Paul McCartney On John Lennon Claiming He Was Jesus Christ

Even members of the younger generation today probably heard something about The Beatles, the English band composed of Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. Formed in Liverpool in 1960, it became so famous worldwide that it was considered one of the most influential bands in history.

Sadly, only two members — Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr — of the four-member band remain alive today. John Lennon was shot and died in 1980, while George Harrison died due to lung cancer in 2001. For Beatle fans, McCartney revealed a few interesting details about the band in an interview with GQ.

He Was The Last Member To Take Acid

Back then, McCartney was seen as the sensible/reluctant one among the four members. Indeed, that’s the case when it came to using acid — he was the last The Beatles member to take the substance. And it’s all because of peer pressure.

McCartney recalled that he did it because he was encouraged by a friend to microdose. “But it wasn't as bad as I'd imagined, it wasn't a sort of horrific thing,” the singer recalled his experience. “But you certainly weren't the same again. You certainly had insights into what life might be.”

But He Was Adamant Against Trepanation

Trepanning or trepanation is an ancient practice where a hole is drilled into the skull believing that it will cure some diseases such as epilepsy, blindness and mental illness. While it is obviously a potentially dangerous procedure, there are sites who advocate do-it-yourself trepanation.

The procedure became a fad in those days, and one of the members of The Beatles was contemplating on undergoing the procedure. But it was McCartney’s adamant refusal that probably aborted his mate’s plans.

“John was a kooky cat. We'd all read about it — you know, this is the '60s,” McCartney recounted Lennon’s plans of doing trepanning. “The ‘ancient art of trepanning,’ which lent a little bit of validity to it, because ancient must be good. And all you'd have to do is just bore a little hole in your skull and it lets the pressure off — well, that sounds very sensible. ‘But look, John, you try it and let me know how it goes.’” In the end, Lennon decided not to do the procedure.

John Lennon’s Controversial Claim

Lady Gaga and Madonna are known today for their seemingly anti-Christian imagery in their music videos. But a member of The Beatles actually did it before these two controversial pop superstars did.

“Christianity will go,” Lennon once said, which promptly started a Ban the Beatles movement. “It will vanish and shrink. I needn’t argue about that; I know I’m right and I will be proved right. We’re more popular than Jesus now.”

Apparently, there’s a lesser-known but more controversial claim that Lennon reportedly made — that he was Christ himself. “Did he [Lennon] really come to that meeting near the end of the Beatles and say he was Jesus Christ?” GQ’s Chris Heath had to ask McCartney.

“I don't remember that,” McCartney replied. “I think I would have remembered that. He was the kind of guy that could do that. I don't remember him actually ever doing it. I mean, on the Sgt. Pepper cover he wanted Jesus Christ and Hitler on there. That was, ‘Okay, that's John.’ You'd have to talk him down a bit — ‘No, probably not Hitler…’ I could say to him, ‘No, we're not doing that.’ He was a good enough guy to know when he was being told.”