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John Winston Lennon

 Imagine 

" LEARN  MORE,  BE MORE " 

Biography: This site, Foogle Business,  is mainly a political site but it is also an interesting information data bank. The subject here, John Winston Lennon AKA John Ono-Lennon, has been chosen not only because of his political views, his anti-war stance, his Peace Crusade but because of his success with the Beatles. Not forgetting one of his greatest political songs, Imagine, which you can listen to here, and read the lyrics. For More 

Political Pop Music: CLICK HERE

The Beatles

Lennon

Nothing to kill or die for

 I Am The Walrus 

  GENIUS  

 John Winston Lennon 

John Winston Lennon, an icon of idealism, creativity and hope, was born on October 9, 1940 to a dysfunctional, working-class Liverpool family. He was born during an air raid from the German Air Force, in WWII. So pleased that he and his mother had survived, they chose his second name as Winston, after the great war-leader Churchill. John's father, a seaman in more ways than one, deserted his mother, Julia, when John was only three; so at an early age John lived  with his aunt Mimi in the suburb of Woolton, Liverpool; his mother could not cope. John was a loving but a rebellious child, regularly skipping school, thinking and sketching instead of studying; dreaming of bigger things, Lennon seemed lost, in his own world. He had a highly developed imagination and would have out of body experiences and hallucinations at a very young age. These self-inflicted trances would frightened him and he considered that he might be insane, but then as no one had taken him to the funny-farm perhaps he was just a genius. Who would have known then, least of all him, that he would be the icon of the sixties; being voted Man of the Decade, in 1969.

When he was 14 John heard Elvis sing  Heartbreak Hotel  on Radio Luxemburg, he was overwhelmed, it was music that had not been fully appreciated until Elvis had popularized the Rock & Roll movement in the late fifties. 

It has been revealed that Elvis, although a so-called friend of Lennon's, was so jealous of his fame that he gave the USA authorities beneficial information, when they were attempting to deport Lennon back to the UK.

But it was Lonnie Donegan MBE, born in Scotland on 29 April 1931, and dying on 3 November 2002, who really opened Lennon's eyes. Donegan was the King of Skiffle, being the most famous and popular of the hundreds of Skiffle Groups that came after him. With more than 20 UK Top 20 Hits, he is noted as the biggest influence on the British Rock scene and subsequently is now known as the Godfather of British Rock. This was not due to any huge musical talent, although he was good; his father was a classically trained musician, but because of the availability for youngsters to get involved in Skiffle and actually make music, easily. Lennon started in a Skiffle group as did many other now famous faces.

Godfather of British Rock

  Imagine there's no heaven 

Lennon had been a bully and trouble maker at school and left Quarry Bank High School, he did not excel but rebelled. At age 16, after his aunt persuaded the head teacher to write him a recommendation, he went to Liverpool Art College. Here, John also became more involved in music, getting a guitar and starting a Skiffle group in early 1957. Julia, his mother, could play the banjo and she bought him his first guitar, and taught him a chord or two. At this time John and Julia were closer than ever. John was only 17 when Julia was killed by an off-duty policeman who ran her over in his car; he was drunk and his name was Chapman. John was waiting for her at his aunt's house, whilst she was dying just a few yards away outside in the gutter, here, he lost her for the second time, but this time it was for good, or until they met in the hereafter.

Lennon - McCartney 

John became even more bitter and considered himself a Van Gogh figure, misunderstood and mistreated by life. He immersed himself deeper into his music, writing and poetry. His band, the Quarrymen, with the many different members, advanced over the next few years into the Beatles. Music soothed the savage beast in John, and gave him hope and an endeavor. Lennon remained the unofficial leader of the band and a principle singer and songwriter  through its ten year life. 

Paul, George & Ringo

It was while at a church picnic, St. Peter's Church Fete, Woolton, in the summer of 1957, Lennon was introduced to the great Paul McCartney, by a friend of John's, Ivan Vaughan. Paul was equally as talented musically as John but not so forthright or philosophical. John worked on another level, however, the two worked well together and even when they worked apart they contributed input to each other's work. They agreed early on to share song writing credits, though they directly collaborated on only a few of the Beatles' hits. John had remembered that most of the famous writers of the first half of the twentieth century came in pairs, like Gilbert & Sullivan; Rogers & Hammerstein. 

Lennon, for his part, contributed more with experimental and mystical music during the group's later years. McCartney was more pop-oriented; Lennon also led the group into drug use during the mid-'60s, though the first person to introduce them to dope / grass was Dylan when they were on a tour of the USA. Dylan thought that they had already used it based on some words he misheard on one of their singles.

John also encouraged the FabFour to follow the guru, the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. It was whilst the Beatles were with the Maharishi, in Wales, that they heard of the death of their mentor and manager, Brian Epstein. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, told Lennon to rejoice at Epstein's death, and not worry, Lennon was highly distraught, and thus described the Yogi as an idiot.  Losing Brian was the beginning of the end as it was like losing another parent for John; he knew that they were in trouble, when it all sank in.

Mendips, 

Mendips was the childhood home of John Lennon, he lived there with his Aunt Mimi and Uncle George and composed early songs in the front porch and in his bedroom. 

20 Forthlin Road is a 1950's terraced house and the former home of the McCartney family, where the Beatles met, rehearsed and wrote many of their earliest songs.  

Lennon - McCartney

Paul of Beatle fame was born James Paul McCartney on June 8th 1942, in Liverpool, England, UK. Paul showed an early interest in music, which was no doubt encouraged by his father, James, who was a part-time jazz musician. At age 14 Paul's mother sadly died of cancer, but despite the trauma, the single-minded McCartney remained a dazzling student and was quite accomplished on the guitar in his early teens. He was always trying to bash out a little song or two. In 1956, just after his mother's death he apparently wrote his first song, I Lost My Little Girl.

John was this hard working class rebel, but he was also very sensitive and loving. Moreover, he was actually brought up in a middle-class background, his Aunt Mimi's suburban house was called, Mendips; relatively very posh compared with most of the rest of post-war Liverpool. Nevertheless, he really wanted to be accepted by everyone, he bucked the system only to be noticed and added hype to the Beatles publicity machine.

We can notice how high John regarded higher society when the Beatles first played the Palladium in London. His little joke about those in the cheaper seats clapping along and the dearer seats just rattling their jewelry was supposed to be funny, and a little dig, but on that night John's body language says it all; he was in awe, and he wanted that status also.

BRIAN EPSTEIN  - Beatles Manager

Cynthia Powel - John's First Wife

The Beatles were formed around 1961and shortly after this Lennon married an art school classmate, and long time girlfriend, Cynthia Powell. They had a son, Julian, in 1963. On both these occasions Lennon skipped off to play a gig somewhere, a thing he later regretted. In the beginning of the Beatles fame, Cynthia was kept as secret as possible, without offending her too much. As the Beatles popularity grew, Cynthia and John grew further apart. John was always looking for something more. Drugs to increase pleasure, the Maharishi and LSD to expand his mental abilities, money to buy him whatever he wanted. John wanted to experience the each ends of every spectrum. So it was no surprise when he started to openly date an older Japanese-American way out avant-garde artist named Yoko Ono. John left his wife, and she divorced John in 1968, clearing the way for John and Yoko to begin living and working together full time. John & Yoko married in March 1969. 

After John left his now somewhat estranged family to live his life with Yoko, Julian Lennon can only remember seeing his father around six times up until John's assassination.

JULIAN LENNON   

SEAN LENNON

Soon after the release of The Beatles, also known as  The White Album, in 1968, John and Yoko released the experimental "found sound" collection of Unfinished Music, No. 1 -- Two Virgins. The cover of this album blatantly highlighted their unclothed photo, causing it to be banned from many stores. John & Yoko became the subject of much media attention as reporters speculated that Ono was manipulating Lennon and indirectly causing trouble for the adored Beatles. Paul had had similar castigation when he married Linda Eastman. 

Yoko Ono-Lennon talking after the tragic death of fellow Beatle George Harrison. Picture by CNN.

This rooftop musical occurrence was the last public performance of the Beatles. This was the very height of their careers; the embodiment of all they were and all they stood for, ironically something they would never do was, Get Back !!! The Beatles performed "Get Back" (along with other songs from the album) as part of the "Beatles Rooftop Performance" which took place on the roof of Apple Studios in Saville Row, London on January 30, 1969. "Get Back" was performed full three times; on the third and final time, The Beatles' performance was interrupted by the police, who had received complaints from office workers nearby. After the police spoke to Mal Evans, he turned off Lennon and Harrison's amplifiers only for Harrison to switch them back on, insisting that they finish the song.

After recording Abbey Road during the summer of 1969, Lennon flew to Toronto, where he performed at a September rock 'n' roll festival with The Plastic Ono Band, consisting of Yoko, famed guitarist Eric Clapton, German session bassist Klaus Voormann and drummer Alan White; the band's performance was captured on a live album released later that year. Although Let it Be was released after Abbey Road it was actually recorded before.

  Four of the Greatest Albums ever made 

As Lennon spent more time collaborating with Ono, he began to distance himself from the other Beatles. In late 1969 he informed the group that he wanted to quit the band; he wanted a divorce, but because contract negotiations were underway with EMI, his decision was kept quiet. Lennon and his Plastic Ono Band recorded the single Cold Turkey, about the struggles of coming off  heroin. Lennon saw himself as a philosopher and leader of minds. Yoko pushed him to make a mark in the world other than that of being one of the FabFour. So John intensified his political actions, paying for billboards in various cities that called for the end of war, and he also returned his MBE to the Queen in protest of Britain's involvement in Biafra. Lennon refocused on his own music career and in February 1970 released Instant Karma.  

Words of Imagine

John Lennon

Imagine there's no heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today... 

Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace... 

You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one 

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world...

You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one 

Words To Imagine

Please do that !

Imagine them.

later that year John Lennon released his most popular solo album to date, the chart topping album and single Imagine, which dealt with personal and  political world issues. John wrote the words to Imagine whilst on an airplane, on the back of a hotel bill. When he got back to his Berkshire mansion he recorded it straight away in his home studio. John and Yoko continued with their political dialogues and in early 1972 Lennon began fighting off U.S. Immigration Authorities, who had denied him a work visa due to a 1968 conviction for possession  of marijuana.  Partially in protest, Lennon collaborated with a radical New York band Elephant's Memory on the album Sometime in New York City. In 1973 the INS ordered Lennon to leave the U.S.; Lennon refused, and began publicly attacking the agency. Later that year Lennon released the surprisingly tame Mind Games, whose title track was a minor hit.

Lennon was a most complex character and with everything going on he had his doubts about his lover, Yoko; he decided that she was more like a mother to him and that he was maybe not this political animal after all but just a Rock Star. Lennon realized early on that he wanted many things in life; he wanted an overload in everything he experienced, but he also soon realized that when he had got it, he wondered why he wanted it in the first place.

 In 1974 Lennon separated from Yoko Ono and moved out to Los Angeles. For the next two years Lennon became heavily involved in various drugs, and became a frequent celebrity party-goer at star's homes and wild night clubs. Even though he thought he and Yoko were finally through, encouraged by Yoko, he took a Japanese girlfriend, May Pang, as some kind of substitute. Through the party circuit Lennon developed a friendship with Elton John, with whom he co-wrote the song Whatever Gets You Through the Night, Lennon's 1974 No. 1 comeback. The single was from the album Walls and Bridges, which also reached the number one spot. 

Lennon's killer Chapman 'wanted to become somebody'

John Lennon's killer Mark David Chapman has told the parole board in New York he thought by killing The Beatles singer he would become a somebody. 17 September 2010.  

©  BBC NEWS

 

The Beatles are the most famous group of musicians in the history of music. Combined, the FabFour have sold since 1961, over 1,200,000,000, that's twelve hundred million, records, albums, tapes, CD's and videos. the very biggest pop-stars of today, sell only around 100 million, in their pop-careers, if they are lucky.

In 1963, a great new word was coined to describe how big they were:    Beatlemania.    The Beatles had the top 5 places in the USA pop charts in 1964, after their arrival there in February. When they appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show in New York, 73 million people tuned in.  In the UK, Sgt Pepper is the biggest selling album of all time. Sir Paul McCartney is the first pop-star to be worth one billion dollars. 

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