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My guest has produced one of those rare books in The Beatles’ literary canon not penned by an insider (or by someone named Lewisohn) that has arrived with a tidal wave of press; in advance and since. Ian Leslie, who in the past has written about psychology, has put together a thesis examining the singular personal and professional relationship between Lennon and McCartney, and how it manifested in their art. That’s a lot to unpack but we cover a lot of ground in our conversation.
Thank you for this marvelous interview and thought-provoking discussion. Even in the early days — I’m a first-generation fan — we could see that the John-Paul relationship was deep and intense, entwined both personally and creatively. When the break-up of The Beatles was announced, I wrote several pages of heart-broken reaction in my diary, particularly upset about what it would mean for John and Paul: “How could they lose each other? They practically ARE each other.” Ian Leslie’s book brings clarity and meaning to things we observed then but only vaguely understood. Your comments, Robert, opened the door to some fascinating threads of thought. Please do bring him back again. I am bursting with questions!