John Lennon Revealed He Was Shot at as a Child

As a child, John Lennon was willing to put himself in dangerous situations. He got into fights he had no chance of winning and stole. He admitted that he used to go “thieving” with a friend, something he didn’t necessarily enjoy. Lennon said he felt terrified the entire time, and for a good reason. Once, someone fired a gun at him.

John Lennon said that he found himself in a dangerous position as a child

During Lennon’s adolescence, he worked hard to establish himself as popular and powerful. 

“I was the kingpin of my age group,” he said, per The Beatles Anthology. “I learnt lots of dirty jokes very young; there was a girl who lived near who told me.”

In order to maintain his position as the kingpin, he had to prove that he was fearless and rebellious. This sometimes put him in frightening and uncomfortable situations.

“I was shot at once for stealing apples,” he said. “I used to go thieving with this kid. We used to ride on the bumpers of tram cars in Penny Lane and ride miles without paying.”

He might have believed this was a necessary way to maintain his image, but he didn’t actually want to do this kind of thing.

“I’d be sh***ing myself all the time,” he said. “I was so scared. I nearly fell off while riding on the bumpers.”

As a child, John Lennon spent a great deal of time trying to build up his image

Lennon’s behavior earned him his reputation, but he admitted it was mostly an act. 

“I was fairly tough at school, but I could organize it so it seemed like I was tough,” he said. “It used to get me into trouble. I used to dress tough like a Teddy boy, but if I went into the tough districts and came across other Teddy boys, I was in danger. At school it was easier because I could control it with my head so they thought I was tougher than I was. It was a game. I mean, we used to shoplift and all those things, but nothing really heavy.”

His work to establish himself as “tough” came from his tumultuous childhood, something that future bandmate Paul McCartney recognized upon meeting him. Lennon never saw his father, lived apart from his mother, and dealt with significant familial deaths during his adolescence. He didn’t feel in control of his home life, so he sought control over his friends. Because of this, he placed himself in positions that made him uncomfortable. He didn’t want to crack his image by admitting he was afraid.

His attempts to toughen up his image worked

Though Lennon admitted that he spent a good deal of his time lying to others, it worked. He built a fearsome reputation among his fellow students, but especially with their parents. 

“I was the one that all the other boys’ parents would say, ‘Keep away from him,'” he said. “Because they knew what I was. The parents instinctively recognised I was a troublemaker, meaning I did not conform and I would influence their children, which I did.”

While he may have been pretending to be tough, he did a convincing job.