John Lennon Almost Beat His Friend to Death for Suggesting the Beatle Had a Romantic Relationship With Brian Epsteinen

John Lennon had a famously violent temper. At Paul McCartney’s 21st birthday party, he nearly beat his friend, Bob Wooler, a DJ who helped the Beatles take off, to death after he suggested that Lennon had a romantic relationship with Brian Epstein, the Beatles’ manager.

Paul McCartney’s 21st birthday party

McCartney’s birthday was held at his aunt Gin’s house in Birkenhead, in an effort to avoid the swarms of Beatles fans who’d taken to staking out McCartney and the rest of the bands’ houses. 

In addition to celebrating McCartney’s birthday, the party also celebrated the new immense success of the Beatles. It was a lively affair that brought together a large group of people who had been a part of the band’s coming out. On the guest list included Wooler, a DJ who had been instrumental in spreading the word of the Beatles and was also a friend of the band’s, especially Lennon’s. 

As the hours passed, the guests grew increasingly drunk and high (Lennon among them). 

John Lennon started attacking Bob Wooler 

Then, seemingly out of nowhere, “there was a great commotion,” reads Beatles biography The Love You Make by Peter Brown and Steven Gaines. “John, in a mad rage and obviously very drunk, was pummeling Bob Wooler […] It took three men to pull John off, but not before he managed to break three of Wooler’s ribs and send him to the hospital.” 

The fight brought the party to an abrupt halt.

When Cynthia Lennon approached John to ask him what happened, he replied: “I broke his bloody ribs for him.”

When she asked what prompted the fight, he said: “He called me bloody queer. He said that Brian and I were queer.” 

Later, John recalled thinking: “I can kill this guy,” according to The Beatles Anthology. 

The rumor

Guessing someone’s sexuality is gauche. Confronting them about it at a party is even worse. Though, so is beating someone inches from death. 

Wooler asked Lennon about the nature of his relationship with Beatles manager Brian Epstein after months of rumors about a trip the two men took to Spain. The rest of the band vacationed in the Canary Islands, but Lennon and Epstein opted to go to Barcelona.

“It was almost a love affair, but not quite,” Lennon said of the trip, as reported by Slate. “It was not consummated. But it was a pretty intense relationship.” 

The publication also reports that Lennon echoed this sentiment in a 1971 interview with Rolling Stone, where he said he and Epstein “didn’t have an affair.”

McCartney had his own idea about why Lennon went to Spain with Epstein.

“John was a smart cookie,” he said, as recorded in The Beatles Anthology. “Brian was gay, and John saw his opportunity to impress upon Mr. Epstein who was the boss of the group. I think that’s why he went on holiday with Brian. … He was that kind of guy; he wanted Brian to know whom he should listen to. That was the relationship. John was very much the leader in that way, although it was never actually said.”