George Harrison Said John Lennon Had a Lot of Power in the Early Days of The Beatles and Anointed Himself the Leader
George Harrison once claimed John Lennon had a lot of power as the leader in the early days of The Beatles. John might’ve started one of the greatest rock ‘n’ roll bands, but his power dwindled over time.
George Harrison said John Lennon made himself the leader of The Beatles
John had a tough childhood. He might’ve lived in the posh part of Liverpool in his Aunt Mimi’s spotless home, but his formative years were stained with heartbreak. After his father abandoned him, so did his mother. They left John in the care of his aunt for the rest of his childhood.
Into his teenage years, John became a rebel. The Guardian wrote, “He was a bohemian and a rebel, by turns arrogant and insecure; the classic outsider who came to define the boundaries of the mainstream by reacting against them; the nowhere boy who became Britain’s most famous pop star but never quite transcended his troubled childhood.”
When John met Paul McCartney, he was already a confident band leader. Although, when George met him, John didn’t even know there were six strings on a guitar. He asked Paul to join The Quarrymen (their name then) because he recognized a connection between them.
John had an issue with allowing George to join, though. He thought George was too young. John and Paul were older. Letting George join would be like having their little brother tag along. Eventually, though, John couldn’t deny George’s talents.
In Martin Scorsese’s documentary, George Harrison: Living in the Material World, George explained that John had a lot of power in those days.
“When I met John, he had a lot of power, really,” George explained. “Sometimes they’d pick somebody to march behind on the way to war. Well, he was certainly out front.”
However, the days of John being The Beatles’ leader were numbered.
John didn’t stay the leader of The Beatles
Even though John technically formed The Beatles, he didn’t remain the leader for long. Once The Beatles started writing their own material, he started sharing leadership duties with Paul. They shared a songwriting partnership.
For the most part, John and Paul decided everything. However, sometime around the late-1960s, Paul started taking the reins, bit by bit. In the other three’s eyes, he became “the boss.” The concept of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band was his idea.
When The Beatles’ manager, Brian Epstein, died, they had no father figure left who could tell them what to do. Paul retook the lead and steered the band into The White Album and Let It Be. He called them into work. On Let It Be, Paul had big ideas, but none of his bandmates wanted to follow his lead.
George briefly quit because he couldn’t stand Paul’s domineering any longer. John almost did the same. In Peter Jackson’s three-part documentary on the making of Let It Be, The Beatles: Get Back, we heard John and Paul’s secret conversation amid the band’s turmoil. They squabbled about who was the group’s leader.
“Now, the only regret about the past numbers is when, because I’ve been so frightened, I’ve allowed you to take it somewhere where I didn’t want,” John said. “If you give me your suggestions, let me reject them… Same goes for the arranging ’cause there was a period where none of us could actually say anything about your arrangements ’cause you would reject it all.
“A lot of the times you were right – and a lot of the times you were wrong… I don’t think The Beatles revolve around the four people. It might be a f***in’ job.”
“I’ll tell you what,” Paul interjected. “What I think… the main thing is this: You have always been boss. Now, I’ve been sort of secondary boss.” John said, “Not always.” Paul replied, “No, listen. Listen. No, always.”
John didn’t consider himself The Beatles’ leader anymore because Paul took control.
Fans have debated who the real leader of the group is
For years, fans have argued over the real leader of The Beatles. Some have shared their thoughts on a Beatles Bible forum called “Who is the Leader?”
One fan said it was a shared role between John and Paul. They wrote, “I think it was more of a partnership/ friendly rivalry between Paul and John that gave the group direction. If that makes them the ‘leaders,’ then I guess they led the band.”
Another fan argued John was the leader simply because he formed the band. One said, “But I don’t think there’s any question that Lennon was the leader, even if he did nothing other than start the damn band.”
Mostly, fans agree that John was the leader in the beginning until Paul took over in the late 1960s.
One person wrote, “As much as I’d like to say there isn’t one, that everyone had equal footing, it’s not true… Yes, John was the obvious ‘leader’ per se of the group, but I think the fact that they were all new to the game and life of a music career kind of leveled them all a bit. Sure, Paul and John were more leaders than George and Ringo if anything, but at that time, no one really took the stand.
“… BUT if by leader you mean purely and only ‘head’ of the Beatles, I would say John, because it was him who first started the band/rounded up the members. He got them started, and had the backbone to keep it going.
“Post Brian’s death, I would say Paul took the lead. All the way until Abbey Road, he was the force behind them. He would rally them, like, ‘come on, lads,’ and just remind them of what they were in the first place; the Beatles.
“So, they carried on with music in their own ways, yes, but under Paul’s supervision and guidance, I think. He kept them steady until it was too hard for him to stabilize the band on his own.”
The grey area of who was indeed in charge undoubtedly worked a crack between John and Paul. Fighting over who was the boss was one of the reasons why The Beatles broke up.
