A Decades-Old Question, Finally Answered
For years, fans have wondered: after the breakup of The Beatles, what really happened between John Lennon and Paul McCartney? Was there anger? Competition? Resentment?
Now, in a shocking new interview, Elliot Mintz — longtime friend and spokesperson for both John and Yoko — has pulled back the curtain.
And what he revealed left even longtime Beatles insiders stunned.
“Yes,” Mintz said plainly. “John was insanely jealous of Paul’s success after the Beatles — especially with Wings.”
The Band That Hit a Nerve
After The Beatles split in 1970, McCartney wasted no time launching a new musical journey. By the mid-1970s, Paul McCartney and Wings had topped charts around the world with hits like Band on the Run, Live and Let Die, and Jet.
While John was exploring avant-garde projects and briefly retreating from public life, Paul was dominating the airwaves — on his own terms.
“It wasn’t that John thought Wings was better music,” Mintz clarified. “But it burned him to see Paul succeed without the Beatles — and without him.”
According to Mintz, the image of Paul touring the world, fronting a new band, adored by a fresh generation of fans, triggered deep insecurities in Lennon.
“John always wanted to be the leader,” Mintz added. “But when Paul stepped out of the Beatles and kept soaring — it bruised John more than anyone realized.”
Letters That Showed the Cracks
While Lennon and McCartney maintained a polite — even friendly — public posture in the late ‘70s, private letters tell a more complicated story. Mintz claims John would write scathing notes, some never sent, mocking Wings’ lyrics or complaining about how Paul “couldn’t stop trying to prove something.”
And yet, beneath the bitterness was something more heartbreaking: longing.
“He missed him,” Mintz said. “They were brothers. And sometimes, watching your brother move on feels like being left behind.”
A Rivalry Rooted in Love
Despite the jealousy, Mintz insisted that John never stopped admiring Paul’s genius. In fact, he believes John’s criticism was a mirror of his own regret.
“They needed each other,” he said. “Even when they drove each other crazy.”
Lennon’s 1980 interviews — just months before his death — included praise for Paul’s songwriting, and hints that he hoped to collaborate again one day.
That day, tragically, never came.
Fans Reflect on What Could Have Been
The revelation has reignited conversations across Beatles fandom: What if John and Paul had truly reconciled? What music could they have made together in the 1980s?
“I think John always believed there’d be time,” Mintz concluded. “And that’s what haunts me the most — he thought there’d be more time.”