Cynthia Lennon Thought Paul McCartney Was the ‘Most Popular [Beatles Member] With Girls’
The Beatles were the world’s most popular rock band, with each member getting attention according to John Lennon’s ex-wife, Cynthia. In her 2005 memoir John, she said Paul McCartney was the “most popular with girls” — but Lennon didn’t mind.
Paul McCartney appeared as a songwriter for the Beatles
Even before creating music with the Beatles, McCartney wrote with John Lennon, performing in the Quarrymen alongside George Harrison. McCartney was still a teenager when the Beatles started booking gigs.
Even though he differed from John Lennon in terms of songwriting (and personality), that’s part of what made the Beatles’ music unique, according to John Lennon’s then-girlfriend, Cynthia Powell. She detailed her experience adjacent to the rock band in the 2005 memoir John.
“Paul’s organized, conscientious way of going about things — he wrote down all the lyrics in a notebook he carried with him — was in sharp contrast to John’s ‘anything goes’ style,” Cynthia Lennon wrote. “Paul turned up for appointments on time, looking well turned out; he was a perfectionist and you always knew he’d washed behind his ears.”
Paul McCartney was the ‘most popular with the girls,’ according to John Lennon’s ex-wife
The two were different in their songwriting styles, as well as their performing styles. This could be part of the reason why Cynthia Lennon thought McCartney was the most popular.
“Paul was also energetic on stage,” Cynthia Lennon wrote, “but his style was more seductive than John’s. He wooed the crowd, made friends with them, and the girls loved his big eyes and baby face.”
“He was the most popular with girls, but John didn’t mind — all of the boys attracted plenty of attention and loved the fans coming to tell them how great they were,” she continued. Of course, the Beatles sparked “Beatlemania” with their good looks.
Years later, during a WIRED interview, McCartney commented on speculation regarding the Beatles’ relationships with underage women.
“So if you’re now talking about a 17 [or] 18-year-old boy with a 15-year-old girl, we all knew that was illegal,” he said. “We knew it and it was like, ‘NO.’ But the closer we were in age, of course, the less it seemed to matter. We knew with under-16s it was illegal, so we didn’t do it.”
Who is Paul McCartney’s wife, Nancy Shevell?
While still recording and performing music with the Beatles, McCartney was in a relationship with photographer Linda McCartney. The two were married in 1969, with Linda appearing in the Disney+ documentary series The Beatles: Get Back.
They remained together until Linda McCartney died of breast cancer in 1998. In 2002, McCartney married model and activist Heather Mills. They remained married for several years, getting divorced in 2008.
Now, McCartney remains married to businessperson Nancy Shevell. The former Beatles member has five children — Heather McCartney, Mary McCartney, Stella McCartney, James McCartney, and Beatrice McCartney.
