An archive text from 2022
It is a little -known fact that John Lennon’s distinctive voice, which shaped the sound of the 60s with symbols of peaceful revolutions and the avant -garde power of love, was despised by it himself.
If you dig through the literature longer, the contradictory image of a man, who had a much more grown on his shoulders, is established on numerous sides of the Lennon biographies than the occasional self-doubt. The sharp shadow of an idol figure is plagued by uncertainties and repressed childhood memories, abandonment and emotional abuse.
Art as a replacement for a therapist?
An interview that Paul McCartney gave the “The Sunday Times” now suggests that such shadows were probably silent companion of all Beatles members. Instead of talking openly and honestly about psychological problems, Lennon in particular processed his pain in his artistic work. When asked whether the Beatles had problems with their mental health, McCartney replied: “Yes, I think so. But we talked about it through our songs. “
McCartney continued that even he fully recognized the true, literal meaning of her lyrics fully later. You don’t have to read between the lines. So the group “Help!” I need someone, ‘he wrote (John Lennon). And I thought: ‘Well, it’s just a song’. “
Even in direct conversation, the actual content of their statements is often supposed to be infiltrated in a humor. McCartney and his bandmates – Ringo Starr and the late John Lennon and George Harrison – made fun of their problems rather than listening to each other seriously. McCartney: “It was really something that made yourself more funny as a boy than that you were serious. And with humor you hid it. “
Macca said about his colleague and friend Ringo Starr: “Ringo had a big alcohol problem. Now he is Mr. Sobber of the Year! However, they know that we had to go through a lot of things, but they are right – you didn’t talk about mental health. ”
Often the Beatles were probably not as happy as they could have been. In the interview, Paul McCartney spoke openly about his personal problems after the band was dissolved. So he was plagued by feelings of guilt for a long time because he was responsible for the separation.
Only Peter Jackson’s coming Beatles documentary “Get Back” appeased his concerns and brought McCartney confirmation that the separation of the Beatles could not be attributed to his misconduct. Instead, the film clearly showed him again: “It proves that my most important memory of the Beatles was the joy and skills.”
Paul McCartney: At the end of the Beatles had something liberating
McCartney continued: “When the Beatles separated, we made the decision not to take up the matter again. So we finished with the Beatles. (…) When the circle closes, it is something very liberating; This should not be spoiled by doing something that may not be so good. (…) It was a conscious decision to let it be good. “
The interview was related to the upcoming publication of “McCartney III” in December, which completes his record trilogy of the 1970s ‘McCartney’ and 1980s ‘McCartney II’.
In Lockdown, this is the eighteenth solo publication of the musician.