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John Lennon - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

John Lennon - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Penny Ditch  |  by en.wikipedia.org. All rights reserved. 11.03 | 14:47

John Winston Ono Lennon, (born John Winston Lennon, – ), was a , and instrumentalist who gained worldwide fame as one of the founders of . Lennon and formed a critically acclaimed and commercially successful writing songs for the Beatles and other artists . Lennon, with his cynical edge and knack for introspection, and McCartney, with his storytelling optimism and gift for melody, complemented one another uniquely.

In his solo career, Lennon wrote and recorded songs such as " " and " ".
Lennon revealed his rebellious nature and irreverent wit on , in such as ( ), in such as , and in press conferences and interviews. He channeled his fame and penchant for controversy into his work as a , , and .


He had two sons: , with his first wife , and , with his second wife, artist . Lennon was murdered in on after he and Ono returned home from a recording session.
In , respondents to a poll on the voted Lennon into eighth place.

In 2004, ranked Lennon number 38 on their list of "The Immortals: The Fifty Greatest Artists of All Time."
Throughout the rest of his childhood and adolescence, Lennon lived with his ' ' and her husband (who had no children of their own) in a area of at ' ' ( ). Family friends described Mimi as stubborn, impatient, and unforgiving, but she also had a sense of humour.

Often, when she criticised Lennon he would respond with a joke, and the two of them would be "rolling around, laughing together". Mimi confided to a relative that although she had never wanted children, she had always wanted John. Mimi and George gave Lennon all of their attention: Mimi bought volumes of , and George, who was a at a local farm, engaged John in solving and bought him a .

visited 'Mendips' almost every day and John often visited her; she taught John how to play the banjo and the piano. She also played records to John, and would dance around her kitchen with him. Lennon was later inspired by , , and .


Lennon was raised as an , and like much of the population of Liverpool, he had some heritage. Lennon attended until he passed his exam. From September 1952 to 1957, he attended the in Liverpool where he was a "happy-go-lucky" pupil, known for drawing comical cartoons and making fun of his teachers by their odd characteristics.


bought Lennon his first guitar, an inexpensive model that was "guaranteed not to split", but insisted it be delivered to her house and not Mimi's. Mimi hoped that John would soon grow bored with it - she was sceptical of Lennon's claim that he would be famous one day, and often told him, "The guitar's all very well, John, but you'll never make a living out of it." Years later, when the Beatles were successful, John presented Mimi with a silver platter engraved with those words.


George Smith died in 1955 and on (when Lennon was 17) Julia was killed on Menlove Avenue by a car driven by a drunken, off-duty police officer — close to Mimi's house. Her death was one of the most traumatic events in John's life and one of the factors that cemented his friendship with McCartney, who had lost his own mother to in 1956. Lennon named his firstborn son after his mother, and later wrote the song, " ".


Lennon failed his exams by one grade. He was accepted into the with help from his school's and his Aunt Mimi, who was insistent that John should have some sort of academic qualifications. It was there that he met his future wife, , when Lennon was a .

Lennon failed his exams despite help from Powell, and dropped out before the last year.
Lennon started the band in March 1957 whilst attending Quarry Bank Grammar School. Their first engagement was on 9 June 1957 at an audition for impresario Carroll Lewsis, known as "Mr.

Star-Maker." A few weeks later, on , Lennon and met guitarist at the Garden fête held at St. Peter's Church.

McCartney's father later allowed the Quarrymen to rehearse in his front room at . During their early friendship Lennon encouraged McCartney to cigarettes, , or books from shops, and they found a shared interest in playing on the other band members and on their teachers.
McCartney convinced Lennon to allow to join the Quarrymen - although Lennon considered Harrison to be too young - after Harrison played at a rehearsal in March 1958.

Harrison joined the group as , and (Lennon's friend) later joined as . The band switched to playing rock 'n' roll, using the name 'Johnny and The Moondogs', but Lennon found it too musically associated to . In 1960, the band changed its name five times.

suggested 'the Beetles' as a form of tribute to and , which he and Lennon then thought of changing to the 'Beatals'. They changed their name again to the 'Silver Beats', , and the 'Silver Beatles', but Lennon shortened it to , to avoid being introduced as "Long John Silver of the Silver Beatles", which was too similar to 'Johnny and the Moondogs'. After a tour with in , they changed their name to the 'Beatles'.


Lennon was considered the leader of the Beatles, as he founded the original group. McCartney said, "We all looked up to John. He was older and he was very much the leader - he was the quickest wit and the smartest and all that kind of thing.

"
John Lennon in 1964.

started to manage the Beatles in May 1960 after they had played in his club. A few months later he booked them into club in , .

ran the in the basement of her home in Liverpool, where the Beatles often played in 1959, and Mona's son joined the Beatles on drums as soon as their first Hamburg season was confirmed. Aunt Mimi was horrified when Lennon told her about Hamburg. She pleaded with him to continue his studies, but was ignored.

The Beatles first played at the club - sleeping in small, dirty rooms in the - and after the closure of the Indra moved to the larger In October 1960, they left Koschmider's club and worked at the "Top Ten Club", which was run by Peter Eckhorn. Koschmider reported McCartney and Best for arson after the two attached a to a nail in the 'Bambi' and set fire to it. They were deported, as was for working under-age.

Days later Lennon's was revoked and he went home by train, but Sutcliffe had and flew home. When Lennon got back to 'Mendips', his Aunt Mimi threw a cooked chicken (that Lennon had bought for her) and a hand-mirror at him for spending money on a leather coat for (John's girlfriend, and later, his wife) whom she referrred to as, "a ".
In December 1960, the Beatles reunited, and on , they played their first concert at Liverpool's .

They went back to Hamburg in April 1961, and recorded ' ' with . Sutcliffe stayed with when it was time to go home, so McCartney took over . When Lennon was nearly 21 in October 1961, his Aunt Mater (who lived in ) gave him 100 , which he spent on a holiday to with McCartney.

first saw the Beatles in the Cavern Club on , and later signed them to a management contract.
The Beatles were driven to London by their , , on 31 December 1961 and auditioned the next day for , who rejected them. In April 1962 they returned to Hamburg to play at the , but they learned that had died a few hours before they arrived.

This was another shock for Lennon, after losing Uncle George and Julia.
They finally signed a record contract on , with Records, after having been turned down by many . " " was released on , featuring Lennon on and McCartney singing solo on the chorus line.


All Lennon-McCartney songs on the first pressing of album (recorded in one day on ) as well as the single " ", and its B-side, " ", are credited to "McCartney-Lennon", but this was later changed to "Lennon-McCartney". They usually needed an hour or two to finish a song, most of which were written in hotel rooms after a concert, at Wimpole Street, at Cavendish Avenue, or at (John Lennon's house).
As recording technology improved, and they were doing more work in the studio than live, was used so that Lennon might provide the harmony parts as well as the lead for his songs.

The "Beatles" sound was a three-part harmony with Lennon or McCartney singing lead, and harmony provided by the others.
A firework was thrown on the stage at one of their last concerts and McCartney later said that the band all looked at Lennon — fearing a gun had been fired at him.[ ] The pressure of dealing with incidents like that convinced McCartney to say that he had had enough.

The group decisions were democratic, with the rule that if any member objected to an idea, the group wouldn't pursue it. The Beatles decided to stop touring, and never performed a scheduled concert again.
Lennon resented McCartney taking control of the band after 's death in 1967, and disliked some of the resulting projects such as and particularly ("That film was set up by Paul, for Paul," as he said later to Rolling Stone).

He was the first to break the band's all-for-one sensibility, and also the rule that no wives or girlfriends would attend recording sessions, as he brought into the studio.
Lennon was also the first member to quit the group, which he did in September 1969 (Starr had left during 1968, but was persuaded to return; Harrison stated he was "leaving the band" on 10 January 1969 during the rehearsal sessions for , but returned to the group after negotiations at two business meetings). Lennon agreed not to make an announcement while the band renegotiated their recording contract, and blasted McCartney months later (with the negotiations complete) for going public with his own departure in April 1970.

's involvement in trying to revive the material then drove a further wedge between Lennon (who supported Spector) and McCartney (who opposed him). With the public unaware of the details, McCartney appeared to be the one who dissolved the group, depriving Lennon of the formalities. Lennon told Rolling Stone, "I was a fool not to do what Paul did, which was use it to sell a record," and later wrote, "I started the band.

I finished it."[ ] Though the split would only become legal some time later, Lennon's and McCartney's partnership had come to a bitter end. McCartney soon made a press announcement, declaring he had quit the Beatles and promoting his new solo record.

McCartney later admitted Lennon had been the first to quit, re-explaining the circumstances to 's in 1989.
In , recorded an interview with Lennon that was played on in . The interview reveals his bitterness towards McCartney and the hostility he felt that the other members held towards Yoko Ono.

Lennon said: "One of the main reasons the Beatles ended is because ...

I pretty well know, we got fed up with being sidemen for Paul. After died we collapsed. Paul took over and supposedly led us.

But what is leading us when we went round in circles? Paul had the impression we should be thankful for what he did, for keeping the Beatles going. But he kept it going for his own sake.

"
John Lennon in early 1970, after he cut his hair for charity

Lennon had a varied recording career. Whilst still a Beatle, Lennon (along with Ono) recorded three albums of experimental music, , , and . His first 'solo' album of was , recorded prior to the breakup of the Beatles, at the Rock 'n' Roll Festival in with .

He also recorded three solo singles: the anti-war anthem " ", the chilling report of " ", and " ". Following The Beatles' split in 1970 Lennon released the album. The song " " lists people and things Lennon no longer believed in - ending with "Beatles".

The album also included " " which was banned from the airwaves for its use of the word "fucking".
The album followed in 1971, and its soon became an anthem for anti-religion and anti-war movements. The song's video was filmed during Lennon's "white period" (white clothes, white piano, white room, and the like).

He wrote " " as an attack against McCartney, with on slide guitar, but later claimed that it was about himself.
( ) was loud, raucous, and explicitly political, with songs about prison riots, racial and sexual relations, the British role in , and his own problems in obtaining a . Lennon had been interested in left-wing politics since the late 1960s, and was said to have given donations to the .


In 1972 Lennon released " ", which drew parallels between and discrimination against blacks. Radio stations refused to broadcast the song and it was banned nearly everywhere, though he managed to play it to television viewers during his second appearance on .
On Lennon and his backing band, , staged two at in .

These were to be his last full-length concert appearances. Lennon and Ono also did a week-long guest/co-hosting the .
Following Ono's second miscarriage, she and Lennon had an argument that resulted in her throwing him out.

He moved to California and embarked on a period he would later dub his "lost weekend" (despite the fact that it lasted several years). Lennon released in 1973, which was credited to "the Plastic U.F.

Ono Band". It was the first solo album produced by Lennon with no input from Yoko. He wrote " " for 's album , and recorded his own version of the song (which appears on the ).

Lennon's behavior during this period was notoriously bad, with many nights spent in a drunken stupor. The songs from this period (appearing on Mind Games and ) took an apologetic tone that seem to be directed at Ono. At Ono's suggestion he took along as his assistant and his lover during this period.


Lennon released Walls and Bridges (1974), which featured a duet with on the #1 hit " ". The album was released under the name "the Plastic Ono Nuclear Band". Another hit from the album was " ".

He made his last reference to Primal therapy in his song "Nobody Loves You (When You're Down and Out)", referring to as "the one-eyed witch-doctor leading the blind."[ ] Lennon also produced Nilsson's album during 1974.
Lennon made a surprise guest appearance at an Elton John concert in where they performed " ", "Whatever Gets You Thru the Night" and " " together.

It was to be his last-ever concert appearance in front of a rock audience. Coincidentally, Yoko Ono happened to be present and the concert, and after a backstage meeting, the two got back together. Following the performance, Lennon travelled to and signed the papers legally breaking up the Beatles.

After the holidays he returned to live with Yoko Ono, and she soon became pregnant with their first child.
John Lennon’s last public performance on the TV special A Salute to Sir , 1975.

In 1975, Lennon released the album of cover versions.

It had been conceived several years earlier, but was complicated by the unpredictable 's involvement as producer and by several legal battles. The album garnered mostly negative or indifferent reviews, but included a well-received cover of " ". achieved his first U.

S. number one hit (in 1975) with " ", co-written with Lennon (who contributed vocals and guitar) and .
Lennon made his last public musical appearance on 's 18 April 1975 special A Salute to , performing "Imagine" and "Slippin' and Slidin" from his LP.

Lennon's band was billed as "Etc." and the band members were costumed in two-faced masks. The "two-faced" stunt, and the line "don't want to be your fool no more" (from "Slippin' and Slidin") were seen as digs at Grade, with whom Lennon and McCartney had been in conflict over his previous control of the Beatles' publishing concerns.

had sold Lennon's and McCartney's publishing rights to Grade in 1969. During "Imagine" Lennon interjected the line "and no immigration too" - a reference to his battle to remain in the United States.
On 9 October 1975 – Lennon's 35th birthday – his son Sean Ono Lennon was born, and Lennon retired from the music business to stay home and care for him.


Lennon's retirement came to an end in 1980, a year in which he wrote an impressive amount of material during a lengthy vacation in and began to think about recording a new album. For this comeback, he and Ono produced , a focusing on their relationship. The name came from a species of Lennon saw at the ; he liked the name and thought it was a perfect description of his marriage to Yoko.


The Lennons once again began a series of interviews and video footage to promote the album. Although Lennon would say in interviews for the album that he had not touched a guitar for five years, several of the tunes, such as "I'm Losing You" and " ", had been worked on at home in in various stages with different lyrics from 1977 onward. " " began climbing the singles charts, and Lennon started thinking about a brand new world tour.

Lennon also commenced work on , which he would leave unfinished. It was some time before Ono could bring herself to complete it.
Towards the end of his life, Lennon expressed his displeasure with the scant credit he was given as an influence on in the latter's autobiography, I Me Mine.

According to Ono, he was also unhappy that McCartney's Beatles songs, such as " ", " " and " " were more covered than his own contributions.
In a 1980 Playboy interview Lennon claimed that some of his Beatles songs were subconsciously sabotaged, and that the group put more work into and paid more attention to McCartney's songs, whereas with his, they tended to experiment. In the same interview, Lennon was ambivalent about his time with the Beatles and the group's legacy and was not interested in talking about them any more than he would about old high school buddies.

He was prompted that there was considerable speculation about whether the Beatles were now "dreaded enemies or the best of friends." He replied that they were neither, and that he hadn't seen any of the Beatles for "I don't know how much time." He also said that the last time he had seen McCartney they had watched the episode of where made his $3200 cash offer to get the Beatles to reunite on the show.

The two had seriously considered going to the studio to appear on the show for a joke, but were too tired.
In one of the last major interviews of his life conducted in September 1980, three months before his death, Lennon said that he'd always been very macho and had never questioned his attitudes towards women until he met Ono. Lennon was always distant with his first son (Julian) but was very close to his second son (Sean), and called him "my pride".

Near the end of his life, he had embraced the role of and even said that he had taken on the role of and mother in their relationship.[ ]
met Lennon at the in 1957. After hearing Lennon comment favourably about another girl who looked like , Powell changed the colour of her hair to blonde.

Their relationship started after a college party before the summer holidays when Lennon asked Cynthia to go a with him and some friends. Although Lennon ignored Powell, he talked to her as she was ready to leave, and then grabbed her hand and took her to a room was renting, where they . If Sutcliffe's room was not available, they often had sex in alleyways or shop doorways, but Cynthia didn't enjoy those "snatched encounters".

Lennon's jealousy could manifest itself in cruel and aggressive behaviour towards Cynthia, as when Lennon slapped her across the face (knocking her head against the wall) the day after after he saw her dancing with . Cynthia broke up with Lennon for three months, but resumed their relationship after Lennon's profuse apology. Cynthia visited Lennon in Hamburg for two weeks in 1960, but in 1961 Lennon left her at home and went to with McCartney for a holiday.


In the summer of , Cynthia discovered she was pregnant. Lennon proposed marriage, but when he told Mimi she screamed and raged at Lennon to stop him from going through with it. Lennon and Cynthia were married on at the Mount Pleasant in Liverpool.

Mimi did not attend.
According to Cynthia, in a 1995 interview, there were problems throughout their marriage because of the pressures of the Beatles' fame and rigorous touring, and because of Lennon's increasing use of drugs.
Lennon was distant to his son, , who felt closer to McCartney than to him.

The younger Lennon later said, "I've never really wanted to know the truth about how dad was with me. There was some very negative stuff talked about me ..

. like when he said I'd come out of a whiskey bottle on a Saturday night. Stuff like that.

You think, where's the love in that? Paul and I used to hang about quite a bit ..

. more than dad and I did. We had a great friendship going and there seems to be far more pictures of me and Paul playing together at that age than there are pictures of me and my dad.

"
Lennon was quoted as saying: " was a planned child, and therein lies the difference. I don't love Julian any less as a child. He's still my son, whether he came from a bottle of whiskey or because they didn't have pills in those days.

He's here, he belongs to me, and he always will."[ ]
According to Cynthia, after the break-up with John, McCartney visited Cynthia and jokingly suggested marriage, reportedly saying, "How's about you and me, Cyn?" After that visit, he did not stay in touch with her, and in her book John, she published a copy of the first postcard from McCartney — after 17 years of no contact — that he sent to her.

[ ]
In an interview, Lennon said he was trying to re-establish a connection with the then 17-year-old Julian, and confidently predicted that "Julian and I will have a relationship in the future."[ ]
Both Julian and Sean Lennon went on to have recording careers years after their father's death.
John Lennon and with , Ottawa, Ontario

On , after the Beatles' final tour and just after he had finished filming , Lennon visited an art exhibit of 's at the gallery in Mason's Yard, London.

Lennon began his relationship with Ono in May after returning from . Cynthia filed for later that year, on the grounds of John's adultery with Ono which was evidenced by the latter's pregnancy and miscarriage of . Lennon and Ono became inseparable, even during Beatles sessions.


The press was unkind to Ono — writing unflattering articles about her, with frequently racist overtones — and one called her "ugly". This angered Lennon, who said that there was no John and Yoko, but they were one person; "JohnandYoko". Yoko's constant presence in the studio led to tension within the Beatles during the recordings in 1968.


At the end of 1968, Lennon and Ono performed as on . During Lennon's last two years in the Beatles, he spent much of his time with Ono partaking in public protests against the . Lennon sent back his medal, which bestowed during the height of Beatlemania, "in protest against Britain's involvement in the - thing [a reference to the Nigerian civil war of 1967-70], its support of America in Vietnam, and ' ' slipping down the charts.

" (Return of the medal did not formally negate his appointment to the Order.)
On 14 March, as Lennon and Ono were being driven to Mimi's house, in , , they asked if it was possible to get "married at sea". On , they were married in , and spent their honeymoon in in a " " for peace.

Behind their bed were posters that displayed the words "Hair Peace. Bed Peace." They held another "Bed-In", in , at the , where they recorded " ", which became an anthem for the .

They were mainly patronised as a couple of eccentrics by the media, yet they did a great deal for the peace movement, as well as for and racial harmony. Lennon and Ono often combined advocacy with , as in their " " introduced during a Vienna press conference. Shortly after, Lennon changed his name to John Ono Lennon.

Lennon wrote " " about his marriage and the subsequent press coverage it generated.
The failed Get Back/ recording/filming sessions did nothing to improve relations within the band. After both Lennon and Ono were injured in the summer of 1969 in a car accident in , Lennon arranged for Ono to be constantly with him in the studio (including having a full-sized bed rolled in) as he worked on The Beatles' last album, .

While the group managed to hang together to produce one last acclaimed musical work, soon thereafter business issues related to came between them.
In 1973, Yoko approached (their personal assistant) with a proposal. Ono, who thought May Pang would be an "ideal companion" for Lennon, asked her to "be with John, help him, and see that he gets whatever he wants.

" [ ] Yoko then kicked Lennon out of the house. Lennon and Pang moved to Los Angeles - a period which has been dubbed the "lost weekend", though it lasted until the beginning of 1975. During their time together, Pang encouraged Lennon to spend time with his son, , and she became friends with .


Lennon spent time during these months with the singer/songwriter , and an assortment of his drinking buddies ( , , , and others), who dubbed themselves the 'Hollywood Vampires'. Though Lennon's public drunkenness had been the subject of gossip during 1974, Pang said that he was usually sober in his private life and recorded a large body of work. One notable session, captured on the , had Lennon and his friends jamming with Paul McCartney.

Others included on the session were , , , and .
On — John Lennon's 35th birthday — Yoko Ono gave birth to a son, , after having suffered three of babies fathered by John. Regretful of the limited relationship he had with first son, Julian, Lennon decided to retire from music so he could dedicate himself to family life: he became a .

Deeply aware, after his experience of , of the crucial importance of the , he devoted his energies to nurturing young Sean in every possible way. He also made a point of learning how to bake a loaf of bread, an accomplishment which he proudly showed off to visitors.
In 1976, Lennon's status was finally resolved favourably, after a years-long battle with the administration that included an investigation — a full-scale effort involving , , and agents following Lennon around as he travelled.

Lennon insisted that the investigation was politically motivated, a claim that was later proven true. With the departure of Nixon from the White House, the administration of his successor, , showed little interest in continuing the battle.
When was inaugurated as President on , Lennon and Ono were invited to attend the Inaugural Ball, signalling the end of hostilities between the U.

S. government and Lennon. After that appearance, Lennon was rarely seen in public for the next 3½ years, until his 1980 comeback.


Lennon's humour was often quoted during his time with the Beatles, but he later rejected the idea of being a "loveable mop-top" and concerned himself with drug experimentation, meditation, therapy cures, world peace, and was active for a range of anti-government causes.

" will go. It will vanish and shrink.

...

I don't know what will go first, rock 'n' roll or Christianity. We're more popular than now. Jesus was all right, but his were thick and ordinary.

It's them twisting it that ruins it for me."

The article was printed and nothing came of it — until five months later, when an American teen magazine called Datebook reprinted part of the quote on its front cover.
A firestorm of protest erupted across the American in the and , as groups staged public burnings of Beatles records and .

(The Beatles at first viewed this in a wry way, saying, "They've got to buy them first before they burn 'em.") Many radio stations banned Beatles music, and some concert venues cancelled performances. The issued a public denunciation of Lennon's comments.

[ ]
On , the Beatles held a press conference in , in order to address the growing furor.[ ]

Lennon: I suppose if I had said television was more popular than Jesus, I would have got away with it, but I just happened to be talking to a journalist friend, and I used the words "Beatles" as a remote thing, not as what I think — as Beatles, as those other Beatles, like other people see us. I just said "they" are having more influence on kids and things than anything else, including Jesus.

But I said it in that way, which is the wrong way.

Reporter: Some teenagers have repeated your statements — "I like the Beatles more than ." What do you think about that?

Lennon: Well, originally I pointed out that fact in reference to . That we meant more to kids than Jesus did, or religion at that time. I wasn't knocking it or putting it down.

I was just saying it as a fact, and it's true more for England than here. I'm not saying that we're better or greater, or comparing us with Jesus Christ as a person or God as a thing, or whatever it is. I just said what I said and it was wrong.

Or it was taken wrong. And now it's all this.

Reporter: But are you prepared to apologise?

Lennon: I wasn't saying whatever they're saying I was saying. I'm sorry I said it really. I never meant it to be a lousy anti-religious thing.

I apologise if that will make you happy. I still don't know quite what I've done. I've tried to tell you what I did do, but if you want me to apologise, if that will make you happy, then OK, I'm sorry.

The accepted his apology, but the (the predominant religion in the U.S. Bible Belt) did not.

Lennon wrote later, "I always remember to thank Jesus for the end of my touring days."[ ]

" ", recorded in at the height of the , marked Lennon’s transformation from loveable mop-top to , and began a process that culminated in 1972, when the sought to silence him by ordering him from the US.
Lennon, however, was determined to use his power as a to help end the war, especially after he left the Beatles and teamed up with Yoko.

The couple declared their at the , in March 1969, a "bed-in for peace," winning world-wide coverage. At a second "bed-in" in , in June 1969, they recorded "Give Peace a Chance" in their hotel room.
The song quickly became the of the , and was sung by as many as half a million in at the second , in November 1969.

They were led by the renowned , who interspersed phrases like, "Are you listening, Nixon?" and "Are you listening, ?", between the of protestors singing, "All we are saying .

.. is give peace a chance".


When Lennon and Ono moved to New York City in August 1971, they became friends with antiwar leaders , , and others, and planned a national concert tour to coincide with the . It would have been the first U.S.

tour by any of the ex-Beatles since the lads had waved farewell at in at the end of their 1966 tour. But it would not have been the usual rock tour. 1972 was the first year 18-year-olds had been given the in the U.

S., and Lennon wanted to help persuade young people to register to vote and to vote against the war — which meant voting against Nixon. Thus, the planned tour was to combine rock music with anti-war organising and .


The Nixon found out about Lennon's plans from an unlikely source: Republican Senator , who suggested in a February 1972 memo that "deportation would be a strategic counter-measure." The next month the began deportation proceedings against Lennon, arguing that his 1968 conviction for cannabis possession in London had made him ineligible for admission to the U.S.

Lennon spent the next two years in and out of deportation hearings and constantly under a 60-day order to leave the country, which his attorney managed to get extended repeatedly.
The 1972 concert tour never happened, but Lennon and his friends did put on the "Free " concert in , , in December 1971. Sinclair was a local antiwar activist and poet who was serving ten years in state prison for selling two of to an undercover cop.

Lennon and Ono appeared onstage (in his first live appearance since the Beatles' breakup) along with , and other musicians, plus antiwar Jerry Rubin and of the . Lennon performed the song, "John Sinclair", which he had just written, calling on the authorities to "Let him be, set him free, let him be like you and me." Some 20,000 people attended the rally, and two days after the concert, the State of Michigan released Sinclair from prison.

(A recording of the live performance circulated for years, but was later released on the 2-CD [1998], and the album, [2004]). Lennon performed the song on the Show accomplanied by Ono and Jerry Rubin.
While his deportation battle was going on, Lennon spoke out against the Vietnam War - appearing at rallies in New York City and on TV shows, including a week hosting the Show in February 1972, where Jerry Rubin and Bobby Seale appeared as his guests.

He was tailed by a team of FBI agents, who concluded, "Lennon appears to be radically oriented however he does not give the impression he is a true revolutionist since he is constantly under the influence of narcotics."[ ]
Nixon left the White House after the scandal, and Lennon won his in 1975. After Lennon’s murder, historian filed a request for files on Lennon.

The FBI admitted it had 281 pages of files on Lennon, but refused to release most of them, claiming they were national security documents. In 1983, Wiener sued the FBI with the help of the of Southern California. The case went to the Supreme Court before the FBI settled in 1997—releasing all but ten of the contested documents.

The story is told in the documentary , by David Leaf and John Scheinfeld, released in theatres in September 2006 and on DVD in February 2007. The final ten documents in Lennon's FBI file were finally released in December 2006. and are available on the web.


Perforated blotting paper for use with LSD.

Although drinking beer was commonplace in Liverpool, Lennon was first given drugs in , . The Beatles had to play long sets, and were often given "Prellies" ( ) (slimming pills) by customers or by , whose mother bought them for her.

McCartney would usually take one, but Lennon would often take four or five. He later took called 'Black Bombers' and 'Purple Hearts'.
After having smoked with in in 1964, McCartney remembered all of the Beatles being "very high" and laughing a lot.


Lennon largely under the influence of and 's book The Psychedelic Experience, believing he needed to "lose his ego" to become enlightened.[ ]
On , Lennon met the at the London , and later went to , in North , to attend a weekend 'initiation' conference with the Beatles. The time Lennon later spent in at the Maharishi's (with Cynthia) was highly productive, as practically all of the songs that would later be recorded for and were composed there by Lennon, McCartney, or both together.

Although later turning against the Maharishi, Lennon still advocated when interviewed.
Lennon took a course of with Dr. , in California.

The influence of the therapy, which consists in part of screaming out one's emotional pain, is apparent in songs like " " ("Mama don't go!/Daddy come home!"), "Remember," "Isolation," "I Found Out", "My Mummy's Dead," and "Well Well Well".


Lennon's " " song, in which he lists people and things he no longer believed in, ends with "Beatles". Lennon's political radicalisation is evident in the song " ", whose lyrics show traces of Primal therapy all the way through (beginning with "As soon as you're born they make you feel small ..

. 'til the pain is so big you feel nothing at all").
Each of The Beatles was known, especially during , for his sense of humour.

Lennon's style of humour was always to combine the normal with the absurd, and then making it appear as if it was just a normal comment. After Starr said, "It's been a hard day's (work) night", Lennon laughed, but then turned it into a song.
During live performances of " ", Lennon often changed the words to "I want to hold your gland" (meaning / ), because no one could hear the vocals anyway, above the noise of the screaming audiences.


Lennon's humour also showed up often in the Beatles' music and in his solo work. For instance, during the aborted Get Back sessions, he was recorded introducing " " by shouting, "I dig a by and the Deaf Aids, phase one in which Doris gets her oats!" The phrase was later edited to precede the first song on , the McCartney-penned " ".


On one occasion, when asked if was "the best drummer in the world", Lennon replied, "He isn't even the best drummer in the Beatles", showing again how he would turn things upside down to create laughter. Perhaps regretting the remark, Lennon in later years was outspoken in his conviction of Starr's importance to the band.
It was Lennon who, at the Royal Variety Show in 1963, in the presence of members of the British royalty, told the audience, "Those of you in the cheaper seats can clap your hands.

The rest of you, if you'll just rattle your jewellery."
Lennon's humour was apparent during the Beatles' first American press conference, immediately after they stepped off the plane in February 1964.
Reporter: "Will you please sing something for us?

" Lennon: "No, we need money first."
Reporter: "What is it about your music that excites people so much?" Lennon: "If we knew, we'd form another group and be managers.

"
Once, in an elevator of a hotel in New York where they were staying, Brian Epstein asked Lennon what a good title would be for the autobiography he was planning to write. He answered: "How about Queer Jew?" Epstein was extremely upset by his remark.

Later, when Lennon learned that the title of the book would be , John said to a friend: "More like A Cellarful of Boys."
Lennon would sometimes use his humour to be extremely sarcastic and caustic in interviews. "We created Apple so someone wouldn't have to go down on their knees in an office — probably yours.

" Whilst the other Beatles laughed, he would glare to make his point, although nobody was quite sure if he was joking or not.
When Lennon once had put on a lot of weight and had been drinking heavily, he said, "I was eating and drinking like a pig, and I was fat as a pig, dissatisfied with myself, and subconsciously I was crying for help. It was my fat-Elvis period.

"
Lennon's partnership in songwriting with McCartney involved him — many times — in opposing McCartney's upbeat, positive outlook, with a sarcastic counter-point, as seen, for example, in " ":

McCartney: I've got to admit it's getting better, it's getting better all the time.
Lennon: It can't get no worse!
The Beatles often made fun of George Martin, as they once sang "tit-tit-tit", as backing vocals instead of "dit-dit-dit" on the 1965 song " " from the LP .

When Martin (who was upstairs in the control room and could not see them) asked, "Boys, was that dit, or...

tit?" "It was dit, George", Lennon replied, as the others doubled up in silent laughter. They thought of George Martin (who was always dressed in a suit and tie) as being part of the establishment and therefore open to jokes, but never ridicule.


Lennon started writing and drawing early in life, with encouragement from his Uncle George (Mimi's husband). He drew caricatures of his school teachers, and when he attended art school he wrote love poems to on scraps of paper, once writing, "Our first Christmas, I love you, yes, yes, yes." When Liverpool's magazine was founded, Lennon was often asked to contribute.

His first piece was about the origins of the Beatles and contained the line, "A man appeared on a flaming pie, and said you are Beatles with an 'A'."
Books written by Lennon, or with contributions. Some were published posthumously:

  • John Lennon (1986), Skywriting by Word of Mouth.

    New York: Harper Collins.

  • John Lennon (1992), Ai: Japan Through John Lennon's Eyes: A Personal Sketchbook. Cadence Books.

    - Lennon's familiar drawings illustrating definitions of Japanese words.

  • John Lennon (1999), Real Love: The Drawings for Sean. New York: Random House Books for Young Readers.

  • . - includes writings, drawings, and interview transcripts by Lennon
    • John and Yoko, in one of their last photo shoots,
    At 10:50 p.m.

    on , shot Lennon in front of .
    Around 5 p.m.

    , Lennon and Ono left the Dakota to supervise the transfer of some of the album numbers to . said that more than 700,000 album copies had already been sold up to that time. As they were leaving the Dakota, they were approached by several people seeking .

    Among them was Chapman, and Lennon signed an autograph on the Double Fantasy album cover for him. A picture was taken by another fan while he was signing Chapman's album, capturing killer and victim on film only a few hours before his murder.
    The Lennons spent several hours at the studio on West 44th Street before returning to the Dakota at about 10:50 p.

    m. They exited their limousine on 72nd Street, even though the car could have been driven into the courtyard. Jose Perdomo (who was the doorman at the entrance), an elevator operator, and a cab driver all saw Chapman standing in the shadows by the archway.

    The Lennons walked past, and Ono opened the inner door — leaving Lennon alone inside the entrance. Chapman called out, "Mr. Lennon!

    ", dropped into a "combat stance" and shot Lennon four times with bullets from a .38 revolver. Two shots struck Lennon in the left side of his back and two in his left shoulder.

    All four caused serious internal damage and one pierced Lennon's .
    Lennon staggered up six steps to the room at the end of the entrance used by the , said, "I'm shot," and collapsed. Chapman calmly sat down on the sidewalk and waited.

    The doorman walked to Chapman and reportedly said, "Do you know what you've just done?" Chapman calmly replied, "I just shot John Lennon."
    Entrance to the Dakota building where Lennon lived.

    The first to arrive were Steve Spiro and Peter Cullen, who were at 72nd Street and when they heard a report of shots fired at the Dakota. The officers found Chapman sitting "very calmly" on the sidewalk. They reported that Chapman had dropped the revolver, had a paperback book ( 's ), and a cassette recorder with over 10 , with 14 hours of Beatles' songs on them.


    The second team - Officers Bill Gamble and James Moran - rushed Lennon to . Officer Moran said they stretched out Lennon (who was "moaning") on the back seat. Moran asked, "Do you know who you are?

    " Lennon nodded slightly and tried to speak, but could only manage to make a gurgling sound, although some accounts have Lennon saying, in his dying words, either "Yes, I'm John Lennon" or simply "yea". In any event, Lennon lost consciousness shortly thereafter.
    Lennon was pronounced at Roosevelt Hospital at 11:15 p.

    m. by Dr. Stephen Lynn.

    The cause of death was reported as , after losing more than 80% of . Dr. Elliott M.

    Gross (the Chief Medical Examiner) said that no one could have lived more than a few minutes with such injuries. Ono, crying "Oh no, no, no, no..

    .tell me it's not true," was taken to Roosevelt Hospital and led away in shock after she learned that her husband was dead. Geffen later issued a statement: "John loved and prayed for the human race.

    Please do the same for him."
    Shortly after local news stations reported the shooting, people began to gather at Roosevelt Hospital and in front of the Dakota - reciting , singing Lennon's songs and burning candles. The first national transmission of the news across the U.

    S. was on the fledgling , on which anchorwoman reported that Lennon had been shot and was en route to a New York hospital (his death had not been confirmed). was in the midst of airing an game between the and .

    After hearing the news sent by chief , sports announcer (who had interviewed Lennon on on ) announced the news of Lennon's murder. announced the news during a comedy sketch on . It was interrupted by an anonymous announcer voicing the news bulletin, and then returned to the .


    When reporters questioned about his reaction, McCartney muttered "Drag - isn't it?" His response was criticised, but McCartney later stated in a Playboy interview that "I had just finished a whole day in shock and I said, 'It's a drag.' I meant drag in the heaviest sense of the word, you know: 'It's a — DRAG.

    ' But, you know, when you look at that in print, it says, 'Yes, it's a drag.' Matter of fact." and his wife flew to New York to comfort Ono.

    Lennon was at in , and his ashes were kept by Ono. Chapman pleaded guilty to and was sentenced to 20 years to life.
    Lennon had a about dying, once saying, "We'll either go in a plane crash or we'll be popped off by some loony.

    " Although Lennon joked about it, several 1960s Beatles concerts in the United States and did have heightened security because of death threats. On the morning of his death, Lennon mentioned that he often felt that somebody was him - referring to who tried to him.[ ]
    On , millions of people across the world responded to Ono's request to pause for ten minutes of silence to remember Lennon.

    Thirty thousand gathered in Liverpool, and the largest group - over 100,000 - converged on New York's Central Park, close to the scene of the shooting.
    Lennon continues to be mourned throughout the world and has been the subject of numerous memorials and tributes, principally New York City's - a memorial garden area in Central Park across the street from . After his death Ono donated $1 million for its maintenance.

    It has become a gathering place for tributes on his birthday and on the anniversary of his death, as well as at other times of mourning, such as after the September 11 attacks and when George Harrison died. Every , there is a memorial in front of Capitol Records on Vine Street in . It includes speakers discussing Lennon, and musical tributes.


    In 1991, Lennon was honored with the .
    In 2002, Liverpool renamed its airport the and adopted the motto "Above us only sky". The 25th memorial of John Lennon's death was on .

    Celebrations of John Lennon's life and music took place in , , , and . A tribute concert was held at at Havana, Cuba, with a special guest appearance by , Luis Molina and . The minor planet 4147, discovered by B.

    A. Skiff at the Anderson Mesa Station of the Lowell Observatory, was named in memory of John Lennon.
    mourned the loss of John Lennon in his 1982 hit "Empty Garden (Hey Hey Johnny)", from his album.

    Elton John sang, "As the New York Sunset disappeared, I found an empty garden among the flagstones there, Who lived here, He must have been a gardener that cared a lot."
    Throughout his solo career, Lennon appeared on his own albums (as well as those of other artists like ) under such as Dr Winston O'Boogie, Mel Torment (a play on singer ), and The Reverend Fred . He and Ono (as Ada Gherkin "ate a gherkin", and other ) also travelled under such names, thus avoiding unwanted public attention.


  • bbc.co.uk, 4 November 2005.

    Retrieved on 14 December 2006

  • See in "The Lennon-McCartney Songwriting Partnership" bbc.co.uk, 4 November 2005.

    Retrieved: 14 December 2006

  • Kravitz, Lenny. . .

    Retrieved on - .

  • ^ Spitz, Bob - Beatles: The Biography p24.
  • ^ Spitz - Beatles: The Biography p27.

  • ^ Spitz - Beatles: The Biography p29.
  • ^ Spitz - Beatles: The Biography p30.
  • ^ Spitz - Beatles: The Biography p31.

  • The interview was broadcast for the first time on BBC Radio in December 2005, along with other rare Beatles audio clips, as part of .
  • from the World Socialist Website, 2 March 2000
  • Interview of Cynthia Lennon with Linda McDermott, Liverpool Echo, 17 February 1995
  • Playboy interview with David Sheff, conducted September 1980; published in January 1981 issue of Playboy; reprinted in John Lennon, Yoko Ono, David Sheff and G. Barry Olson, The Playboy interviews with John Lennon and Yoko Ono New York: Playboy Press/Putnam, 1981; available online at
  • from News of the Odd, 4 March 1966
  • Gimme Some Truth: The John Lennon FBI Files, by Jon Wiener
  • .

    Retrieved on December 20, 2006,

  • Ken Lawrence, John Lennon: In His Own Words (2005), p.62.
  • "Police Trace Tangled Path Leading To Lennon's Slaying at the Dakota" by Paul L.

    Montgomery, The New York Times, 10 December 1980, pp. A1,B6, quoting NYPD Chief of Detectives James T. Sullivan.

  • Clyde Haberman, "Silent Tribute to Lennon's Memory is Observed Throughout the World," , 15 December 1980, p. A1.
  • John Lennon, Yoko Ono, David Sheff and G.

    Barry Olson (1981), The Playboy interviews with John Lennon and Yoko Ono. New York: Playboy Press/Putnam. - includes unpublished conversations and Lennon's song-by-song analysis of his work.

  • John Lennon, Jann Wenner (1971), Lennon Remembers: The Full Rolling Stone Interviews from 1970. Straight Arrow Books. ASIN B000GKYWK8
  • Julia Baird (with ) (1989), John Lennon My Brother.

    Grafton Books.

  • Fenton Bresler (1989), The Murder of John Lennon. Mandarin Press.

  • Ray Coleman (1982), Lennon: the definitive biography. Harper.
  • Albert Goldman (2001), 'The Lives of John Lennon.

    Chicago Review Press.

  • (2005), Lennon Revealed. Running Press.

  • Cynthia Lennon (2005), John. Crown Publishers.
  • Elizabeth Partridge (2005), John Lennon: All I Want is the Truth.

    Viking Juvenile,

  • interview in January 1981; republished in John Lennon, Yoko Ono, David Sheff and G. Barry Olson (1981), The Playboy interviews with John Lennon and Yoko Ono. New York: Playboy Press/Putnam, 1981.

  • (2005), En casa de John Lennon (At John Lennon's House), Hercules Ediciones,
  • Steven Roseta (2006), (Just Like) Starting Over - a stage play, largely based on an unpublished John Lennon and Yoko Ono interview from 8 December 1980.
  • Jordi Sierra i Fabra (1997), El joven Lennon(The young Lennon). Ediciones SM.

  • Bob Spitz (2006), The Beatles: The Biography. New York: Little, Brown and Company.
  • E.

    Thomson and D. Gutman (editors) (2004), The Lennon Companion: Twenty-Five Years of the Comment.

  • Jon Wiener (1985), Come Together: John Lennon In His Time.

    Random House.

  • Jon Wiener (2000), Gimme Some Truth: The John Lennon FBI Files. Univ.

    of California Press.

    Read more on by en.wikipedia.org. All rights reserved.
    Keywords: David Sheff, Spitz Beatles, Playboy Press, York City, Jerry Rubin, Rolling Stone, York Playboy Press, Jon Wiener, Lennon Mccartney, Aunt Mimi
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