The first shots in the feud were fired by Todd Rundgren, who sounded off on John Lennon in a 1974 interview with Melody Maker. As quoted by Far Out Magazine, the American musician pulled no punches, calling out his British counterpart on his perceived hypocrisy as a man who espoused progressive views in his music but had a history of questionable behavior, particularly toward women. "John Lennon ain't no revolutionary," he said. "He's a f***ing idiot, man. Shouting about revolution and acting like an a**. It just makes people feel uncomfortable." Rundgren then went on to suggest that Lennon was only promoting said views as a ploy to gain attention.
Aside from the incident where Lennon purportedly hit a waitress (as alleged by Rundgren), there were other, confirmed instances where the former Beatle was physically abusive toward women. In his now-iconic 1980 interview with Playboy (via the Mirror), Lennon admitted that he "fought men" and "hit women," noting that he already alluded to this dark side of his personality in the final verse of the Beatles' 1967 track "Getting Better." (Which, interestingly, featured Paul McCartney on lead vocals.)
Additionally, Rundgren opined that his former band, the Nazz, was more creative than the Beatles, whom he claimed had no style other than their own. One could definitely counter that the Fab Four were also capable of playing hard rock songs and "light, pretty ballads" with complex structures. And were far more successful than the Nazz ever were.
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