John Lennon confidant says he was jealous of 'attention' Paul McCartney got in the '70s
John Lennon's friend Elliot Mintz said the star was "insanely jealous" of Paul McCartney's success with Wings in the 1970s. Lennon stepped out of the spotlight in 1975 to raise his son Sean. Mintz appeared on Billy Corgan's The Magnificent Others podcast
After the Beatles broke up in 1970, its chief songwriters Paul McCartney and John Lennon experienced different levels of solo success — something that irked Lennon in the years before his tragic death, according to a friend.
Lennon’s longtime friend and confidante Elliot Mintz appeared on Billy Corgan’s The Magnificent Others podcast on Wednesday, July 30, and opened up about the “Imagine” singer’s complicated feelings toward McCartney in the 1970s.
After the Beatles went their separate ways, McCartney, 83, formed the band Wings, and saw commercial and critical success with hits like “Jet” and the chart-topper “Listen to What the Man Said.”
Lennon, meanwhile, released a number of solo albums, but stepped out of the spotlight in 1975 to focus on raising his son Sean, whom he shared with wife Yoko Ono.
“He spoke so lovingly of Paul. But then when John was not making any music between 1975 and almost ‘80, and Paul would have these mega-hits with Wings, John became insanely jealous about that,” Mintz recalled. “He was jealous of the amount of attention and accolades, and the fact that Paul was filling stadiums.”
Mintz, 80, continued, “At that time, John was just looking after Sean. John would say to me, ‘They’re not embracing me the way they are him.’ And I said, ‘John, you’re not on a concert stage. You’re not in a stadium. You’re not making music,’ And he said, ‘You’re missing the point. They’re embracing his genius, but have you heard ‘Silly Love Songs’? And I would say, ‘Look, let’s be fair. He’s done things other than ‘Silly Love Songs.’ But that would go nowhere.”
Source: people.com/Rachel DeSantis
