Paul McCartney says he reconciled with John Lennon before his death: “It was something I was very glad of”
Paul McCartney has expressed relief that he and John Lennon were able to reconcile before Lennon’s murder, despite tensions being famously high between the two Beatles members following their split.
In the years after the band broke up, the pair’s relationship was marred by financial and legal battles involving the band’s back catalogue.
Fortunately, McCartney has confirmed that the two were able to become close friends again before Mark David Chapman shot Lennon dead outside his New York City apartment in 1980.
On his new podcast series, McCartney: A Life in Lyrics, the musician said, “In the end, it was something I was very glad of, when he got murdered, that I’d had some really good times with him before that happened.”
“It would have been the worst thing in the world had he just been killed, and we still had a bad relationship,” McCartney continued. “That would have been a big guilt trip for me. Luckily, we were friendly, we talked about how to bake bread.”
Touching upon their previous level of animosity, he reminded listeners of the extent to which the two had fought. “You’ve got to remember, I sued him in court, I sued his friends from Liverpool, life-long friends, in court. There’s a lot of getting over that has to be done.”
In an earlier episode of the podcast, he also revealed how Lennon continues to inspire and influence his musical journey from beyond the grave, saying, “Often, I’ll sort of refer…’ What would John think of this?'” he said. “He’d have thought it was too soppy. So I’ll change it.”
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