Cynthia Lennon stated that Paul McCartney 'could only aspire' to be as 'cool' as John

Cynthia Lennon stated that McCartney and Lennon were very different at this point, yet they complement each other nicely. Still, Cynthia and McCartney agreed that Lennon was cooler. When Cynthia met McCartney, he already had a close friendship with Lennon. She could tell they worked well together, but she was surprised by how different they were.
Cynthia stated in her book John that Paul's planned, serious approach — he wrote down all the lyrics in a notebook he carried with him — contrasted sharply with John's 'anything goes' attitude. "Paul arrived on time for appointments, appearing well-groomed; he was a perfectionist, and you could tell he cleansed his ears. John arrived late and appeared to have just tumbled out of bed." McCartney was captivated by Lennon's more laid-back style and attempted to replicate it himself.
"In those days, Paul tried hard to impress John, posing and strutting with his hair slicked back to prove that he was cool, because John was very much the leader," writes the author. "It was his band, and he had the final say about who got in and who didn't, and what they played." Unfortunately for McCartney, Cynthia claimed he couldn't quite get it off. "Then, he was everything Paul wanted to be — laid-back, self-assured, and in charge," she recalled. "As the schoolboy he still was, Paul could only aspire to those things."

Although Lennon founded The Beatles, some early fans saw McCartney as the band's most valuable asset. McCartney was driven and had the most musical experience. In Philip Norman's book Paul McCartney: The Life, Liverpool guitarist Brian Griffiths stated that Paul was the one who kept them together. "In those days, John wasn't a very good singer, George Harrison was quite bashful, Stu Sutcliffe was still learning the bass, and Pete Best had just recently joined the band. He understood all about minor and diminished seventh chords, whereas John was still hanging out with guitarists from other bands, saying, 'Go on, show us a lick.'" McCartney eventually encouraged the band to develop and record new music.
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