--- description: Paul McCartney says his bitter rift with Beatles bandmate John Lennon drew headlines, but their real story at the end was forgiveness title: Paul McCartney Thankful for Repaired Friendship Before John Lennon's Death image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1df8849a29aa58eb/69876d3ef887dc69e9e88dbd/paul-mccartney-beatles.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [celebrities](/tag/celebrities/) ## celebrities Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Paul McCartney Thankful for Repaired Friendship Before John Lennon's Death ## Video: A Rare Look at the Beginnings of Beatlemania [Watch (HLS stream): A Rare Look at the Beginnings of Beatlemania](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/ndxmm4Nl.m3u8) (4:34)  _Published 2014-02-07. In honor of the 50th anniversary of the Beatles' first major performance in America on The Ed Sullivan Show, here's a look at archival footage of when the British band first took the U.S. by storm._ by [People / Andrea Billups](/author/people/) ## People / Andrea Billups Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 7, 2014 10:40 PM CUT  Sir Paul McCartney attends the 2014 Women's Leadership Award Honoring Stella McCartney at Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center on Nov. 13, 2014 in New York City. Sir Paul McCartney attends the 2014 Women's Leadership Award Honoring Stella McCartney at Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center on Nov. 13, 2014 in New York City.Dipasupil—FilmMagic/Getty Images by [People / Andrea Billups](/author/people/) ## People / Andrea Billups Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 7, 2014 10:40 PM CUT [Paul McCartney](http://www.people.com/article/paul-mccartney-jamie-foxx-dances-hamptons "undefined") says his bitter rift with [Beatles](http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20784141,00.html "undefined") bandmate [John Lennon](http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20763262,00.html "undefined") may have drawn headlines, but their real story at the end was one of forgiveness, as the two put aside differences to bond over fatherhood and “bread-making recipes.” On Saturday’s episode of [_The Jonathan Ross Show_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sN568H6CY3I "undefined"), McCartney told the host that he’s thankful the musical legends had reconnected before Lennon was [tragically shot to death](http://www.people.com/people/package/gallery/0,,20301963%5F20310004%5F20681933,00.html "undefined") in 1980 at age 40. “The story about the break-up, it’s true but it’s not the main bit, the main bit was the affection,” the musician, 72, lovingly recalled days before the Monday anniversary of Lennon’s murder outside the [famed Dakota apartment building](http://www.people.com/article/lauren-bacall-dakota-apartment-nyc-for-sale-26-million-photos "undefined")in Manhattan. “I’m so glad because it would have been the worst thing in the world to have this great relationship that then soured and he gets killed, so there was some solace in the fact that we got back together. We were good friends,” McCartney shared. Looking back, the moment when he heard the news remains staggering. “I just for days couldn’t think that he was gone,” McCartney recalled of his sadness and how tough it was to pass on the news to his own family. “It was just a huge shock.” “I was at home and I got a phone call,” he explained. “It was early in the morning. … It was just so horrific, you couldn’t take it in and I couldn’t take it in. … For me, it was just so sad that I wasn’t going to see him again and we weren’t going to hang.” McCartney had tough words for convicted killer Mark David Chapman, noting his shock that the shooting was just so “random” and senseless. “The phrase kept coming in my head ‘The jerk of all jerks,’ ” he said of Chapman, who [remains jailed](http://www.people.com/article/john-lennon-killer-denied-parole-mark-david-chapman "undefined") after pleading guilty to second-degree murder in 1981\. “It was just like, ‘This is just a jerk. This is not even a guy politically motivated, it’s just some total random thing.’ ” [RELATED: Ringo Starr Shares Never-Before-Seen Photos of The Beatles](http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20704080,00.html "undefined") [_This article originally appeared on People.com_](http://www.people.com/article/paul-mccartney-john-lennon-death-anniversary? "undefined") _Read next:_ [_‘The Art of McCartney’: The Making of a Massive Tribute Album_](http://time.com/3590050/paul-mccartney-tribute-album/?xid=time%5Freadnext "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3622655/paul-mccartney-john-lennon-friendship/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3622655/paul-mccartney-john-lennon-friendship/"},"headline":"Paul McCartney Thankful for Repaired Friendship Before John Lennon's Death","datePublished":"2014-12-07T22:40:15.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T02:38:34.375Z","description":"Lennon was shot to death in 1980 at age 40","url":"https://time.com/3622655/paul-mccartney-john-lennon-friendship/","keywords":["celebrities"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1df8849a29aa58eb/69876d3ef887dc69e9e88dbd/paul-mccartney-beatles.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"People / Andrea Billups"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1df8849a29aa58eb/69876d3ef887dc69e9e88dbd/paul-mccartney-beatles.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"2014 Women's Leadership Award Honoring Stella McCartney","caption":"2014 Women's Leadership Award Honoring Stella McCartney","creditText":"Dipasupil—FilmMagic/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/celebrities/","name":"celebrities"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3622655/paul-mccartney-john-lennon-friendship/","name":"Paul McCartney Thankful for Repaired Friendship Before John Lennon's Death"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"A Rare Look at the Beginnings of Beatlemania","description":"In honor of the 50th anniversary of the Beatles' first major performance in America on The Ed Sullivan Show, here's a look at archival footage of when the British band first took the U.S. by storm.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/ndxmm4Nl/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-02-07T00:19:50.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/ndxmm4Nl.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3622655/paul-mccartney-john-lennon-friendship/","duration":"PT4M34S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3622655/paul-mccartney-john-lennon-friendship/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```