McCartney revisits pain of Beatles breakup

“The breakup felt like being stabbed with a little dagger. It hurt, but it was something we needed to go through. Otherwise, we might have lost ourselves.”

Paul McCartney, the legendary former Beatle, has offered a rare reflection on the tensions that shaped his relationship with friend and bandmate John Lennon in the years surrounding the band's breakup. McCartney has rarely spoken so openly about that period.

In an interview with British music magazine NME published May 30, McCartney said he still holds “good memories” of both Lennon and George Harrison. At the same time, he acknowledged that “toward the end of the band, John criticized me quite a lot, and it hurt.” Although he sometimes felt tempted to push back, McCartney said he would remind himself that Lennon was the same person he had known since the age of 16. Viewing his friend's behavior in that light made the criticism easier to accept.

At the heart of the dispute was a disagreement over the band's management. McCartney favored Lee Eastman, his father-in-law and a lawyer, while the other Beatles members supported businessman Allen Klein. Believing the proposed arrangement with Klein was unfair, McCartney refused to sign, a decision that became one of the major factors behind the band's breakup. Looking back, he said one of the most reassuring moments came when Lennon later admitted, albeit reluctantly, that “Paul was right.”

The two men gradually repaired their friendship in the years before Lennon’s death. The documentary “Paul McCartney: The Man on the Run,” released on Amazon Prime in January, recounts how their relationship began to recover after the birth of Lennon’s younger son, Sean Ono Lennon. Conversations about raising children, baking bread and everyday family life helped rekindle their friendship. Reflecting on that period, McCartney said, “What we shared were ordinary domestic things, simple family matters. It was more peaceful, and we stopped arguing.”

The interview coincided with the May 29 release of McCartney’s new solo album, “The Boys of Dungeon Lane.” The album includes “Home to Us,” a duet with fellow Beatles member Ringo Starr. McCartney said he wrote the song with Starr in mind. “We didn’t have much growing up in Liverpool, but we loved those days,” he said. He added that the Beatles never recorded a duet quite like it and that he was delighted to finally create a song that allowed him and Starr to sing together.

McCartney’s new album debuted at No. 1 on the U.K. Official Albums Chart Top 100 released June 5. It marked his sixth solo chart-topper and his 24th No. 1 album overall when his work with the Beatles and Wings is included, further cementing one of the most enduring records in British music.


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