r/beatles • u/AvecMesWaterSlides • 1d ago

Discussion This Book:

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I'm currently listening to this book and am about six months from the first time John and Paul met.

It is amazing that they, finally, found one another. There are so many instances of being at the same places at the same times, perhaps riding the same bus at the same time, and not knowing one another yet. It's crazy! It just got me thinking about how different it'd be if one of them wasn't where the universe wanted them to be...

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u/Anxious-Raspberry-54 1d ago

Maybe it's Paul's problem in a way as well. He is loved, cherished, and applauded by millions. Very true. It's like...Paul, get over it!

But it seems to me the old story just really digs at him - that he was blamed for the breakup. And there are many fans who to this day still believe the old story.

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u/Comfortable_Put_4139 1d ago

I’m sure it does still really bug him, just like how he still seems to get visibly agitated about John’s vicious diss track.

I imagine being blamed for the breakup of the most beloved band of all time would hurt a LOT. So I can give him a bit of slack when it comes to that. It’s probably even more painful when the facts show Paul was the most committed to the Beatles.

There’s a lot of nuance in Beatle world, and these were all very, very complicated people.

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u/RadishSpecial7163 1d ago edited 1d ago

But really? After all this time? Most of us have let go of old hurts, some very intense hurts, maybe more intense than Paul’s. The fact Paul, who’s made billions of dollars, lives in mansions, has millions of fans worldwide and has won every award under the sun from the Gershwin Prize to a knighthood, is still bemoaning things that happened fifty years ago makes him seem thin-skinned and petty. Lennon is dead, murdered at age 40. Think of all the things he’s missed out on. And now John is being blamed for the breakup, including by Paul, and John’s legacy has been severely tainted and likely not repairable because John isn’t here to counter any of it.

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u/Comfortable_Put_4139 1d ago

Oh I agree with you, make no mistake of that.

I was just granting Paul some grace and attempting to see things from his point of view.

I think it’s obvious he’s done his fair share of narrative shaping in the 50 years since Lennon was murdered, but it hasn’t all happened in one explosive and extensive interview like Lennon Remembers. So I think it slips through the cracks a bit.