Paul McCartney: "John Lennon could be a complete idiot about some things"

1 October 2026, 14:33 | Updated: 1 October 2026, 14:50

The Beatle legend has explained how his solo career in the 70s drew criticism from his songwriting partner - but he still forgave him.

Sir Paul McCartney has admitted his former songwriting partner John Lennon “could be a complete idiot” following the acrimonious split of The Beatles in the 1970s.

During a conversation with director Judd Apatow following a screening of the Man On The Run documentary in Los Angeles on Monday (28th September), McCartney was asked why Lennon seemed irritated by his post‑Beatles direction on albums such as Ram and Red Rose Speedway.

"Was it a joyfulness to it while he's doing primal scream and you're having fun?" Apatow asked. "What do you think got under his skin about it?”

As reported by Variety, McCartney replied: “Well, I don't know. I think maybe he expected more from me. He expected something different from me, and I wasn't doing that. I was just doing ‘madcap’."

"I always thought John was very cool, and I still do. But he could be a complete idiot, over some things."

Paul McCartney, Judd Apatow and Morgan Neville

The feud between the two Beatles found its way into their songs, with McCartney's 1971 track Too Many People prompting Lennon to write the scathing How Do You Sleep, which includes the line: "The only thing you done was yesterday / And since you're gone you're just another day".

McCartney said Lennon’s comments never changed how he viewed his former bandmate: “It wouldn't matter, as it didn't matter, what he said or did, because I'd known him since I was 15, and so he was like this mad guy I knew, and I really looked up to him.”

McCartney formed Wings in 1971 with his then-wife Linda McCartney and Denny Laine, just a year after the release of Let It Be, the final album by The Beatles.

Paul McCartney, Wings - Band On The Run (Visualiser)

Wings went on to release seven albums, including the acclaimed Band On The Run in 1973.

Lennon publicly dismissed McCartney’s early solo work, but by the time of Band On The Run, he had revised his opinion, saying: “Wings keeps changing all the time. It's conceptual. I mean, they're backup men for Paul. It doesn't matter who's playing. You can call them Wings, but it's Paul McCartney music. And it's good stuff.”