'Magical' Beatles song meant they 'dominated' but John Lennon hoped would be their 'downfall'
It is considered one of the band's finest tracks. Sir Paul McCartney and John Lennon’s songwriting drove The Beatles to monumental heights, reinventing popular music in the process. The two wrote the vast majority of the band’s songs with their work given the joint credit of Lennon-McCartney.
Having made a pact before they were famous, every song that John and Sir Paul wrote during this time was credited to the two of them - even if one had written it independently. They were at their best when they worked together, as the contrasting approaches and styles that Sir Paul and John boasted complimented one another, coming together to compile an unrivalled collection of songs.
About their partnership, Music and Musicians magazine's Wilfred Mellors wrote in 1972: "Opposite poles generate electricity: between John and Paul the sparks flew. John's fiery iconoclasm was tempered by Paul's lyrical grace, while Paul's wide-eyed charm was toughened by John's resilience."
Few Beatles releases illustrate this in such a stark manner than the February 1967 double A-side single 'Penny Lane'/'Strawberry Fields Forever'. The former was written by Sir Paul and the latter was written by John, both reflecting on their Liverpool upbringings - and both tracks have a psychedelic and kaleidoscopic feel to them.
Source: liverpoolecho.co.uk/Dan Haygarth