Sir Paul McCartney has said he would have been wracked with guilt if he had not mended his friendship with John Lennon before he was murdered.
The Beatles legend John was shot dead in 1980 at the age of 40 by unhinged fan Mark Chapman outside his New York City home.
John left The Beatles in 1969 and had become embroiled in legal battles over the band’s back catalogue, causing tension between him and his former songwriter Sir Paul, now 81.
In the mid-1970s they rekindled their friendship and Sir Paul spent time at the house John shared with his second wife Yoko Ono in New York.
But Sir Paul admits he would have been devastated if he had not had the chance to mend the cracks in his relationship with John before he was killed.
Difficult emotions: Sir Paul McCartney, 81, has told how he would have been wracked with guilt if he had not mended his friendship with John Lennon before he was murdered (Sir Paul pictured in December last year)
Tragic: The Beatles legend John was shot dead at the age of 40 by unhinged fan Mark Chapman outside his New York City home in 1980 (Sir Paul, left, and John, right, pictured on stage during a performance with The Beatles in 1964)
Sir Paul said on the McCartney: A Life in Lyrics podcast: ‘In the end I was very happy when he was killed, that I had had a really good time with him before that happened.
“It would have been the worst thing in the world if he had just been murdered and we were still in a bad relationship. That would have been a big guilt trip for me.
‘Luckily we were friendly, we talked about baking bread.
‘You have to remember that I took him to court, and his friends from Liverpool, friends for life, to court. There is still a lot to be done.’
Sir Paul also talked about what kind of person John was before his tragic murder.
The Get Back singer remembers John as a witty and “sarcastic” man who used his jokes and put-downs to protect himself from the world.
He said: ‘John’s personality was very guarded, hopelessly guarded. That’s where all his humor came from. Like many comedians, it’s to protect themselves from the world.
‘John had a very difficult upbringing – his father leaves home, his uncle dies and his mother is murdered – he could be very sarcastic. We could all do that, it was my way of dealing with my mother’s death.
Hitmakers: The Beatles formed in Liverpool in 1960 and had a string of hits together (L-R: Ringo Starr, John Lennon, Sir Paul McCartney, George Harrison in 1964)
‘There was often a very humorous humiliation. It wasn’t always a put-down, but it was always a very quick response, and he had 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 will remember me when I die.”
‘It shocked me and I said, ‘Just hang in there. People will think you were great.’ I was like his priest. I would say, “My son, you are wonderful.” It would make him feel better.’
Last year Sir Paul said he ‘couldn’t talk about’ John’s death after his murder in 1980.
Sir Paul told how on the day of his friend’s death he came home from the studio and turned on the TV to see people thinking about ‘what John meant to them’.
He said: ‘When John died it was so hard. It affected me so much that I couldn’t really talk about it.
“I remember coming home from the studio the day we heard the news that he died. Turning on the TV and seeing people say, “Well, John Lennon was this” and “What he was was this” and “I remember meeting him.”
“I was like, ‘I can’t be one of those people. I can’t go on TV and say what John meant to me.’ It was just too deep. I couldn’t put it into words.’
Sir Paul added how he managed to express his grief over the loss of John in his 1982 song Here Today.
The artist revealed that she “sat on the wooden floor in the corner with my guitar” and came up with the opening chords for the song.
Sir Paul also added that the line “the night we cried” referred to the time he and his late friend, who was murdered more than forty years ago, had a drunken heart to heart and “told each other a few truths ‘ and how much they loved each other.