about like the obstacles on the road, that you’re going over?

PAUL: No, but I think the obstacles – eh, you know. I have enough obstacles without putting them in the song. [laughs] 

MICHAEL: How’s it going to end? Is it going to end happily, or just – not sure yet? Is that the end?

PAUL: No, it should end something like this. But still they lead me back / To the long and winding road / You left me waiting here / A long long time ago / Don’t leave me standing here / Lead me to your door…

[findsilver]

george on the rooftop

[hellyeahlennon]

John Lennon on the set of Help! 1965.

[carolsturka]

The Beatles during 1964 interviews.

[novakflower-deactivated20240620]

Sean Lennon about Paul McCartney:   “I’m just so excited when I’m around him. It’s like when you see a white buffalo and you just hold your breath – you’re just hoping that it’s not going to end. Because,’ he adds quietly, ‘it’s the closest I can come to hanging out with my dad. Every second I’ve ever spent with Paul has been really meaningful to me. He was my dad’s best mate for a long time. And my dad didn’t have many friends, you know?’

(Article from the London Telegraph about Sean in November, 2010. )

[rude-studio]

“PAUL HAS APPOINTMENT WITH JAPANESE LADY WHO WANTS TO PHOTOGRAPH HIS BOTTOM”

From “Lennonology- Volume One” by Chip Madinger and Scott Raile (2015)

[appreciatingmclennon]

Hey, are you still around? You haven't posted in a while and I miss your posts.

Hi! I’m sorry, I have been travelling for work and I don’t have a lot of time lately, so I’ve lost sight of this blog. I will definitely have more free time in December. x

[appreciatingmclennon]

Letter 6: to Stuart Sutcliffe, 1961 

I remember a time when everyone I loved hated me because I hated them.  So what, so what, so fucking what. I remember a time when belly buttons were knee high When only shitting was dirty and everything else clean and beautiful. I can’t remember anything without a sadness so deep that it hardly becomes known to me. so deep that its tears leave me a spectator of my own STUPIDITY And so I go rambling on with a hey nonny nonny no. How long can one go on writing and writing like you. I now don’t really know who I’m writing to or why its quiet peculiar. I usually write like this and forget about it, but if I post it it’s like a little part of my almost secret self in the hands of someone miles away who will wonder what the hell is going on or just pass it off as toilet paper. Anyway I don’t care really what happens because when I think about it, its so bloody unimportant – but what is important, who has the right to say that this letter is not important and Jesus is a something anyway – in any way – anyway – Yeah! I wonder what it would be like to be a cretin or something. I bet its great. Er how are you keeping, Stuart old chap. Are you OK – is life as good – bad, shite, great – wonderful as it was or is it just a thousand years of nothing, and coalmen on and on and on.  I think this is it  Goodbye Stu don’t write out of – er, what’s it?  Well, not because you think you ought to. Write when you feel like.  So goodbye (from John. You know, the one with glasses) 

ANY WAY BYE BYE See you soon. I don’t know why I said that.

Lennon, John. The John Lennon Letters: Edited and with an Introduction by Hunter Davies (pp. 37-39). 

[appreciatingmclennon]

Paul and Jane Asher during a holiday in Switzerland (between 6 and 20 March 1966) (x).

[amoralto]

John was in L.A. doing Pussy Cats with [Harry] Nilsson and having a generally crazy time of it all, fighting with photographers and haranguing the Smothers Brothers […]. Yoko came through London and visited us, which was very nice. Linda and I were living in this big old house in St. John’s Wood. She came by and we started talking, and obviously the important subject for us is, “What’s happened? You’ve broken up, then? I mean, you’re here and he’s there.” She was very nice and confided in us, but she was being very strong about it. She said, “No, he’s got to work his way back to me. He’s got to work at it.” Which was good. She would have been mad to just go and prostrate herself at his feet. And I said, “Look, if I see him—do you still love him?” and she said, “Yes.” So I said, “Well, would you think it was an intrusion if I said to him, ‘Look, man, she loves you and there’s a way to get back?’”—sounds like a Beatle song. I said, “Would that be okay? I might see him around, and I’d like to be a mediator in this because the two of you have obviously got something pretty strong going.” And she said, “I don’t mind.” It was weird meeting [John in L.A.]. He was in the house with Nilsson, Keith Moon and a few other guys and it was a crazed house. It was pretty wild days. So I said to him, “Look, come here. Come in the back room. I want to talk to you privately.” So I took him into the back room and said, “I feel like a matchmaker here, but this girl of yours, she really still loves you. Do you still love her?” And he said, “Yeah, I do, but I don’t know what to do.” So I said, “Well, I’ve talked to her and she still does love you, but you’ve got to work your arse off, man. You have to get back to New York, you have to take a separate flat, you have to send her roses every fucking day, you have to work at it like a bitch! And then you just might get her back.” Which is sort of what he did, but you’ll never hear that story. We told him to go back to Yoko and not long after, he did. You won’t hear that from them, because I’m too much in the story then. I mean, if you hear it from John’s point of view, it’ll just be that he spoke to Yoko on the phone and she said to him, “Come back.”

Paul McCartney, interview w/ Chris Salewicz for Musician: Tug of war – Paul McCartney wants to lay his demons to rest. (October, 1986)