John Lennon

John Ono Lennon, MBE (born John Winston Lennon, 9 October 1940 – 8 December 1980) was a 20th century English songwriter, singer and instrumentalist, who gained worldwide fame as the founder of The Beatles. Lennon and Paul McCartney formed a hugely successful songwriting partnership - writing songs for The Beatles and other artists. As a writing pair, Lennon's hard edge and McCartney's optimism complemented one another. In his solo career, Lennon wrote and recorded songs such as "Imagine" and "Give Peace a Chance" that became anthems of their age.

Lennon revealed his rebellious nature and irreverent wit on television, in films such as A Hard Day's Night (1964), in press conferences and interviews. He channeled his fame and penchant for controversy into his work as a peace activist, artist, and author.

He had one son, Julian, with his first wife, Cynthia, and one son, Sean, with his second wife, avant-garde artist Yoko Ono.

Lennon was murdered in New York City on December 8 1980, as he and Ono returned home after a recording session.

In 2002, respondents to a BBC poll about the 100 Greatest Britons voted Lennon into eighth place. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked him #38 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.

Early years: 1940-1957
John Winston Lennon was born on 9 October 1940, in the Oxford Street Maternity Hospital in Liverpool, to Julia Stanley Lennon and Alfred "Freddie" Lennon, during the course of a German air raid in World War II, and was named after his paternal Grandfather, and Winston Churchill. Both parents played the banjo, and sang (Freddie specialised in impersonating Al Jolson) though neither pursued music professionally. Freddie Lennon (who was not present at John's birth) was a merchant seaman during the war, but sent regular pay checks to Julia, who was living with John in Newcastle Road, Liverpool, until Freddie went AWOL, and the checks stopped. As Freddie was seldom in Liverpool, Julia started going out to dance halls in 1942, and met a Welsh soldier called 'Taffy' Williams. Although at first claiming she had been raped by an unknown soldier, she became pregnant by Williams in late 1944. Williams refused to live with Julia (who was still married to Freddie) until she gave up John, which Julia refused to do. When Freddie Lennon eventually came home in 1944, he offered to look after Julia, John, and the expected baby, but Julia rejected the idea. On June 19 1945, she gave birth to a daughter, Victoria, who was subsequently given up for adoption, after intense pressure from Julia's family. Lennon was not told about Victoria's birth (who was later re-named Ingrid) and never knew of her existence.

Julia later met John 'Bobby' Dykins, and moved into a small flat with him, but after comments expressed about the still-married Julia 'living in sin' with Dykins and after receiving a considerable amount of pressure from her sister, Mary "Mimi" Smith — who contacted Liverpool's Social Services and complained about John sleeping in the same bed as Julia and Dykins — Julia handed the care of John over to Mimi. (Julia later had two daughters with Dykins). In July 1946, Freddie visited Mimi and took John to Blackpool for a long 'holiday', although secretly intending to emigrate to New Zealand with him. Julia and Dykins found out and followed them, and, after a heated argument, Freddie made the five-year-old John choose between Julia or him. John chose Freddie (twice) and then Julia walked away, but John (crying) followed her. After that, Freddie lost contact with the family until Beatlemania, when father and son met again. Throughout the rest of his childhood and adolescence, Lennon lived with his 'Auntie Mimi' and her husband George Smith (who had no children of their own) at 'Mendips' (251 Menlove Avenue), which was a middle class area of Liverpool. Mimi has been described as being stubborn, impatient, and unforgiving by family friends, but she also had a sense of humour, such as when she often critcised Lennon — and he would make 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 short stories, and George (who was a dairyman at a local farm) engaged John in solving crossword puzzles and bought him a harmonica. Julia Lennon visited 'Mendips' almost every day (and John visited her) and taught John how to play the banjo and the piano. She also played Elvis Presley's records to John, and would dance around her kitchen with him. Lennon was later inspired by Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly and Little Richard.

Lennon was raised as an Anglican, but like much of the population of Liverpool, he had some Irish heritage. Lennon attended Dovedale County Primary School until he passed his Eleven-Plus exam, and from September 1952, to 1957, he attended the Quarry Bank Grammar School in Liverpool where he was a "happy-go-lucky" and "easy-going" pupil, known for drawing comical cartoons and making fun of his teachers by mimicking their odd characteristics. Julia bought Lennon his first inexpensive guitar, that was "guaranteed not to split", but insisted it be delivered to her house, and not Mimi's. Mimi hoped that he would soon grow bored with it - she was skeptical about Lennon's claim that he would be famous one day, telling him frequently, "The guitar's all very well, John, but you'll never make a living out of it." Years later, when The Beatles were successful, he presented her with a silver platter, engraved with her words.

In 1955, George Smith died, and on 15 July 1958 (when Lennon was 17) his mother 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 breast cancer in 1956. Lennon named his firstborn son Julian after his mother, and later wrote the song, "Julia". Although failing his exams by one grade at grammar school, Lennon was accepted into the Liverpool College of Art with help from his school's headmaster 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, Cynthia Powell, when Lennon was a Teddy Boy. Lennon failed his exams (even with help from Powell) and dropped out before the last year.

1957-1960: The Quarrymen and The Silver Beetles
Lennon started the Quarry Men skiffle band in March 1957 whilst attending Quarry Bank Grammar School. They played at the Cavern Club in early 1957, before Lennon and The Quarrymen met guitarist Paul McCartney at the Woolton (St. Peter's church hall) fête on 6 July 1957. McCartney's father later allowed The Quarrymen to rehearse in his front room at 20 Forthlin Road. During their early friendship Lennon encouraged McCartney to steal cigarettes, candy, or books from shops, and they both found a shared interest in playing jokes on the band and teachers.

McCartney convinced Lennon to allow George Harrison 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 lead guitarist, and Stuart Sutcliffe (Lennon's art school friend) later joined as bassist. The band switched to playing rock 'n' roll, using the name 'Johnny and The Moondogs', but Lennon found it too musically associated to skiffle. In 1960, the band changed its name five times. Stuart Sutcliffe suggested 'The Beetles' as a form of tribute to Buddy Holly and The Crickets, which he and Lennon then thought of changing to 'The Beatals'. They changed their name again to 'The Silver Beats', The Silver Beetles, and 'The Silver Beatles', but Lennon shortened it to The Beatles, 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 Johnny Gentle in Scotland, 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."

1960-1970: The Beatles
Allan Williams started to manage The Beatles in May 1960, after they had played in his Jacaranda club, and later booked them into Bruno Koschmider's Indra club in Hamburg, Germany. Mona Best ran the Casbah Club in the basement of her home in Liverpool, where The Beatles often played in 1959, and Pete Best (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, and pleaded with him to continue his studies, but was ignored. The Beatles first played at the Indra club - sleeping in small, dirty rooms in the Bambi Kino - and then moved (after the closure of the Indra) to the larger Kaiserkeller In October 1960, they left Koschmider's club and worked at the "Top Ten Club", which was run by Peter Eckhorn. McCartney and Best attached a condom to a nail in the 'Bambi' and set fire to it, and Koschmider reported them. They were deported, as was George Harrison, for working under-age. Days later Lennon's work permit was revoked and he went home by train, but Sutcliffe had tonsilitis and flew home. When Lennon got back to 'Mendips', his Aunt Mimi threw a chicken and a hand-mirror at him for spending money on a leather coat for Cynthia, whom she referrred to as, "a gangster's moll".

In December 1960, The Beatles reunited, and on 21 March 1961, they played their first concert at Liverpool's Cavern club. They went back to Hamburg in April 1961, and recorded 'My Bonnie' with Tony Sheridan. Sutcliffe stayed with Astrid Kirchherr when it was time to go home, so McCartney took over bass. When Lennon was nearly 21 in October 1961, his Aunt Mater (who lived in Edinburgh) gave him 100 pounds, which he spent on a holiday to Paris with McCartney. Brian Epstein first saw The Beatles in the Cavern club on 9 November 1961, and later signed them to a management contract.

The Beatles were driven to London by their road manager, Neil Aspinall, on 31 December 1961, and auditioned the next day, but were rejected by Decca Records. In April 1962, they went back to Hamburg to play at the Star-Club, but they learned that Stuart Sutcliffe 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 9 May 1962, with Parlophone Records, after having been turned down by many labels. "Love Me Do" was released on 5 October 1962, featuring Lennon on harmonica, and McCartney singing solo on the chorus line.

All Lennon-McCartney songs on the first pressing of Please Please Me album (recorded in one day on 11 February 1963) as well as the single "From Me to You", and its B-side, "Thank You Girl", are credited to "McCartney-Lennon", but this was later changed to "Lennon-McCartney". They usually needed an hour or two to finish a song, which were written in hotel rooms after a concert, at Wimpole Street, at Cavendish Avenue, or at Kenwood (John Lennon's house).

As recording technology improved, and they were doing more work in the studio than live, overdubbing 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.

He resented McCartney taking control of the band after Brian Epstein's death in 1967, and disliked some of the resulting projects, such as Magical Mystery Tour, and particularly Let It Be ("That film was set up by Paul, for Paul," as he said later to Rolling Stone). Lennon 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 Yoko into the studio.

Lennon was also the first member to permanently quit the group, which he did in September 1969 (Starr had left during 1968, but was persuaded to return; Harrison walked out on a filming session early in 1969, but turned up at a business meeting a few days later). He 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. Lennon was talked out of saying anything publicly. Phil Spector's involvement in trying to revive the Let It Be 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 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 CBS-TV's 48 Hours in 1989. In 1970, Jann Wenner recorded an interview with Lennon that was played on BBC in 2005. 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 Brian Epstein 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."

1970-1975: Solo career
Lennon had a varied recording career. Whilst still a Beatle, Lennon and Ono recorded three albums of experimental music, Unfinished Music No.1: Two Virgins, Unfinished Music No.2: Life with the Lions, and Wedding Album. His first 'solo' album of popular music was Live Peace in Toronto 1969 - recorded prior to the breakup of The Beatles - at the Rock 'n' Roll Festival in Toronto with The Plastic Ono Band. He also recorded three solo singles; the anti-war anthem "Give Peace a Chance", "Cold Turkey" (about heroin addiction) and "Instant Karma!". Following The Beatles' split in 1970, Lennon released the John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band album. The song "God", lists people and things Lennon no longer believed in - ending with "Beatles". Lennon's song, "Working Class Hero", repeated the word "fucking", and was banned from the airwaves.

The album was followed, in 1971, by the Imagine album. The title song, Imagine, became an anthem for anti-religion and anti-war movements, and the song's video was filmed during Lennon's "white period" (white clothes, white piano, white room, etc.) He wrote, "How Do You Sleep?" as an attack against McCartney, with George Harrison on slide guitar, but later admitted that it was about himself.

Some Time in New York City (1972), was loud, raucous, and explicitly political, with songs about prison riots, racial and sexual relations, the British role in Northern Ireland, and his own problems in obtaining a United States Green Card. Lennon had been interested in left-wing politics since the late 1960s, and was said to have given donations to the Trotskyist Workers Revolutionary Party.

On 30 August 1972 Lennon and his backing band, Elephant's Memory, staged two benefit concerts at Madison Square Garden in New York - it was to be his last full-length concert appearance. Lennon and Ono also did a week-long guest/co-hosting the Mike Douglas Show.

In 1972, Lennon released an anti-sexism song, "Woman Is the Nigger of the World", implying that as black people were discriminated against in some countries, so were women globally. Radio refused to broadcast the song, and it was banned nearly everywhere, although he managed to play it to television viewers during his second appearance on The Dick Cavett Show.

Lennon released Mind Games in 1973, and was credited as, "the Plastic U.F.Ono Band". He wrote "I'm the Greatest", for Ringo Starr's Ringo album.

Despite publicised episodes of drunkenness, Lennon released Walls and Bridges (1974), which featured a duet with Elton John on the #1 hit "Whatever Gets You Thru the Night". The album was released under the name "the Plastic Ono Nuclear Band". Another song from the album was the Beatlesque, "#9 Dream". He made his last reference to Primal therapy in his song "Nobody Loves You (When You're Down and Out)", referring to Arthur Janov as "the one-eyed witch-doctor leading the blind." Lennon also produced Nilsson's Pussy Cats album during 1974. Lennon made a surprise guest appearance at an Elton John concert in Madison Square Garden where they performed "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds", "Whatever Gets You Thru the Night" and "I Saw Her Standing There" together. It was to be his last-ever concert appearance in front of a rock audience. Following the performance, Lennon travelled to Florida and signed the papers legally breaking up The Beatles. Following the Christmas holidays, he returned to live with Yoko Ono.

In 1975, Lennon released the Rock 'n' Roll album of cover versions. It was conceived several years earlier, but was complicated by the unpredictable Phil Spector's involvement as producer, and by several legal battles; the result received generally negative reviews, but had a well-received cover of "Stand by Me". David Bowie achieved his first U.S. number one hit (in 1975) with "Fame" - co-written with Lennon (who contributed vocals and guitar) and Carlos Alomar.

On 18 April 1975, John Lennon made his last public appearance on ATV's special A Salute to Lew Grade. Lennon performed "Imagine" and "Slippin' and Slidin" from his Rock 'n' Roll LP. Lennon's band was billed as "Etc.", and 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, who Lennon and McCartney had been in conflict with due to his previous control of The Beatles publishing concerns ". Dick James had sold Lennon 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.

1980 - Starting over
Lennon's retirement came to an end in 1980, a year when he wrote an impressive amount of material during a lengthy vacation in Bermuda, and began to think about recording a new album. For this comeback, he and Ono produced Double Fantasy, a concept album focusing on their relationship. The name came from a species of freesia Lennon saw at the Bermuda Botanical Gardens; 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 "Watching the Wheels", had been worked on at home in the Dakota in various stages with different lyrics from 1977 onward. "(Just Like) Starting Over" began climbing the singles charts, and Lennon started thinking about a brand new world tour. Lennon also commenced work on Milk and Honey 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 George Harrison in the latter's autobiography I Me Mine. According to Ono, he was also unhappy that Paul McCartney's Beatles songs, such as "Yesterday", "Hey Jude" and "Let It Be" 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 and attention into 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, 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 Saturday Night Live where Lorne Michaels 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.

Family life
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 chauvinistic attitudes towards women until he met Yoko Ono. By the end of his life, he had embraced the role of househusband and even said that he had taken on the role of wife and mother in their relationship. Lennon was always distant with his first son (Julian) but was very close to his second son (Sean), and called him "my pride". Lennon also spoke about having a child with Ono: "We were both finally unselfish enough to want to have a child."

Cynthia Lennon
Cynthia Powell met Lennon at the Liverpool Art College in 1957. After hearing Lennon comment favourably about another girl who looked like Brigitte Bardot, 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 pub 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 Stuart Sutcliffe was renting, where they made love. 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, such as when Lennon slapped her across the face (knocking her head against the wall) after he saw her dancing with Stuart Sutcliffe. 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 Paris with McCartney for a holiday.

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, Julian, who felt closer to McCartney than to him. As 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."

John was quoted as saying: "Sean 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, Paul 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 Paul — 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.

Yoko Ono


On 9 November 1966, after their final tour ended and right after he had finished filming How I Won the War, Lennon visited an art exhibit of Yoko Ono's at the Indica gallery in Mason's Yard, in London. Lennon began his relationship with Ono in 1968 after returning from India and leaving his estranged wife Cynthia; Cynthia filed for divorce later that year, on the grounds of John's adultery with Ono which was evidenced by Yoko's apparent pregnancy and miscarriage of their son. 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". This led to tension within The Beatles during the White Album recordings in 1968.

At the end of 1968, Lennon and Ono performed as Dirty Mac on The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus. During Lennon's last two years in The Beatles, he spent much of his time with Ono partaking in public protests against the Vietnam War. Lennon sent back his MBE, which Queen Elizabeth had presented during the height of Beatlemania - "in protest against Britain's involvement in the Nigeria-Biafra thing [a reference to the Nigerian civil war of 1967-70], its support of America in Vietnam, and 'Cold Turkey' slipping down the charts."

On 20 March 1969, Lennon and Ono were married in Gibraltar, and spent their honeymoon in Amsterdam in a "Bed-In" for peace. Behind their bed were posters displayed the words, "Hair Peace. Bed Peace." They held another "Bed-In", in Montreal, at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel, where they recorded "Give Peace a Chance", which became an anthem for the peace movement. 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 feminism and racial harmony. Lennon and Ono often advocated their causes with demonstrations such as Bagism - first introduced during a Vienna press conference. Shortly after, Lennon changed his name to John Ono Lennon. Lennon wrote "The Ballad of John and Yoko" about his marriage and the subsequent press it generated.

The failed Get Back/Let It Be 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 Scotland, 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, Abbey Road. While the group managed to hang together to produce one last acclaimed musical work, soon thereafter business issues related to Apple Corps came between them.

May Pang and the 'lost weekend'
In 1973, Yoko approached May Pang (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, Julian Lennon, and she became friends with Cynthia Lennon.

Lennon spent time during these months with the singer/songwriter Harry Nilsson, and an assortment of his drinking buddies (Keith Moon, Ringo Starr, Alice Cooper, Micky Dolenz 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 bootleg recording A Toot and a Snore in '74, had Lennon and his friends jamming with Paul McCartney. Other included on the session were Harry Nilsson, Stevie Wonder, Jesse Ed Davis, and Bobby Keys.

House-husband
On October 9, 1975 — John Lennon's 35th birthday — Yoko Ono gave birth to a son, Sean Ono Lennon, after having suffered three miscarriages 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 house husband. Deeply aware, after his experience of Primal therapy, of the crucial importance of the parent-child bond, 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 U.S. immigration status was finally resolved favourably, after a years-long battle with the Nixon administration that included an FBI investigation — a full-scale effort involving surveillance, wiretaps, 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, Gerald Ford, showed little interest in continuing the battle.

When Jimmy Carter was inaugurated as President on January 20 1977, John and Yoko 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.

Lifestyle and controversy
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.

Christianity
On 4 March 1966, Lennon was interviewed for the London Evening Standard by his friend Maureen Cleave, and made an off-the-cuff remark regarding religion.


 * "Christianity 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 Jesus now. Jesus was all right, but his disciples were thick and ordinary. It's them twisting it that ruins it for me."

The article was printed and nothing came of it &mdash; 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 Bible Belt in the South and Midwest, as conservative groups staged public burnings of Beatles records and memorabilia. (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 Vatican issued a public denunciation of Lennon's comments.

On 11 August 1966, The Beatles held a press conference in Chicago, in order to address the growing furore.


 * 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 Jesus Christ." What do you think about that?


 * Lennon: Well, originally I pointed out that fact in reference to England. 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 Vatican accepted his apology, but the Southern Baptist Convention (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."

Activism


"Give Peace a Chance", recorded in 1969 at the height of the Vietnam War, marked Lennon’s transformation from loveable mop-top to anti-war activist, and began a process that culminated in 1972, when the Nixon Administration sought to silence him by ordering him deported from the US.

The Vietnam War mobilized a great many young people to take a stand opposing US government policy, but few pop stars joined them: antiwar protest was more common among folk musicians like Phil Ochs, Joan Baez and Bob Dylan (the British musician Donovan was a notable exception).

Lennon, however, was determined to use his power as a superstar to help end the war, especially after he left The Beatles and teamed up with Yoko. The couple declared their honeymoon at the Amsterdam Hilton, in March 1969, a "bed-in for peace," winning world-wide media coverage. At a second "bed-in" in Montreal, in June 1969, they recorded "Give Peace a Chance" in their hotel room.

The song quickly became the anthem of the anti-war movement, and was sung by as many as half a million demonstrators in Washington, D.C. at the second Vietnam Moratorium Day, in November 1969. They were led by the renowned folk singer Pete Seeger, who interspersed phrases like, "Are you listening, Nixon?" and "Are you listening, Agnew?", between the choruses of protestors singing, "All we are saying... is give peace a chance".

When John and Yoko moved to New York City in August 1971, they became friends with antiwar leaders Jerry Rubin, Abbie Hoffman, and others, and planned a national concert tour to coincide with the 1972 presidential election. It would have been the first U.S. tour by any of the ex-Beatles since the lads had waved farewell at Candlestick Park in San Francisco 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 right to vote in the U.S., and Lennon wanted to help persuade young people to register to vote and to vote against the war &mdash; which meant voting against Nixon. Thus, the planned tour was to combine rock music with anti-war organizing and voter registration.

The Nixon Administration found out about Lennon's plans from an unlikely source: Republican Senator Strom Thurmond, who suggested in a February 1972 memo that "deportation would be a strategic counter-measure." The next month the Immigration and Naturalization Service began deportation proceedings against Lennon, arguing that his 1968 misdemeanour 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 John Sinclair" concert in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in December 1971. Sinclair was a local antiwar activist and poet who was serving ten years in state prison for selling two joints of marijuana to an undercover cop. Lennon and Ono appeared onstage (in his first live appearance since the Beatles' breakup) along with Phil Ochs, Stevie Wonder and other musicians, plus antiwar radical Jerry Rubin and Bobby Seale of the Black Panthers. 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 bootleg recording of the live performance circulated for years, but was later released on the 2-CD John Lennon Anthology [1998], and the album, Acoustic [2004]). Lennon performed the song on the David Frost 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 Mike Douglas 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 Watergate scandal, and Lennon won his green card in 1975. After Lennon’s murder, historian Jon Wiener filed a Freedom of Information request for FBI 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 American Civil Liberties Union 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, "The U.S. Versus John Lennon," by David Leaf and John Scheinfeld, in September 2006. The final ten pages were finally released in December 2006. and are available on the web.

Recreational drug use
Although drinking beer was common-place in Liverpool, Lennon was first given drugs in Hamburg, Germany. The Beatles had to play long sets, and were often given "Prellies" (Preludin) by customers (which were slimming pills) or by Astrid Kirchherr, whose mother bought them for her. Paul McCartney would usually take one, but Lennon would often take four or five. He later took amphetamines called, 'Black Bombers, and 'Purple Hearts'.

After having smoked cannabis, with Bob Dylan in New York, in 1964, McCartney remembered all of The Beatles being "very high" and laughing a lot.

Lennon largely abandoned his leadership role under the influence of LSD and Timothy Leary's book The Psychedelic Experience, believing he needed to "lose his ego" to become enlightened.

Meditation
On 24 August 1967, Lennon met the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi at the London Hilton, and later went to Bangor, in north Wales, to attend a weekend 'initiation' conference with The Beatles. The time Lennon later spent in India at the Maharishi's ashram (with Cynthia) was highly productive, as practically all of the songs that would later be recorded for The White Album and Abbey Road were composed there by Lennon, McCartney, or both together. Although later turning against the Maharishi, Lennon still advocated meditation when interviewed.

Primal Therapy
Lennon took a course of Primal therapy with Dr. Arthur Janov, in California. The influence of the therapy, which in part consists of screaming out one's emotional pain, is apparent in songs like "Mother" ("Mama don't go!/Daddy come home!"), "Remember," "Isolation," "I Found Out", "My Mummy's Dead," and "Well Well Well".

Lennon's "God" 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 "Working Class Hero", 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").

Humour
Each of The Beatles was known, especially during Beatlemania, for their 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 Ringo said "It's been a hard day's (work) night", he laughed, but then turned it into a song. This surrealist humour and love of wordplay was later evident in his Milliganesque writings John Lennon: In His Own Write and A Spaniard In The Works (meaning 'a spanner in the works'/a problem in the machine).

During live performances of "I Want to Hold Your Hand", Lennon often changed the words to "I want to hold your gland" (meaning breast/mammary gland), because no one could hear the vocals anyway, above the noise of the screaming audiences. John displayed his usual brand of humour when a reporter asked him: "Does it bother you that you can't hear what you sing during concerts?" John: "No, we don't mind. We've got the records at home."

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 "Dig a Pony" by shouting, "I dig a pygmy by Charles Hawtrey and the Deaf Aids, phase one in which Doris gets her oats!" The phrase was later edited to precede the first song on Let It Be, the McCartney-penned "Two of Us".

On one occasion, when asked if Ringo Starr 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 numerous 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 their 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 John what a good title would be for the autobiography he was planning to write. John answered: "How about Queer Jew?" Brian was extremely upset by his remark. Later, when John learned that the title of the book would be A Cellarful of Noise, 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.

Lennon's partnership in songwriting with McCartney involved him — many times — in opposing McCartney's upbeat, positive outlook, with a sarcastic counter-point, as one of their songs, "Getting Better" demonstrates:


 * 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 "Girl" from the LP Rubber Soul. 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.

Writing and art
Lennon started writing and drawing early in his life, with encouragement from his Uncle Smith (Mimi's husband). He drew caricatures of his school teachers, and when he attended Art school he wrote love poems to Cynthia Lennon on scraps of paper - even once writing, "Our first Christmas, I love you, yes, yes, yes." When Liverpool's Mersey Beat 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 (1964), In His Own Write.
 * John Lennon (1965), A Spaniard in the Works.
 * John Lennon (1986), Skywriting by Word of Mouth. New York: Harper Collins. ISBN 0-06-015676-7
 * John Lennon (1992), Ai: Japan Through John Lennon's Eyes: A Personal Sketchbook. Cadence Books. ISBN 0-929279-78-6 - 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. ISBN 0-375-80174-X
 * The Beatles Anthology. - includes writings, drawings, and interview transcripts by Lennon

Murder
At 10:50 p.m. on 8 December 1980, one Mark David Chapman shot Lennon in front of the Dakota.

Around 5 p.m., Lennon and Ono left the Dakota to supervise the transfer of some of the Double Fantasy album numbers to singles. David Geffen 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 autographs. Among them was Chapman, and John Lennon signed an autograph on the Double Fantasy album cover for him.

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 the 72nd Street, even though a car could drive 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!" — and dropped into a "combat stance" and shot Lennon four times with hollow point bullets from a Charter Arms .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 aorta.

Lennon staggered up six steps to the room at the end of the entrance used by the concierge, 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." The first policemen to arrive were Steve Spiro and Peter Cullen, who were at 72nd Street and Broadway 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, J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye and a cassette recorder with over 10 audio cassettes, with 14 hours of Beatles' songs on them.

The second team - Officers Bill Gamble and James Moran - rushed Lennon to Roosevelt Hospital. Officer Moran said they stretched Lennon out (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. Lennon lost consciousness shortly after.

Lennon was pronounced D.O.A. at Roosevelt Hospital at 11:15 p.m. by Dr. Stephen Lynn. The cause of death was reported as hypovolemic shock, after losing more than 80% of blood volume. Dr. Elliott M. Gross (the Chief Medical Examiner) said that no-one could have lived more than a few minutes with such injuries. Yoko Ono, crying "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 prayers, singing Lennon's songs and burning candles. The first national transmission of the news across the USA was on the fledgling Cable News Network, on which anchorwoman Kathleen Sullivan reported that Lennon had been shot and was en route to a New York hospital (his death had not been confirmed). ABC was in the midst of airing an NFL game between the Miami Dolphins and New England Patriots. After hearing the news sent by ABC News chief Roone Arledge, sports announcer Howard Cosell (who had interviewed Lennon on MNF on 9 December 1974) announced the news of Lennon's murder. NBC announced the news during a comedy sketch on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. It was interrupted by an anonymous announcer voicing the news bulletin, and then returned to the sketch.

When reporters questioned Paul McCartney 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." Ringo Starr and his wife flew to New York to comfort Ono. Lennon was cremated at Ferncliff Cemetery in Hartsdale, New York, and his ashes were kept by Yoko Ono. Chapman pleaded guilty to second degree murder and was sentenced to 20 years to life.

Lennon had a macabre sense of humour 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 Canada did have strengthened security because of death threats. On the morning of his death, Lennon mentioned that he often felt that somebody was stalking him - referring to federal agents who tried to deport him.

Memorials and tributes
On 14 December 1980, millions of people across the globe responded to Yoko 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 Strawberry Fields - a memorial garden area in Central Park across the street from the Dakota building. After his death Yoko 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 8 December, there is a memorial in front of Capitol Records on Vine Street in Hollywood, California. It includes speakers discussing Lennon, and musical tributes.

In 2002, Liverpool renamed its airport the Liverpool John Lennon Airport, and adopted the motto, "Above us only sky". The 25th memorial of John Lennon's death was on 8 December 2005. Celebrations of John Lennon's life and music took place in London, New York City, Cleveland, and Seattle. A tribute concert was held at John Lennon Park at Havana, Cuba, with a special guest appearance by Kents, Luis Molina and X-Alfonso. The minor planet 4147, discovered 12 January 1983 by B. A. Skiff at the Anderson Mesa Station of the Lowell Observatory, was named in memory of John Lennon.

Pseudonyms
Throughout his solo career, Lennon appeared on his own albums (as well as those of other artists like Elton John) under such pseudonyms as Dr Winston O'Boogie, Mel Torment (a play on singer Mel Tormé), and The Reverend Fred Gherkin. He and Yoko (as Ada Gherkin "ate a gherkin", and other sobriquets) also travelled under such names, thus avoiding unwanted public attention.

Documentaries and films

 * The U.S. Versus John Lennon
 * Imagine: John Lennon

Song samples
A collection of Lennon samples.