1 John Lennon Quote Proved That He Was a Surprisingly Great Leader for The Beatles

John Lennon and Paul McCartney were the co-leaders of The Beatles. However, McCartney would admit Lennon was the primary leader, as he and George Harrison looked up to the “In My Life” singer. While Lennon’s leadership would wane as his interest in the band diminished, there is one quote he used to cheer up the band that proved he was an excellent leader, better than ever he might have thought. 

The Beatles all looked up to John Lennon

John Lennon and Paul McCartney became friends while growing up in Liverpool. Lennon was the elder of the two, and McCartney saw him as an older brother. Lennon invited him to join his band, The Quarrymen, which later included George Harrison. Ringo would join The Beatles later, but Paul and George both looked up to Lennon for leadership. 

In an interview with Playboy, McCartney elaborated on Lennon’s role as a leader and that anytime he complimented them was a special moment. 

“I definitely did look up to John,” McCartney explained. “We all looked up to John. He was older, and he was very much the leader; he was the quickest wit and the smartest and all that kind of thing. So whenever he did praise any of us, it was great praise, indeed, because he didn’t dish it out much. If ever you got a speck of it, a crumb of it, you were quite grateful.”

John Lennon used a movie quote to cheer up the band

One of John Lennon’s most personal tracks was “Strawberry Fields Forever”, based on a location from his childhood. In the track, he uses the line, “Somehow it all works out.” In the 1980 Playboy interview with David Sheff, Lennon explained how he would use the hopeful lyric to cheer up the band. 

“I mean, it’s like a little gag that The Beatles used.” Lennon said, “When The Beatles were depressed, we had this thing that I would chant, and they would answer. It was from a cheap movie they made about Liverpool years ago. And in it, they say, ‘Where are we going, Johnny?’ or something, and the leader of the gang would say, ‘We’re going to burn this’ or ‘We’re going to stomp on that.’”

Lennon would “say to the others when we were all depressed, thinking that the group was going nowhere, this is a s***** deal, we’re in a s***** dressing room — I would say, ‘Where are we going, fellows?’ The band would reply,”‘To the top, Johnny’, in pseudo-American voices.” Lennon elucidated, “And I would say, ‘Where is that, fellows?’ And they would say, ‘To the toppermost of the poppermost.’ I would say, ‘Right!’ And we would all cheer up.” 

Lennon was a strong leader until he began losing interest

While John Lennon wasn’t the most affectionate member of The Beatles, he was an excellent central figure for the band in its early days. He wrote many of the band’s biggest hits and encouraged the other members to experiment. The quote he used showed that he wanted to keep spirits high so that the atmosphere was always ideal.

However, he slowly began becoming more interested in his own work, especially after meeting Yoko Ono. In the later stages of The Beatles, McCartney took on the role of leader, especially after the death of their manager Brian Epstein. McCartney wanted to keep the band united, while Lennon was often preoccupied with Yoko. The struggle for power between the two eventually led to the band’s collapse, as the band truly had no unifying figure.