‘Paul McCartney was one of the most competitive people I’ve ever met. Lennon wasn’t. He just thought everyone else was shit…’
I feel like I start every review of a new piece of Beatles media by exclaiming that surely there is nothing new to say about the Fab Four. What I’ve come to realise over time is that while the facts may have been poured over time and time again (and again), what changes is the personal response to the Beatles music rather than the music itself. The best Beatles media has just as much to say about the creator’s relationship to the band as it does about the band more generally. John and Paul, the new book from noted author Ian Leslie, comes from a place of utter adoration and awe without ever feeling overly sentimental or cloying – something that John Lennon himself would surely have appreciated…
Subtitled, ‘A Love Story in Songs’, Leslie’s book focuses on the duo who were the driving force behind The Beatles from their first meeting as cocky teenagers to their final tragic phone call on the eve of Lennon’s devastating assassination. It’s a book that feels epic in scope and yet somehow intimate. Leslie has a canny knack of combining technical musical analysis of his chosen songs with a beautifully florid description of the feelings those songs evoke. It’s a perfect marriage of the objective and the subjective. He also pulls no punches. Lennon and McCartney were no angels. John particularly, and by his own admission, was a deeply troubled individual, and his insecurities often resulted in bouts of sulking and anger. And yet, this is not a takedown, not at all. Instead, Leslie attempts to understand why John was the way he was, and why Paul was the way he was too. Most of all, the book is an examination of how two of the greatest musical geniuses of all time grew up in the same city at the same time and somehow needed each other to fulfil their respective limitless potential. It is a privilege to hear someone who is clearly incredibly passionate and knowledgeable break down the greatest song writing partnership in history, not just on a musical level, but on a personal level too.
As with most music fans, I find myself returning to the music of The Beatles every 18 months or so. Each time I discover something new to appreciate and enjoy (such is the vast genius of their oeuvre). Well, predictably, John & Paul not only sparked off another period of obsession, it also helped me fall in love with these songs all over again in a way I never have before. Along with Peter Jackson’s Get Back, Leslie’s book is utterly essential for all Beatles enthusiasts.