Paul McCartney reveals John Lennon still influences his songwriting

Sir Paul McCartney says John Lennon still influences his songwriting – and he ditches lyrics if his old pal would think they were too sentimental.

He added that coming up with tracks now is much harder than when he was collaborating with Lennon during their time in The Beatles. Macca, 81, said about composing songs these days: “Often I’ll sort of refer… ‘What would John think of this? He’d have thought it was too soppy, so I’ll change it’.”

He said writing with John was “much easier [than now] because there were two minds at work”, adding: “That interplay was miraculous. You don’t have this opposing element so much [now]. I have to do that myself.” Speaking in a new podcast series about his career, Sir Paul added: “John’s persona was very guarded, hopelessly guarded. That’s where all his wit came from. Like so many comedians, it’s to shield themselves against the world.

John having a very difficult upbringing – his father leaves home, his uncle dies and his mother gets killed – he could be very sarcastic. We all could, it was my way of dealing with my mother’s death. There would often be a very witty put-down. It wouldn’t always be a put-down but it was always a very quick answer, and he’d trained himself to do that.

That was one of the attractive things about him. I remember him saying to me, ‘Paul, I worry about how people are going to remember me when I die’. It shocked me and I said, ‘Hold it right there. People are going to think you were great’. I was like his priest. I’d say, ‘My son, you’re great’. It’d make him feel better.”

John was murdered in 1980 aged 40. Sir Paul added: “I’ve met a lot of amazing and influential people, but some of my Liverpool family was better. “They had something going for them besides this niceness and good manners. Their sense of humour was ridiculous.