John Lennon’s Aunt Gave Paul McCartney a ‘Very Patronizing’ Nickname She Used in Front of Him

All four members contributed to making The Beatles the successful band they were, but it took John Lennon to gather the parts. Adding Paul McCartney was a shrewd move. The pair effortlessly wrote songs together, tunes that changed popular music forever. That didn’t matter to the woman who raised John. Lennon’s rigid aunt Mimi had a snobby nickname for McCartney that she used in front of him.

Paul McCartney said John Lennon’s aunt Mimi had a belittling nickname for him though she secretly liked him

Future wife Cynthia kept John from going off the rails in the early days. Still, Lennon’s stern aunt Mimi might have given him the sharp edge needed to navigate the music industry.

Aunt Mimi frequently criticized John. His clothes, accent, the music he played, and his friends were some of the targets. Lennon’s aunt, who raised him for much of his life, lived in a more upscale Liverpool neighborhood compared to the McCartneys. She always viewed herself as posh and upper class and didn’t care for John mixing with his working-class bandmates. 

Even the charming McCartney could escape Mimi’s scorn. He once said she liked him but used a dehumanizing nickname for him (via 150 Glimpses of The Beatles):

“She would always refer to me as ‘Your little friend.’ I’d look at her, and she’d smile. I’d know what she’d done. I would ignore it. It was very patronizing, but she secretly quite liked me. She sort of twinkled, but she was very aware that John’s friends were lower-class. She was the kind of woman who would put you down with a glint in her eye, with a smile, but she’d put you down all the same.”

Paul McCartney

Lennon’s aunt bought him his first guitar, then complained about the price. She knew he dreamed of being a musician and discouraged him. She perhaps sensed bigger and brighter things with McCartney and Lennon forming a formidable duo, but Paul was never more than John’s “little friend” to aunt Mimi.

Lennon’s aunt was also on his dad and George Harrison 

John took plenty of criticism from aunt Mimi. The likable McCartney couldn’t escape her scorn. They weren’t the only ones taking flack from Mimi Smith.

Lennon’s dad abandoned the family when his son was still very young. Years later, he hoped to form a bond with the child he left and ask Mimi to help. She shot down the chances for a relationship with some savage words for John’s father. Aunt Mimi advised him to move to New Zealand and start a new life.

John’s aunt also targeted George Harrison. Smith never approved of McCartney, but John talked up Harrison to the point where she agreed to let him enter her home. When George crossed the threshold wearing a pink shirt with slicked-back hair, she was so appalled she threw him out. Her scorn extended to Harrison’s parents. With The Beatles on the rise and establishing themselves as one of Liverpool’s most popular bands, Smith wasn’t pleased with George’s mother for encouraging and supporting the group. The music was just a racket to Aunt Mimi, who overlooked its effect on the packed houses at the Cavern Club. 

John Lennon’s aunt had a belittling nickname for Paul McCartney she used to his face even though he said she secretly liked him. Luckily for music fans, her harsh demeanor didn’t prevent John and Paul from making wonderful music together.

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