Paul McCartney said one John Lennon album made him competitive. He also said one of his songs made John feel competitive. Here’s a look at what John said about the tune publicly.
1970 was an important year for the former Beatles. Paul released McCartney, sometimes called McCartney I, George Harrison released All Things Must Pass, John released John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band, and Ringo Starr released Sentimental Journey. During a 2020 interview with Uncut, Paul was asked if he kept up with the other Beatles when they released solo albums in 1970.
“Yeah, I think we all listened to each other’s stuff,” Paul replied. “There was bitterness at the end of The Beatles, so we weren’t ringing each other up a lot. But then it gradually got better. It got better with all of them. I think we all just realized it was a bunch of bulls*** and we’d gone through it because it was a breakup which is like a divorce — very painful.”
Paul discussed his reactions to two of the albums that came out that fateful year. “So, yeah, I did listen to George’s All Things Must Pass and everyone’s stuff,” he said. “I would listen to John’s and think, ‘Ooh.’ That same old competitive thing would come back in.”
Paul said John went through something similar. “I know it happened with him, but later on, because people who were working with him said when he heard ‘Coming Up,’ ‘Oh s***, Paul’s written a good one, I’ll have to write a good one,’” he added. “So, yeah, we were aware of each other’s work.”
“Coming Up” was one of the final singles Wings released before John’s death in 1980. During a 1980 interview included in the book All We Are Saying: The Last Major Interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono, John said he didn’t keep up with Wings or George or Ringo, or even other contemporary singers such as Elton John and Bob Dylan. He was too busy living his own life to care about his former bandmates or any of his classmates from college.
Despite all this, he praised “Coming Up” as “a good piece of work.” In the interview, John never said the tune made him feel competitive. He also said he heard another Wings song that made Paul sound depressed, but he never named the song.
When asked about Paul’s solo career, John said he admired the way Paul started a new career from the ground up after The Beatles imploded. He noted that Wings played music in dance halls, which is what Paul wanted The Beatles to do if the band kept on trucking. He also praised Paul for following his arrow.
Even after The Beatles broke up, it’s clear Paul admired some of John’s solo stuff and John admired some of Paul’s solo stuff.