#paul and brian

[tavolgisvist]

They say sensitivity often goes with intelligence and certainly I’d say this was true of Paul. Although on the surface he tried to give the impression that he was a fairly tough, swashbuckling, mildly-tearaway character, underneath there was a great deal of thoughtfulness and real tenderness.

(Portrait of Paul by Mike McCartney for Woman Magazine, August 21, 1965)

But he [Paul] has enormous talent and inside he has a great tenderness and great feeling which are sometimes concealed by an angry exterior.

(Brian Epstein, A Cellarful of Noise)

[i-am-the-oyster]

Thank you very much for the post John/Brian/Paul. Fascinating mess lol. Nevertheless, I wonder to what extent Paul's initial reaction to Brian (the bath) isn't always reinterpreted in the light of what we already know about the Beatles' history? I get the impression that everyone reinterprets their relationship as a power play between John and Paul, when it could simply be a legitimate distrust towards a man the boys didn't know, and who could very well have fooled them. I mean, Paul, of the four of them, seems to me to have always been the most suspicious of outsiders, those who weren't part of the group, lest they take advantage. And on many occasions, he was right (Klein). It seems to me that when people talk about Paul's reaction to Brian, they always talk about it as a reaction of jealousy, when it could simply have been self-preservation; the Beatles were working-class lads, young, unconnected and inexperienced in the music business, Brian WAS in a position of power over them. Once he proved himself trustworthy, I have the impression that Paul more or less accepted him as a member of the “Beatles family”. That's not to say there wasn't jealousy over Brian's affection for John, but I feel it's too simplistic a view of the power dynamics involved. What do you think?

Well nonny, it was @crownics's post, so they might have some interesting thoughts on this.

I've never really thought of that incident as primarily about John. I think it was much more directly about Paul and Brian.

Two thoughts:

I don't really remember what originally gave me this impression (someone else's account of the phone call? Something Jim said later?) but I definitely formed a strong conviction at some point that Paul had a panic attack, and that was why he was late. Anyone remember something about Paul sweating and going non-verbal?

You are 100% correct that Paul was more cautious about trusting others to take care of the Beatles. There's an interview where John suggests that Paul was very wary of Brian at first, and I don't think that was exclusively the way Brian looked at John (this particular incident was way before Barcelona).

Paul would have been alert, I think, to the standard dynamics between management and talent (exploitative at best). And he would have been right to be wary of what this rich guy in the nice suit wanted from them. I imagine that meeting the fancy guy at his fancy office made things real in a way that nothing else had so far.

[helenoftroy23]

P

Brian & Paul

This post is essentially a compilation of quotes about the complex and really interesting relationship between Brian and Paul, who seem to be overshadowed by ‘The Barcelona Trip’ and the fascination with Brian and John and all the tension and love between them. 

This is far from /every/ quote, just a collection in some sort of vague order and sourced appropriately. Prepare yourself for lots of text.  

(source: the gilly)

Weiterlesen

[asurrogateblog]

my favorite part of beach boys lore is that the beatles are the villains

[helenoftroy23]

This is so interesting, reblogging so I won’t lose it

I’m really interested that you think John was in love with Brian too! I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone suggest that before.

Hi Anon, For context, I assume you're referring to my tags on this post (Klaus Voormann on Paul's reaction to John and Brian and Barcelona, as observed first-hand by Klaus on Tenerife).

So, when I read the words Brian Epstein was in love with John, so Paul felt isolated, it got me thinking that first, it's always Brian being in love with John that's mentioned, never John's feelings for Brian. And it's not as if there's nothing there: John himself referred to his relationship with Brian, specifically during Barcelona, as an unconsummated, intense almost-love-relationship, with Brian's open gay identity as the main source of attraction. Does that mean John was pining for Brian and writing letters and leaning over the piano while looking at him over his shoulder? Probably not (though, who knows), but I have no doubt John was was fascinated by and infatuated with Brian. Lewisohn mentions this in some detail; John makes a point of clarifying that Brian was in love with *him*, actually.

(I also wrote something here about why the "John was vetting Brian as a manager" and "casting couch" scenarios don't do it for me as explanations for John agreeing, after having declined similar offers before, to accompany Brian to Barcelona in '63.)

[I also wanted to write: what would piss off Paul more: Another man being in love with John, or John being reciprocally in love with another man? Option 2, please! Q.E.D.! But: see below.]

About that Klaus quote in general.

I think Klaus was much smarter as an artist than he was in his words, in some ways. Paul had many reasons to be annoyed by "Barcelona": it split the band, it introduced imbalance into Lennon/McCartney, maybe he was concerned people would 'talk', which they did, and yeah, maybe he doubted Brian's good sense, and was worried about his own standing with their manager.

And on top of that, maybe, he was jealous of John's feelings for Brian, and Brian's for John, and tired of the ongoing triangulation games.

Who knows?

But what I don't believe is that their emotional snapshot during Barcelona held true for the entire lifespan of the Beatles. Paul didn't 'always' feel the outsider within the band, come onnn! And Brian's good friend Nat Weiss said Brian and Paul got on really well in the end — etc. —

The truth is probably as haunting and layered and rich in details as Klaus's drawings! :-)

Thanks for listening if you're still there.

[pondanimal]

he knows what you are

[beatle-stories333]

[tavolgisvist]

In the long ago days of 1962 the Beatles had a van for their equipment which on occasions was also used to transport them. But whenever I could I would drive to each of the Beatles' homes and collect them for a show. This particular night I called on John first then on George and then on Paul— Peter Best was traveling in the van. George got out of the car and knocked on Paul's door in the little street where he lived in Allerton. He was knocked for a few moments and there was still no sign of Paul. Finally Paul answered and said, 'Tell Brian I'm not ready and I'll be a while.' George came back to the car and told me this. I said: 'Well he should be ready. I said I'd be here at eight and it's past eight.' George went back to the house, returned a minute later and said Paul was still not ready. I said: 'George, tell him we're going to the Beehive for a drink and if he likes he can get the bus to the city centre, the train to Birkenhead and another bus to the Technical College. It was a very important evening because we were making money at last and the Technical College show was a good one, in a good hall, and was completing an otherwise successful three part engagement for Liverpool University. Also we had another concert much later that night at New Brighton Tower. We went to the Beehive pub and from there one of the Beatles telephoned Paul. I believe it was John. He came back from the 'phone and said: 'Paul now says he's not coming.' He's very annoyed at having to get the train and the bus.' <...> Paul, however, relented much later, we gathered the other Beatles and we rushed to New Brighton Tower where we were able to catch up and give the University concert.'

(Brian Epstein, A Cellarful of Noise)

Few people know just how near Paul, for example, came to wrecking the Beatles early on. To say that they were all very slack is, in fact, a sort of major understatement – they were nutty slack. Paul has always been the world’s worst timekeeper. It’s almost impossible to get him up in the mornings, for instance. And you ought to see him when he starts shaving. He dithers about for hours before beginning, and then, when he starts, it’s as though he were performing a major operation. In Liverpool, I should explain, the groups would play several engagements at several different clubs and dance halls during an evening. As the Beatles got slacker and slacker, they kept turning up later and later at the clubs. Once or twice they turned up so late that they missed their “spot” altogether. Unhappily, a great deal of this was Paul’s fault. Though to be fair, he wasn’t always to blame. Brian stood for this for a while, then he gave the entire group an ultimatum. “Either you change your attitude – or we split!” The Beatles didn’t need to think about it; by this time they realized they needed each other.

(Portrait of Paul by Mike McCartney for Woman Magazine, August 21, 1965)

“…The most unreliable person was Paul McCartney who was consistently late. I saw him on TV saying that Stevie Wonder was a bit unreliable, he turned up late, and I thought, ‘Look who’s talking’. I would say to Paul at Aintree Institute, ‘You’ve missed the middle spot and you’ll have to go on last, which is the going home time.’ He’d say, ‘Sorry, I was busy writing a song.’ That didn’t impress me at all at the time as I had a show to put on. John, surprisingly, was quite dutiful. Maybe Aunt Mimi was the one behind him, telling him to get out of the house.”

(Bob Wooler, DJ at the Cavern in Best of the Beatles: The sacking of Pete Best by Spencer Leigh, 2015)

[the-jovial-jester]

no wonder John got called gay at Paul's birthday party

Bro's looking at him like he hung the stars

[javelinbk]

Happy anniversary to this photo of all time…

The Beatles and Brian Matthew recording for Saturday Club at the Playhouse Theatre in London, 21st May 1963

[tr4shcanbugz]

movie so fire he had to shoot up a mickeys

[anulight]

Paul is still struggling with his attraction to men, so he seeks out of father figure.

[getajobcop]

what the fuck is wrong with him

[berrymimes]

Here’s my second and final illustration for the “Not Just Songs: Phantom of The Paradise 50th Anniversary Zine” 🎤🕊️ @potpzine

This piece is for winslow’s final act… 🎭💔

Once again, I wanted to thank the zine moderators and contributors for making this zine possible! And thank YOU to those who bought the supported the zine!

[certainlyathrill]

good grief !

[paulic]

PAUL MCCARTNEY’S paintings of his wife Linda McCartney