Today in History: John Lennon Allegedly Threw a Brick Through Paul McCartney’s Window
On March 12, 1970, the High Courts of London ruled in favor of Paul McCartney in the legal battle to dissolve The Beatles’ partnership. His former bandmates, John Lennon, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr, were not happy with this turn of events. The day they heard the verdict, the three former Beatles drove to McCartney’s house where Lennon allegedly put two bricks through his windows.
The Beatles went to court after they broke up
One of the driving forces behind The Beatles’ breakup was the rift that occurred when they tried to pick a new manager. McCartney wanted his father-in-law, Lee Eastman, but the rest of the band won out and appointed Allen Klein. In order to take control of The Beatles’ catalog, McCartney had to sue the band.
“And it was crazy, but I knew that was the only thing to do, because there was no way I was going to save it for me, because there was no way I was going to work that hard for all my life and see it all vanish in a puff of smoke,” McCartney told GQ. “I also knew that, if I managed to save it, I would be saving it for them [the rest of The Beatles] too. Because they were about to give it away. They loved this guy Klein. And I was saying, ‘He’s a f***ing idiot.'”
John Lennon allegedly threw bricks through Paul McCartney’s window
On March 12, 1970, McCartney won the first stage of the legal battle against his former bandmates. A judge appointed James Spooner to take control of The Beatles’ financial affairs.
“My client’s worst fears about the financial position of the partnership have been proven right,” McCartney’s lawyer, Andrew Legatt, said, per the book The Beatles Diary Volume 2: After the Breakup.
When reporters asked Lennon, Harrison, and Starr for a statement, they responded, “No comment,” and got in Lennon’s car. According to witnesses, they drove to McCartney’s home on Cavendish Avenue. Here, Lennon allegedly scaled the wall outside McCartney’s house and threw two bricks through his windows.
Paul McCartney said he and John Lennon never hated each other
The period after The Beatles broke up was notably tense between McCartney and Lennon. Beyond the incident with the brick through the window, they wrote songs about one another and spoke publicly about their feud. Still, McCartney said it’s a common misconception that the former members of The Beatles hated each other.
“There are so many. I suppose that when The Beatles broke up, perhaps there was a misconception that we all sort of hated each other,” he told GQ. “What I realize now is that, because it was a family, because it was a gang, families argue. And families have disputes. And some people want to do this and some people want to do that.”
McCartney established far friendlier relationships with his former bandmates as the 1970s wore on. He said that one of his final conversations with Lennon was pleasant, discussing baking bread and raising children.
