4 Times John Lennon Proved He Was a ‘Jealous Guy’

In 1971, John Lennon released the song “Jealous Guy” about insecurity and possessiveness in relationships. The song is personal and reveals a side of Lennon that those who knew him likely recognized. Lennon had a jealous streak, proven by these four instances. 

He didn’t like that a classmate was performing better than him

When Lennon was in school, one of his best friends was Pete Shotton. Shotton showed early talent in math and, according to biographer Hunter Davies, Lennon was “jealous of Pete’s interest in math, which he could never do, and always tried to spoil it for Pete.” He constantly tried to throw Shotton off by distracting him.

“He always tried to ruin my concentration by putting drawings in front of me,” Shotton said, per Davies’ book The Beatles: The Authorized Biography. “Some were obscene, but they were mostly just funny and I’d burst out. ‘Look at Shotton, Sir,’ the rest of the class would shout as I was in hysterics.”

John Lennon was jealous of Mick Jagger’s public image

The Beatles became friendly with Mick Jagger, but Lennon harbored feelings of jealousy toward the Rolling Stones’ singer. According to Davies, Lennon resented the fact that Jagger was allowed to be openly rebellious. The Beatles’ manager, Brian Epstein, had cleaned up the band’s image enough that Lennon no longer had this reputation.

“I knew, from having discussed it previously with him, that John felt jealous of Jagger,” Davies wrote. “Certainly not about his music, or his success, or his fame, but the fact that Jagger always had the rebel image, right from the beginning, which John felt was really him.”

Davies believed this jealousy manifested in interviews after The Beatles broke up.

“I argued that it was thanks to the Beatles breaking so many rules that had allowed the Stones to come along later and build on what the Beatles had done,” Davies explained. “But John at that stage still resented the cleaning-up operation Brian had performed on them, ashamed in a way that he had gone along with it, which was why later, I suppose, he overcompensated by dishing the dirt about himself, making himself worse, if anything, than he had been.” 

He admitted that he wished he was the only successful musician

Lennon was highly competitive and struggled to compliment other musicians, even his friends. There was an edge of jealousy to this competitiveness. Instead of wanting a healthy dose of competition with other artists, Lennon wished he was the only person putting out music, particularly when other musicians were successful.

“I think [Paul McCartney’s] capable of great work and I think he will do it,” Lennon told Rolling Stone in 1971. “I wish he wouldn’t, you know, I wish nobody would, [Bob] Dylan or anybody. In me heart of hearts, I wish I was the only one in the world or whatever it is. But I can’t see Paul doing it twice.”

Paul McCartney said John Lennon was especially jealous toward the end of his life

Lennon and McCartney had an especially contentious relationship. In the years McCartney knew Lennon, he saw many sides to the other artist. He said that toward the end of Lennon’s life, he had become so jealous that he didn’t even want other people to hold his son, Sean.

“He became so jealous in the end,” McCartney said. “You know he wouldn’t let me even touch his baby. He got really crazy with jealousy at times. I suppose I’ve inherited some of that.”