"The world isn't big enough for John Lennon" - Stu Sutcliffe, 'Backbeat'

I just finished watching 'Backbeat'. I must have subconsciously figured it might be a good idea to watch a movie about brain aneurysm while nursing my own, though hopefully not as serious head pain. If you haven't seen it, HIGHLY recommended, even if not a Beatle fan.

'Backbeat' is, yes, technically a movie about The Beatles. But the leather-clad, not yet famous, not even yet mop-top, tearing up Hamburg, Germany with prostitutes Beatles. And yet, it's not really even about that. It's more about the relationship complexities of John Lennon, Stuart Sutcliffe, Astrid Kirschher, art and Rock 'N Roll. If you want to read up more on it, here's the imdb bits.

There was a line in the movie, Stuart (Stephen Dorff) says to Astrid (Sheryl Lee) something like "The world isn't big enough for John Lennon"which, is probably a true statement, as seen from "the world". However, it got me thinking that John Lennon as seen in 'Backbeat' and the John Lennon portrayed by just about everyone who knew him seems a very fragile child, almost always the second fiddle to someone else- completely opposite of the above quote.

John Lennon played sidekick to his mother, Julia.

John Lennon played sidekick to Stuart Sutcliffe.

John Lennon played sidekick to Paul McCartney.

and finally, John Lennon played sidekick to Yoko Ono.

And that is how I believe he viewed himself. A sidekick.

Yet, to the world, he might just be...

"More popular than Jesus."