Paul McCartney strongly opposed Allen Klein as The Beatles’ manager, but John Lennon pushed hard to get him appointed. He was the first of the band to want to hire Klein and he was happy to see him become the manager. McCartney believed this had little to do with the vision Klein had for The Beatles and more with how he treated Yoko Ono.
Paul McCartney shared why John Lennon liked Allen Klein
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When Lennon met Klein, he told the musician he supported Ono’s career. This won him Lennon’s backing.
“I always had the impression that Klein had got them to go with him because he was the only one who was ever sympathetic to Yoko,” McCartney said in the book All You Need Is Love: The Beatles in Their Own Words by Peter Brown and Steven Gaines. “Klein saw the Yoko connection and told Yoko that he would do a lot for her. Give Yoko a lot. And that was basically what John and Yoko wanted, recognition for Yoko.”
It was likely especially welcome after the chilly reception his bandmates gave her. Lennon said he couldn’t forgive McCartney or George Harrison for the way they treated her.
“We found her sitting on our amps and, like a football team, an all-male thing, you really don’t like to see a chick in the middle of the team,” McCartney said. “It’s a disturbing thing, they think it throws them off the game or whatever it was, and these were the reasons that I thought, ‘Well, this is crazy, we’re gonna have Yoko in the group next.’”
John Lennon received a warning about Allen Klein
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Lennon continued to support Klein even after Mick Jagger warned him not to. Klein had managed The Rolling Stones, and the band alleged that Klein had skimmed from their royalty payments, failed to pay their taxes, and stolen their publishing rights. After The Beatles failed to act on a warning Jagger gave McCartney, he reportedly contacted Lennon.
Per the book Jagger by Philip Norman, Jagger called Lennon and told him that hiring Klein would be “the biggest mistake of your life.” Lennon ignored Jagger’s warning, and The Beatles hired Klein.
Paul McCartney and John Lennon frequently fought about Allen Klein
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Ahead of Klein’s appointment, McCartney wanted his future father-in-law, Lee Eastman, to represent the band. McCartney dug his feet to avoid hiring Klein. His bandmates accused him of “stalling” each time they tried to sign with Klein. McCartney denied this, but refused to rush into anything with Klein. He and Lennon clashed frequently over this.
“John said, ‘Oh, f***ing hell, here you go, stalling again,’” McCartney said. “I said, ‘I’m not stalling, I want it checked out. It’s a big movement, going with a new manager, you know, and maybe we don’t want to go with this guy. What’s the hurry? Why can’t he wait?’”
This caused increased friction between the two bandmates, and they eventually hired Klein.
