John Lennon and Paul McCartney worked closely together, but they were also highly competitive. This began from the earliest days of their acquaintance. When Lennon met McCartney, he felt an immediate sense of superiority over him, said his friend, Pete Shotton. Shotton shared what led to this feeling in Lennon.

John Lennon felt a sense of superiority over Paul McCartney when they met

Lennon and McCartney met at a church festival in 1957. Lennon’s band, the Quarry Men, performed and an impressed McCartney sought them out afterward. McCartney showed them his own talent on the guitar, which led to an invite to join the band. According to Shotton, Lennon didn’t seem to have any idea how important McCartney would become to him. He looked down on him, at least to some degree, because of his age.

“It certainly wouldn’t have occurred to John, at that point, that he and Paul McCartney were destined to become close friends,” Shotton wrote in his book The Beatles, Lennon, and Me. “For one thing, John was nearly two years Paul’s senior, which only added to his inherent sense of superiority.”

Shotton said Lennon seemed to view McCartney, who was more musically trained than the other Quarry Men, as a vehicle to get better at guitar. McCartney didn’t seem like a longtime addition to the band at first.

“The younger boy’s main attraction, as far as John was concerned, was his musical expertise,” Shotton wrote. “Paul, in short, was welcome to become a Quarry Man for as long as it took John to master all those chords.”

He felt the same way about George Harrison

McCartney, of course, remained in the band far beyond the point when Lennon mastered more chords. He also recruited George Harrison to join the group. Lennon initially felt the same way about Harrison as he did McCartney. He felt embarrassed to be performing with people so much younger than him.

“George was the youngest, and it was obvious,” author Tony Bramwell said, per the book George Harrison: Behind the Locked by Graeme Thomson. “He looked very young, even younger than his years. John Lennon didn’t particularly like him and didn’t want him in the band. He regarded him as too young, a kid, but Paul was pushing for him.”

Harrison could tell Lennon didn’t want him around.

“I think [John] did feel a bit embarrassed about that because I was so tiny,” Harrison said. “I only looked about ten years old.”

Luckily, Harrison earned his position through his talent.

Paul McCartney said people liked John Lennon better than him

After The Beatles broke up, Lennon often disparaged McCartney’s solo work and Beatles songs in the press. He also accused McCartney of ruining some of the band’s best songs. He wanted to make it clear that he didn’t think highly of his former bandmate. 

McCartney also felt that fans didn’t respect him as much, particularly after Lennon’s death.

“The thing I find myself doing — which is a pity really, but it’s just because of the unfortunate circumstances — is trying to justify myself against John, and I hate to do that,” he said, per the LA Times. “There are certain people who are starting to think he was The Beatles.”

McCartney felt he had to defend his own legacy to fans of the band.