WI: Paul and Yoko?

Just a fun thread for discussion purposes.

What are the effects of Paul McCartney meeting and falling in love with Yoko Ono in 1966 and two marrying and becoming collaborators a la John and Yoko? Paul was really the more "hip" Beatle in those days and was aware of Ono before Lennon. I'm trying to imagine a Wings with Yoko...

What do you think?

Oh this is so ASB!!!!

I'm trying to figure out the logistics of Paul falling for Yoko. Yoko was really out there and avant garde back in the day. While Paul dabbled, John was one who was willing to jump head in. John was also an Artist, unlike Paul, and -for those who don't know- Yoko was an avant garde artist. Yoko was also regarded to be domineering, which John could handle since either he wanted a Mother figure or he was one strong enough to do and say what he wanted. Paul was notoriously bossy himself. So Paul and Yoko could feud like Paul and Jane Asher had.

If Paul fell for Yoko, perhaps we could expect him to express his weird and experimental side more, while John, without Yoko, stayed more grounded or traditionally weird and experimental without doing the things we think made him look foolish.

THE OBSERVER said:

Oh this is so ASB!!!!

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Hahaha, well let's just assume that there's chemistry. After all, IOTL, the idea of a Beatle ending up with Yoko Ono at all is pretty ASB... but it happened.

Emperor Norton I said:

I'm trying to figure out the logistics of Paul falling for Yoko. Yoko was really out there and avant garde back in the day. While Paul dabbled, John was one who was willing to jump head in. John was also an Artist, unlike Paul, and -for those who don't know- Yoko was an avant garde artist. Yoko was also regarded to be domineering, which John could handle since either he wanted a Mother figure or he was one strong enough to do and say what he wanted. Paul was notoriously bossy himself. So Paul and Yoko could feud like Paul and Jane Asher had.

If Paul fell for Yoko, perhaps we could expect him to express his weird and experimental side more, while John, without Yoko, stayed more grounded or traditionally weird and experimental without doing the things we think made him look foolish.

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Lot's of artists fall in love with people who aren't artists.

The logistics are less important than the result, and honestly, Paul was the more out there Beatle. John was a suburban dabbler until he met Ono and it was Paul who lived in the city, supported playwrights, attended art shows, and had cocktails with the avant garde elite. This supposedly filled John with envy until he finally found his outlet with Ono.

In this scenario, Lennon never finds that outlet and Paul throws a big time curveball to Beatle fans everywhere. Some things to consider...

1. The Peace thing won't happen with Paul and Yoko. It was an idea to combine their prestige and talent into something that would benefit the world and Paul at this time was significantly less humanitarian and interested than Lennon.

2. Paul may just be the domineering one here. Yoko grew to hate her role as John's mother and it wasn't until after the "Lost Weekend" that their relationship became one of equals. I see it switching here. Yoko is head over heels for Paul and he kind of fills her need for an affectionate man, but grows to resent it. After separating from Yoko for a while in the mid-seventies they become equals and their marriage is cemented.

3. Yoko's scream performances will simply not be tolerated by Paul for anything other than the most experimental of projects. Instead, the more traditional and classical side of Ono's singing ability would be utilized in Wings. Yoko would fire Paul's experimental side up, while McCartney would calm Yoko's down. I can see electronic music being an avenue for the two down the line...

4. John would be far less out there in the late sixties and into the seventies, but he may still become a "revolutionary" without Yoko Ono. His marriage to Cynthia is doomed either way, though, I feel.

5. Paul and Yoko's kids? Any thoughts?

It would still end with the premature breakup of The Beatles... How about instead of bringing in Yoko, we let Brian Epstein live.

You know, you can put together a decent arty new-wave album if you take the more "out there" tracks from McCartney II ('Dark Room' etc) and combine them with Yoko's contributions to the Double Fantasy album...

flippikat said:

You know, you can put together a decent arty new-wave album if you take the more "out there" tracks from McCartney II ('Dark Room' etc) and combine them with Yoko's contributions to the Double Fantasy album...

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That's what I was thinking. This could actually end up being... cooler somehow than OTL...

TheInfiniteApe said:

That's what I was thinking. This could actually end up being... cooler somehow than OTL...

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There are 3 PODs I can see that would lead to Paul and Yoko collaborating..

1 - Yoko and Paul become artistic and/or romantic partners circa 1966-67.

2 - Yoko leaves John during the "lost weekend" and doesn't get back together.. collaborating with Paul partly to piss John off.

3 - Paul and Yoko and Linda and John get together for a "McCartney, Lennon & family" album.. say, circa 1980...? (Butterflies if the Lennons go to England to record it, while some kook with a gun is arrested outside their apartment acting shifty..) The idea being that if it's just a reunion of the two of them, it's less pressure than a fully fledged Beatles reunion.. especially if it's all recorded at Macca's home studio. In an act of civility, John allows the usual Lennon/McCartney credit to be reversed this time.

Too impossible to even contemplate. Paul wasn't as gullible or as emotionally needy as John.

phil5775 said:

Too impossible to even contemplate. Paul wasn't as gullible or as emotionally needy as John.

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I understand why you're saying this. Yoko's personality fit John's in the sense that they were codependent.

But plenty of healthy relationships form out of people NOT being codependent, I'm sure. It probably happens. I wouldn't know personally...

Sure, on the outside it looks like a short lived romance, but here it isn't and I'm asking about the effects. The OP never asked you to play matchmaker. It asked about the effects.

And either way, it's for fun so have fun with it.

TheInfiniteApe said:

I understand why you're saying this. Yoko's personality fit John's in the sense that they were codependent.

But plenty of healthy relationships form out of people NOT being codependent, I'm sure. It probably happens. I wouldn't know personally...

Sure, on the outside it looks like a short lived romance, but here it isn't and I'm asking about the effects. The OP never asked you to play matchmaker. It asked about the effects.

And either way, it's for fun so have fun with it.

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I think my third option (above) is the least ASB..

This may be hijacking the thread somewhat, so feel free to spin it off to a thread of it's own if you want.


What about a POD of April 24, 1976 ?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two_of_Us_%28TV_film%29


As in OTL, Paul & John are hanging out at the Dakota, and they see Lorne Michaels offer $3,000 for a Beatles reunion.

John is keen, but Paul is a bit tired, and adds a convincing arguement.. " anyway, aren't you taking a break from that sort of thing while you bring up your kid? It'll just fire that attention up all over again"

This sways John, but not completely. "OK, tell you what, when the kid's old enough, and I'm keen to get it started again I'll give you a call - It'll be good to blow-out the cobwebs with you when I come back. Do you want to get the other guys in too?"

Paul thinks for a while, then answers "No.. we can always bring them in later - how about just us.. and Yoko and Linda? It can be low-key, fun, no expectations.. and we can just do some crazy stuff again without it being a big BEATLES ALBUM. I have a little studio in England, so we can keep it quiet"

"Sure. If it doesn't work, at least it'll be a holiday." replies Lennon.

I'm thinking if this happens in the spring of 1980, they jam & decide to go a bit nutty and make a "new wave" type album called Darkroom... Basically the edgier halves of McCartney II & Double Fantasy.. Including some of Yoko's songs.

I also believe John was going to pop in on the McCartneys recording Venus & Mars in New Orleans during his Lost Weekend, but because he got back together with Yoko it never happened. That's an interesting idea for a POD.

flippikat said:

I think my third option (above) is the least ASB..

This may be hijacking the thread somewhat, so feel free to spin it off to a thread of it's own if you want.


What about a POD of April 24, 1976 ?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two_of_Us_(TV_film)


As in OTL, Paul & John are hanging out at the Dakota, and they see Lorne Michaels offer $3,000 for a Beatles reunion.

John is keen, but Paul is a bit tired, and adds a convincing arguement.. " anyway, aren't you taking a break from that sort of thing while you bring up your kid? It'll just fire that attention up all over again"

This sways John, but not completely. "OK, tell you what, when the kid's old enough, and I'm keen to get it started again I'll give you a call - It'll be good to blow-out the cobwebs with you when I come back. Do you want to get the other guys in too?"

Paul thinks for a while, then answers "No.. we can always bring them in later - how about just us.. and Yoko and Linda? It can be low-key, fun, no expectations.. and we can just do some crazy stuff again without it being a big BEATLES ALBUM. I have a little studio in England, so we can keep it quiet"

"Sure. If it doesn't work, at least it'll be a holiday." replies Lennon.

I'm thinking if this happens in the spring of 1980, they jam & decide to go a bit nutty and make a "new wave" type album called Darkroom... Basically the edgier halves of McCartney II & Double Fantasy.. Including some of Yoko's songs.

Click to expand...

I think I found an interesting version of this particular scenario here: http://mightygodking.com/index.php/...atles-accepted-lorne-michaels-generous-offer/

It supposes that they take Lorne Michaels up on his offer and Ringo, George, John, and Paul all end up on Saturday Night Live in 1976 and play a huge concert until 3 in the morning that night at Saturday Night Live with Paul Schaffer and the Band. Well worth checking out if you liked this scenario.

- GA