And on the top of every new page, above the song title, Paul wrote: ANOTHER LENNON-MCCARTNEY ORIGINAL, in homage to American teams like Rodgers-Hammerstein. “We decided on that very early on,” says Paul. “It was just for simplicity really, and – so as to not get into the ego thing – we were very pure with it.” Despite the equal credit, competition was none the less an ever-essential component. John had complete admiration for Paul’s facility with harmony and melody, his musicianship and invention; Paul respected John’s musical talent and envied his original repartee. Yet while combining their skills as a team, they remained competitive as individuals, each trying to outdo the other. It became a vital artistic spur: John would call it “a sibling rivalry … a creative rivalry”, Paul spoke of “competitiveness in that we were ricocheting our ideas”. Each tried to impress the other out of sheer fear of what he might say in return. Both were rarely less than candid, and the thought that a new song might be branded “c – p” was usually more than enough to continually raise standards.