Lennstein

"It was almost a love affair, but not quite. It was never consummated. But it was a pretty intense relationship."

- John on his relationship with Brian

Lennstein is the slash ship between John Lennon and Brian Epstein from The Beatles fandom.

Canon
Brian had met John (and the fellow Beatles) at the Cavern Club on the 9 Novembet 1961, and, in his own words, “was immediately struck by their music”, and after meeting them, “struck again by their personal charm”. It was a brief meeting, to which Brian said he enjoyed the performance and left, announcing that they were tremendous afterwards. He continued to watch the group perform, and became more acquainted with them. He quickly grew the closest to John, through their contrasts in personality, and was amused by his sense of humour. He told the group in general that someone ought to be looking after them and left.

The offer of Brian’s management got to John quickly, who refused his aunt Mimi’s advice to accept it. With publishing and management contracts filled in, this gave the group time to getting ready for creating albums. During this time, John and Brian got to know each other more, with John playfully teasing Brian about his homosexuality, which at the time was still illegal. In reality, John didn’t think it made a difference. The two were mildly close, as close as a manager could be to who they were managing.

Even though John didn’t like Brian’s dress code and stage rules, he went ahead with it, later saying that it was fine as long as he got paid. Publicity came naturally to the two, with John joking that Brian was “charming and smarming” his way to the crowds, though John would later do the same. It was around the early days that John would give Brian the nickname “Eppy”, to which he was never fond of. It would also come down to Brian to do what John didn’t want to deal with, for example the sacking of Pete Best. John would later consider himself a coward for leaving it to Brian.

However, John and Brian’s relationship was largely positive, and Brian was part of John’s personal life. Brian was the best man at John’s marriage to Cynthia, and paid for lunch afterwards. He paid for a private room at a hospital for Cynthia during her pregnancy, and let her use his private flat. He also was the godfather to John’s son Julian.

In 1963, John and Brian went on holiday together to Spain. While the events of the holiday were largely unknown, rumours surfaced in Liverpool that the two had an affair. Cavern Club DJ Bob Wooler joked with a drunk John about his “honeymoon”, to which he was almost completely beaten up by the latter.

Brian and John’s relationship would continue to lean on the positive side. In 1965, John would write a song about Brian’s homosexuality, You Got To Hide Your Love Away. In 1967, Brian and John were by this point fellow drug-takers at times, and helped to support each other in their actions. The Beatles organised a trip to India to pursue Transcendental Meditation, with Brian promising to follow behind, despite the slight religious divide. However, it was not to be, as Brian would die of a pill overdose shortly before his visit. John was hit quite hard by the news, later saying that he thought they all had it, and was relieved when they found out it was an accident.

Fanon
Lennstein is considered to be a ship of moderate rating. Both shippers and non-shippers alike discuss the roots of the ship and the connections between the two. Most ship it because of the mild evidence from the Spain trip, or because of a reveal by someone close to the members. Most fanfictions do include the Spain trip, which is treated by shippers to be the centre of the ship. Others in the fandom that don’t ship it treat it like a familial relationship, with Brian acting like a father figure to John.

Fandom
FAN FICTION

Quotes
"We had complete faith in Brian when he was running us. I mean, if you're asking me in retrospect, and I say he made those mistakes, you'd say, 'Well, what a silly businessman.' But to us he was the expert. I liked Brian. I had a very close relationship with him for years. In the group I was closest to him. He had great qualities and he was good fun. He was a theatrical man rather than a businessman, and he was a bit like that with us."

- John on Brian

"I watched Brian picking up the boys. I like playing [the flirt], all that. It was enjoyable, but there were big rumours in Liverpool, it was terrible. Very embarrassing."

- John on the trip to Spain

"It was my first experience with a homosexual that I was conscious was homosexual. We used to sit in a café in Torremolinos looking at all the boys and I'd say, 'Do you like that one? Do you like this one?' I was rather enjoying the experience, thinking like a writer all the time: I am experiencing this."

- John on the trip to Spain

Trivia

 * Lennstein is undisputedly the most argued ship in terms of canonicity in the fandom due to how contradicting accounts of the relationship are.
 * Paul and Cynthia stated that their relationship was platonic and added that John was “100% heterosexual”.
 * Several biographers state that Brian had feelings for John, to which John teased him about.
 * Beatles biographer Hunter Davies said that John had told him that the two had a one-night stand.
 * John’s childhood friend Pete Shotton said that John had told him that the two had a minor sexual experience.
 * John himself stated in interviews that nothing occurred between the two.