John looked like he'd 'rather be anywhere else' in beatles song

PAUL BELIEVED THAT JOHN ENJOYED IT BUT NOT EVERYONE WAS CONVINCED DAN HAYGARTH Liverpool Daily Post Editor and Regeneration Reporter 19:29, 02 Apr 2025 John Lennon and Paul McCartney wrote

classic after classic for The Beatles and are regarded as two of the greatest songwriters of all time. In the band's early days, Paul and John wrote together at their childhood homes

but as they got older and their styles changed, the two often wrote independently before presenting songs to each other for tweaks. Regardless of how a song was written, every song John and

Paul wrote while in The Beatles received the joint credit of Lennon-McCartney. This was a result of a pact they made before they rose to fame. They didn't always see eye-to-eye,

however. After he left the band, John wasn't afraid to criticise Paul's writing, taking aim at his work on the 'Abbey Road' closing medley, the 1967 album 'Sgt

Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band' and the single 'Let it Be'. About 'Let it Be', John said in a 1980 interview: "That's Paul. What can you say?

Nothing to do with The Beatles. It could've been Wings. I don't know what he's thinking when he writes 'Let It Be'." Another song that wasn't loved by all

of the band was 'Your Mother Should Know' , which was written by Paul at his London home and took its title from a line in the 1961 British film 'A Taste of Honey'.

Written in the music hall style, which Paul had employed for 'When I'm Sixty-Four', it featured in the 1967 film 'Magical Mystery Tour' during a retro-styled big

musical number with The Beatles dressed in white tie. About writing it, Paul said: "I wrote it in Cavendish Avenue on the harmonium I have in the dining room there. My Aunty Jin and

Uncle Harry and a couple of relatives were staying and they were in the living room just across the hall, so I just went to the dining room and spent a few hours with the door open with them

listening. "And I suppose because of the family atmosphere ‘Your Mother Should Know’ came in. It’s a very music-hall kind of thing, probably influenced by the fact that my Aunty Jin

was in the house." The sessions for the 'Magical Mystery Tour' began in early 1967 but recording work stalled after they recorded the title song with George Harrison and John

was said to harbour little enthusiasm for it. 'Your Mother Should Know' was recorded in August and September of that year and it was the last time that manager Brian Epstein

visited the band in the studio before his death on August 27. Paul believed the band should commit to making the film and the accompanying soundtrack after Brian's death, to give them a

creative outlet to focus on. In the film, which was first aired on Boxing Day in 1967, the song is used for an extended dance sequence. The Beatles come down a large staircase in their

white suits, before they are surrounded by RAF cadets and dancers, which was intended as a satire of 1960s British politics. During the sequence, Paul separates from the rest of the band for

a solo dance. It is viewed as proof that he enjoyed the song and the project a lot more than his bandmates. Culture writer Doyle Greene said George and John looked as if "they'd

rather be anywhere else" than filming it. However, Paul, who enjoyed the moment, didn't see it that way. About planning the song's inclusion in the film, Paul recalled:

"The big prop was that great big staircase that we danced down, that was where all the money went: in that particular shot on that big staircase. "I said, ‘Sod it, you’ve got to

have the Busby Berkeley ending,’ and it is a good sequence. Just the fact of John dancing, which he did readily. You can see by the fun expression on his face that he wasn’t forced into

anything." Article continues below Though the 'Magical Mystery Tour' film was not well received, its soundtrack fared better with critics. In Record Mirror, reviewer Norman

Jopling said: "'Your Mother Should Know' is (a) medium tempo ballad with a corny sort of tune – but the atmosphere developed is fantastic. It's a hazy, stoned kind of

sensation which reminds you of hearing old tunes, in smoky rooms." About the whole 'Magical Mystery Tour' EP, Melody Maker's review said: "Six tracks which no other

pop group in the world could begin to approach for originality combined with the popular touch."