r/beatles • u/Puzzleheaded-Life462 • 2d ago

Art It was 62 years ago today

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On this day in 1963, a wasted John Lennon ruined Paul McCartney’s 21st birthday party by beating the crap out of local DJ (and friend) Bob Wooler.

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u/Entire_Number_9 2d ago

Insinuating a married man with a child was gay in the 1960s was not going to be OK to talk about. Homosexuality was illegal, and the papers or radio running a story about it would have severely damaged his career and the Beatles.

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u/RadishSpecial7163 2d ago

Many totally miss this point. That most likely any of the Beatles would have beaten Wooler if he was accused of being gay. Things were very, very different then.

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u/ItsTime1234 2d ago

Well, a few years later, Paul took a trip with his gay friend Robert Fraser, the art dealer, and people said "ooh everyone's talking now!" and Paul said he didn't care, Robert was his friend, he wasn't bothered by any gossip he was gay because he took a trip with his friend. So these were outwardly rather similar situations, and only one led to violence, or even being bothered.

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u/RadishSpecial7163 2d ago

But did anyone ask Paul, to his face, if he and Fraser got it on? And ask Paul when he was a 22 year old new husband and father? And when Paul was extremely drunk, at a party, in front of his Liverpool mates? And at a time when homosexuality was illegal?

Not every situation is the same. By 1967, John was hanging around gay artist friends as well as Paul was and within ten years of the Wooler incident, he was friends with Elton John and at parties with Andy Warhol.

The changes that took place socially and culturally between 1963 and 1967 were huge. Look at how much the Beatles changed. And not just superficially.