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Credit: Far Out \/ Alamy<\/p>\n
Thu 2 July 2026 18:30, UK <\/p>\n
Most critics of today only wish that they could have been as cynical and cutthroat as John Lennon<\/a> was in his prime. <\/p>\n You\u2019d hardly find a better hater of The Beatles than Lennon after the band broke up, and even when he found a place in his heart for some of their classic tunes, it\u2019s not like he was sitting around reminiscing about what profound works of poetry they made on tunes like \u2018Little Child\u2019 or anything. He could be a lot more vicious than anyone would have thought, but he could be just as generous when dishing out praise for some of his favourite acts as well.<\/p>\n Then again, that normally involved catching Lenon at the right time as well. When the band first broke up, and he went through primal therapy, you would have hardly found a moment where he had much nice to say about Paul McCartney. The aftershock of the band\u2019s breakup was still weighing heavy on him, but he knew that he needed to move on if he was going to remain the kind of artist he wanted to be.<\/p>\n He didn\u2019t see the point in trying to force a smile every single time that the band did one of their interviews, and his first solo gig at the Toronto Peace Festival <\/a>seemed to be a step in the right direction. He had already got a taste of what playing on his own felt like when working with The Dirty Mac at The Rolling Stones\u2019 Rock and Roll Circus, but that didn\u2019t mean that he needed to have affection for everything that his friends did, either.<\/p>\n Around the time that Plastic Ono Band<\/a> came out, Lennon felt that The Stones were nothing but a bunch of copycats every single time they played, and no one would have faulted him for thinking that. There was hardly a trend that the Fab Four jumped on that The Stones didn\u2019t do only a few records later, but when their friends broke up, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards carved out a place for themselves as one of the greatest blues outfits to come out of England.<\/p>\n And while Lennon and McCartney could write one hell of a tune, Lennon admitted that The Stones had them beat in terms of theatricality. No one could move around the stage the same way that Jagger did, and while Lennon did feel that they took more than a few hints from what he had already done, he knew that there was no chance that anyone could displace Jagger in rock and roll history.<\/p>\n The biggest names in the world may have tried to become massive frontmen on their own, but Jagger occupied a different space in Lennon\u2019s mind, saying<\/a>, \u201cPeople are saying The Stones are getting too old to appear now, but that\u2019s bullshit. Mick\u2019ll never be past it. I saw the TV show they did over here, and it was fantastic. It was a master\u2019s performance, and that\u2019s what Mick is, a master performer.\u201d And given Lennon\u2019s friends in the business, it\u2019s not like the new school was in danger of dethroning Jagger, either.<\/p>\n Further reading: From The Vault<\/p>\n
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<\/a> The Far Out Classic Rock Newsletter<\/p>\n