Paul McCartney and John Lennon are possibly the most successful songwriting duo ever. They wrote many hits together, and it’s hard to imagine how many more they could have written if The Beatles stayed together. They started writing together at a young age, and McCartney remembered the first song he called a “Lennon-McCartney original.”
Paul McCartney declared ‘Just Fun’ as an early ‘Lennon-McCartney original’
Lennon and McCartney first met while in Liverpool and had an instant connection. They bonded over their shared love of rock n’ roll music, which was hard to find as rock music was just starting to become popular in the U.K. Before Lennon and McCartney formed The Beatles, the pair wrote songs together while in The Quarrymen.
A few of their early songs together were “Too Bad About Sorrows” and “Just Fun”. In an interview with Rolling Stone, Paul McCartney recalled “Just Fun” being one of the first songs he put the “Lennon-McCartney original” stamps on.
“I had a little school-exercise book where I wrote those lyrics down,” he said. “And in the top right-hand corner of the page, I put ‘A Lennon-McCartney original.’ It was humble beginnings. We developed from that.”
The Beatles never recorded an official version of ‘Just Fun’
Even though it would be fascinating to hear an official version of “Just Fun”, The Beatles never recorded it in a releasable version. However, it was referenced twice during the Let It Be recording sessions. According to Early Beatles Songs, the first time the song is referenced is when Paul McCartney recalls writing it with Lennon and then plays a version of the first verse.
The second is when Lennon plays a line from the song, leading into a ragged version that is most likely the best example of the full song audiences have heard. A bootleg version of “Just Fun” was performed by McCartney during a soundcheck in Zurich. However, the poor quality of the tape makes it impossible to decipher. Recently, McCartney did play a 20-second version in an interview with Sean Lennon for the BBC Radio 2 special, John Lennon at 80.
McCartney considers himself lucky to have met Lennon and George Harrison
In addition to meeting John Lennon in Liverpool, Paul McCartney also bonded with George Harrison over a shared love of music. McCartney and Harrison attended the same school, often discussing music on the bus and after school. While Ringo Starr also grew up in Liverpool, he didn’t meet the band until later. McCartney said he considers himself lucky that he met Lennon and Harrison, who shared his passion for music.
“We were lucky, but I think the luck just came from the passion,” McCartney told Rolling Stone. “Just growing up, I loved my dad’s era of music. The chords were fascinating. I loved listening to my dad play. So that passion just grew and grew, and then you’d meet … in my case, I’d meet someone like John or George. You’d find that they had the same passion. You’re just drawn to each other.”
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