Paul McCartney recently appeared as a guest on Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend podcast and reflected on the reasons why he considered himself a fan of John Lennon.
The musician’s new photo book, ‘1964: Eyes of the Storm,’ featuring hundreds of never-before-seen images from the Beatles’ early days, hit the shelves on June 13. During the conversation, O’Brien asked Paul about a photo where Lennon appeared introspective, to which he replied:
“I think you had to be because there was a lot of craziness going on, and you had to take that moment for yourself, but the good thing was he knew no one would be worried. It is not like anyone says, ‘Come on, live it up.’ He knew he could just [do it].”
McCartney went on to explain why he was a fan of his late bandmate:
“I was admired by that about John. Now I realize I was like a big fan of John. We all were actually in the group. He was like a very cool guy. Very witty, very funny but also very deep and real. These photos showed that from an early age.”
The host also showed the bassist a photo of a backstage moment with Ringo Starr, where he thinks the drummer seemed pensive. Paul confirmed Conan’s point, saying:
“You are right. I knew Ringo was being natural, acting naturally. So, I knew I could get that shot without him looking over and going over. There were a lot of those backstage. Again, the light was quite nice. It was a good shot to try and take.”
In a chat again with O’Brien at Tribeca Film Festival, looking at another photo, McCartney had opened up about the vulnerability and anxiety in Lennon’s expression. He mentioned John’s personal ‘tragedies’ and expressed admiration for the late singer’s ability to cope with these challenges.
You can listen to the full episode below.
