Inside John Lennon:: Full Documentary From 2003

John was definitely the the rocker wasn't it John was a little sharp witty caustic you know I think your haircuts run American well it was very observant often because we aren't American Jesus is is what he would have liked to have been but like at our plane Jesus we no need to be the few Christian martyrs because there's a lot of us and don't be afraid because they they do look at here whoever's up there all you need is love is basically an every simple message but it's a good soul John sings a grade um and I think it's affected a lot of people and she said bob has asked me would you please come round he's in the terrible mistake John Lennon has beaten them up I always refer to miss lemon right it's not disrespect but he's just like to me he was like Oh lemon why don't you off idiot on October 9th 1940 John Winston Lenin was born to free-spirited Julia and merchant seaman alfred lenin of liverpool england three years later in the midst of World War two Alfred jumped ship deserting his wife and young son when of jump ship in America my mother only knew when she went to the seamen's mission place to get her money and they said you have no money he's gone AWOL so she was left with John unknown money my father my mother split when I was about four I spent some time with mother up till about four then I was brought up by an auntie auntie was Julia's sister Mimi who became John's guardian when Julia felt too overwhelmed to be an adequate parent everyone has been very unfair to my mother all the way down the line as if it explains John my mother when she did have someone suitable for John went and said right Mimi I've come for John and Mimi put John behind the chair and said you're not having him my mother didn't have a choice because she was a naughty girl wasn't she Aunt Mimi quickly developed a reputation among John's friends for being as tightly wrapped as Julia had been free-spirited Jose reminded me of a librarian she was always sort of I don't know very straight-laced she'd never let her sit through the front door Oh go around the back it was always round the bag and I always thought well she had more interesting cats since she didn't learn and people it's no wonder then that John's heart wasn't in his studies a very poor student he wasn't that he wasn't intelligent he was intelligent but it just didn't interest him he didn't enjoy the environmentally what to do the typical English schoolboy with the shorts huge shorts like this you know these skinny little X hanging down the school uniform John sort of adapted his slightly so that it looked more cool you know he had the narrow very narrow school tied on what he did to his tie and only quite what he did to his trousers but he certainly he certainly had the haircut the the Tony Curtis or the DA as we used to call it so 14 a 15 that was when the attitude started to show along with his attitude came a passion for the guitar I remember his wanting a guitar endlessly playing twanging the way we would all swing away on whatever it was as he hung oh yes it was serious stuff I just like this kind of music for about eight years or since it came out it's just good good when I first met him he didn't wasn't really sort of outgoing particularly and I felt that he was sort of weighing the up you know sort of standing about so he was this guy coming into our game and whatever but he did have on him at the time a cartoon book and he did everything in Indian ink on white he didn't like colour tall and he was going to be a painter he would have had to have been forced to put any colors in he only liked black and white and would be this fellow of the stubble or reading the newspaper and then the big big bubble with wow it's raining today or it's been raining again today or whatever and it was his daily record his talent for drawing and whimsical verse and so on was was there 12 or 13 edik caricatures as opposed to likenesses portraits 70 so it's easier to draw the big bump on the nose of the hair sticking out of it and stuff like that I know my mother was enormous Lee witty a Rod Smith very witty very dry I can only imagine that he would have inherited it and learned it as well it would have been nature and nurture her teenage John tried to spend as much time as he could with his mother Julia who was much more of a kindred soul than Aunt Mimi she was more like his big sister than a mother my mother would play the banjo to us and sing play the piano and sing it was all by ear and she taught John Sutton the puncher this was quite extraordinary to see somebody's mom who played the banjo you know and she was very encouraging of what we were doing and because of course we didn't have any amplifiers or anything like that she would let us go and stand in the bath in the bathroom because he get a much better echo off the tiles and things like that so she was you know quite unusual from that point of view whether or not John was a genuine Teddy Boy or tough guy remains a hot topic of debate it was a Teddy boy I remember too the hair like this and like this at the back there was a duck's ass just terrible isn't it and the Winkle picker shoes and tight tight tight jeans and trousers tight tight tight John was never a Teddy boy I mean he he tried to cultivate the hard image but that was probably from self-protection point of view John's growing interest in playing the guitar led him to the craze of skiffle music skiffle opened up a whole new world to a generation the Brits were a bit below the scruffs really if you take a a box on my on a washboard and or anything and the long has it beat out a rhythm and play some music it was cheap no one had any money in those days in early 1957 John and some mates formed a band called the quarry man after the quarry banks cool John attended the wasn't John's idea in fact it was a fellow school friend boy called George Lee who suggested that we should form a skiffle group and I was 16 Elvis is what was happening a guy with long greasy hair wiggling his ass and singing hound dog and that's all right mama and those early Sun Records which I think they're his great period but I do remember having an argument on stage with John he wanted to play with jailhouse rock or something like that and I wasn't very happy with that the reason being you see the people who were keen on skiffle were jazz fans and they hated rock and roll so he played the wrong kind of music in from the wrong audience you're likely to be beat not right so he wasn't it I was a folk purist I was a coward I didn't want to be beaten up I call these people who hated rock and roll on July 6th of 1957 17-year old John Lennon met a kid two years his junior this crossing of pads would change John's life and the lives of millions of music lovers the world over I don't know anyone who would have predicted what was going to happen to John and in fact I'm not quite sure that would have happened to John had Paula come along Oh met me the first day I did be-bop-a-lula live on stage okay and a mutual friend brought him to see my group all acquirement and we met we talked after the show and I saw you had Talent and he was playing guitar backstage and doing twenty flight Rock by Eddie Cochran and I turned around to him right then on first meeting so do you want to join the group mmm-hmm and I think he said yes the next day as I recall it now I don't think Paul played twenty flight Rock that day because I think was a few days later when John and I went to Paul's house and he was showing off a bit in front of Johnny's playing the piano playing a guitar and then he paid twenty five Brock and I think that was the first time we heard it when Paul got together with John he was playing banjo chords and Paul was playing his guitar upside down because he was left-handed and when you think this was the beginning of the Beatles in July of 1958 another event took place that would have an equally incalculable effect on John's life auntie Mimi who we lived with she was acted acted as guarding because the mother John Lennon's mother had tragically been killed knocked over by a drunk emplacement yeah we weren't completely completely rocked as anybody would be wasn't famous then remember this was just a family where the Muzzin had gone out and never come back I've been killed Norma father fell to pieces absolutely hopeless we loved him to bits he was hopeless he just cried and cried and he was actually very kind to John gave him his first job as he gave me my first job in the same place made sure all the tips came my way bought him a record plan gave him a key to the house he and Paul used to can slow the records down to get the words and that was in my father's house John discovered that he and Paul shared something besides an interest in rock and roll and the irony was that Paul's mother died when he was brought in a breast cancer and that my mother would feed him with John when he came down and when he went she cou that poor boys lost his mother that was ironic wasn't it yes and the fact that she did die gave John and Paul an almost inseparable bond just as there were big changes going on in John's personal life there were big changes going on in the quarry men line up now George came through Paul and Ringo came from George although of course I had a say in where they came from but the only the person I actually picked as my partner who I recognized her talent and I could get on with was Paul a judge Howard school together and John was at the school next door and Ringo was up uplands and we you know we just playing guitar and things and he well I'm from there really and they did start talking with that particular time that were gonna change the name to the Beatles and that's a strange name Oh first Imogen they were little crawly things I've never related it to beat music John portable name Beatles and he'll tell you about it now well I had a vision when I was 12 and the soul of man on the flaming pie and he said you are beetles with an A and we are I don't think anybody understood why the name Beatles sir first the silver Beatles that was a real strange one okay the the silver/gray had gone and the Beatles okay but none of us like to I mean except John Lennon perhaps I mean I understood the country the connotation anybody was talking about but it was a high-flown name meant to impress certain people in certain certain circles and eventually when I'd had enough I just you know I said I've had enough Watson took me drums and went home and then I think they were journalists for the best part of 12 months and then we had all sorts of different drummers all the time because they know people who own drum kits were far and few meters of expensive item and they were usually idiots you know we got Pete best just because we need in the drummer the next day to go to Hamlet in August of 1960 the newly christened Beatles embarked on their adventure to faraway Hamburg Germany and a lifetime's worth of new experiences it starts off you know you're in Hamburg you're 18 you never been abroad in your life and you got a bit of money in your pocket and you go drinking on a Saturday night now you end up on the Sunday morning and you do a couple of lowly things like most eighteen year olds of servicemen on abroad there was always some loading we had no respect for our own constitutions that we would just do going on very very little food often very little sleep and going all out I'm not cross involved if that was the drinking that drugs and sex drugs enough morale stuff but um they got the hair from that time - and the leather clothing and stuff which was exactly what John wanted there it was what he'd been trying in Liverpool there it all was in hunger John said you know there are best times when we're in Liverpool in Hamburg that was a well we were best musically it didn't think they were really good live after that in addition to John Paul George and Pete one other Beatle came along for the ride in Hamburg the Beatles had Stewart sort of playing bass he'd won on that our turn award and the money he got from this art award John persuaded because they used to share a flat in the town and he persuaded them to you know to buy a guitar be part of the group which he never rarely muscled it he wasn't really a Beatle to be honest with you but he was John Lennon's best mate at the time John could admire Stewart's talented drawing Stuart could admire John's ability to sort of say things and you know be blatantly rude to people which still wouldn't do they thought well when we get this guy in a band he can't play somewhere be looks good so that's half the battle of course it doesn't work like that Hunter work Stewart stayed on he'd fallen in love with a German photographer Astrid kerchner and they became lovers and they were on the point of getting married at one stage and of course you tragically died at the age of 21 with the brain hemorrhage having paid their dues and made their reputation the beetles departed Hamburg for more familiar shores I'm moving back to Liverpool I've got a quite a few bookings you know they all thought we were German know it builders from Hamburg and they also you speak good English back in Liverpool the Beatles came to the attention of a shy young music store owner who had some radical ideas about how they should present themselves to the public in November of 1961 they agreed to take him on as their manager Brian Epstein was quite important for the Beatles development in the fact that he basically changed the group from John Lennon's group into Paul McCartney's group because John himself was sort of this wild sort of rocker he loved his black leather he loved doing this world numbers he loved being informal on stage and chatting to the people on stage and chilled almost smoking a cigarette and all the rest of that general of that John was definitely there the rocker wasn't even maybe Brian was right you could never know that if they hadn't changed where they would have been he he was the one that put a new image on on them but underneath I think Chama saw was the rocker when Lee went down to the Decker audition it's a don't plan of your own material you know they did resent him interfering in their music and eventually John had to tell them you know you stick to your percentages brand need the music to watch you know how did you get what Scott how did you get associated with Brian Epstein and how much do you feel you owe him well we're in 1/6 exactly there were also personal conflicts between John and Brian the rumors went round that Brian fancy John and they were having a homosexual relationship this accusation has been put up so many times so I'm sick of it quite frankly that he signed the Beatles because he fell in love with John can I put it on camera that it's he signed the Beatles because the band impressed us the rumors were a source of irritation to John as evidenced by this story involving Bob Wooler a DJ at the famous cavern club I got a phone call from Darryl Adams who was living at the time with Bob Walla and she said Bob has asked me would you please come round he's in a terrible state John Lennon has beaten them up and when I saw brubber couldn't believe it his face was out like that and they just covered the scratches and blood not only was he putting the bugs in as we say another pool but he had a garden space and was knocking hell out of him and Peter sharpies you know said to me if we happen to pull him off Peter shot none his mate pulled him off he said he could have killed her Bob Willa it was that John was upset because he blamed more Bob Laura for putting around that he and Brian were having a homosexual relationship despite the occasional friction Brian Epstein would remain by the Beatles side for years the same could not be said for their handsome drummer he just didn't feel it that was the thing he didn't feel it the strong backbeat Ringo was perfect for the Beatles Pete wasn't I'm afraid far better drummer but not for the Beatles they were ruthless why had they lasted two years surely in two years they would have said no we want a decent drummer I think it was a personality clash amongst them in September of 1962 the Beatles recorded the first of what would become a string of hit records John and I sat down to write some songs we wrote about the first 50 or so out of which I think love me doing the only one I ever got privilege the rest just vanished in the mists of time I remember John coming up stairs with love me doing the raw demo just smooth on one side and we put it on so what you think of this and I said I think it's awful and I still do I defy anyone to say that is music or it's good or the words are good it's a load of rubbish isn't it best thing was it came to the chart in two days and everybody thought it was a fiddle because our managers stores sending these what is it record things we turn returns and everybody down south of our how he's brining himself or he's just fiddling the charge he wasn't their first record did very well it sold a hundred thousand copies that was lovely do please please me love me do it over and under stupid songs a lot of crap we knew they were going to be big by then we didn't know what big really meant I thought they've done it they they've gone the ultimate step they've sold their it sold this oldest grandmother's in the eboard Lenin I said that no longer he would have sold his grandmother to get in the charts to get off the ground but he would have brought her back again very quickly why did you want to do before you became a Beatle I'm nothing really I just wanted to be rich so John was a little shocked you can defeat him witty caustic you know sing us a song John show us the money I just like to say the same with other fans of the Purple Heart what about shortly before Beatlemania hit John's longtime girlfriend Cynthia Powell became pregnant with Julian their subsequent marriage was not publicized out of fear that John would lose a lot of hopeful female fans did your wife enjoy Tova yeah she loves this whoo-hoo don't tell him he's married it's a secret I'm sorry I'm sorry about though there were a young married couple now Cynthia never attempted to become nor would she wanted to become John's mother in any way whatsoever she was his partner yeah and they got married as young people do and they had a baby by 1964 Beatlemania was in full swing making John Paul George and Ringo wealthy young men he's not much different now but certainly in those days if a Beatle sneezed it was headline news but sudden colossal fame can have its drawbacks I can't imagine going into those hotel rooms no matter how nice they were and they were lovely and like almost somebody locking the doors saying well you're not allowed out until we need you to perform again that's been horrendous for them the Beatle mania phenomenon became the inspiration for their first film a hard day's night it was a state of being but it wasn't a good state of being for the stars who became the victims of Beatlemania they were the biggest victims of Beatle mania went Lee John the biggest of all of course how would you define Beatle mania I couldn't define a know a lot of people to try it I'm not gonna try leave it to the psychologist let them get it wrong just as Beatlemania had its dark side for John so too did the title of their next musical comedy while I was writing with John when we were doing things like help I never could have seen that as a cry for help cuz it's two guys you know just two guys young guys together he's right when I was young as I was younger than today I'm more interesting aware when I was young put a little counterpoint to it but listening to what he's saying I mean look in his lyrics now it's like God in heaven why didn't someone notice what he was saying you know Beatlemania also took its toll on John's ability to spend quality time with his wife and son if John was traveling playing rehearsing writing recording he couldn't drop everything to go and boil an egg for Julian couldn't and I think you're right people have been very very unfair about this John was making a business very successful business and that necessarily meant parking the family in very nice place and saying I'll be back when I'm back so I think a lot of the neglect of Julian was John getting on his feet John seems to being victimized over the Palace of the Queen has lived through many historic events and it's our privilege today to witness one of the most earth-shaking the audience outside Buckingham may give you an inkling of what's going on in October of 1965 the Fab Four received the honorary title of most excellent Order of the British Empire or MBE but then a few days later it started to come out you would hear these reading articles and you'd see the television use you know all this pompous people we have a few pompous people in this country basically the old retired generals and all that you know what are those new young lads you know funny haircuts and getting medals and stuff like that you know we fought for king and country blah blah and this is what Jones sent his sent his back I was going to send the MBE back anyway I could have done it privately but the press would have found out anyway he would have been here a week later instead let impact controversy seemed to swirl around John Lennon but never as much as when he made a comment in 1966 that the Beatles meant more to young people than Christ we meant more to kids than Jesus did or religion at that time I was knocking it or putting it down I was just saying it for the fact and it sort of it is true special more for England than here no 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 you know i would just said what I said and it was wrong or was taken wrong there now it's all this I felt desperate we ordered for John at that time he never meant it like that we talked about that too he said Oh Julia I never never meant to offend anybody at any time with that remark I think it was jealous of Jesus for many years if you understand what I mean it was you know envious of their having happening being of Jesus because Jesus is what he would have liked to have been but a guitar playing Jesus battle are people not like now records are not like engraving look for what we say now they're entitled how like this learn cycle not to having to do them if you don't want to for not to regard the whole not all right you know how it was just an innocent thing for John said you know and I mean interviews after that when we go to America and in the South they you know the DJ's and that are saying you know bring out your records and you're out you're all your albums and stuff like that they were destroying the stuff in the streets you know yeah I didn't know that they'd kill me because they take things so seriously hearing I mean the shoe gear and then they realize that it wasn't that important so I didn't want to go that that Brian Unger and other bill has persuaded me to come here my scared stick and I look at this a couple of press conferences on film where I'm saying no sir I wasn't condoning that we were bigger than Jesus I just saying well the fact is kids follow us and knob geez another going to all this sort of hypocrisy and terrifying really scared one night on the show in the south somewhere something that offer a firecracker or we're on stairs and I've been threats to shooters the Klan were burning Beatle records outside and love true club kids will joining in with them and something they offer and every one of us I think it's awesome look at each other cuz it's certainly better than looking shot it was not bad oh how I did it that's when I got over last time it wasn't just southern audiences who had it in for John an inadvertent snubbing of Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos that same year led to a near riot in the Philippines usually silly ambassadors want to see us round the place but you know so somebody just set it up and they have to go along with it and we didn't know about it so we got there and we got to put into the transit lounge and then we got pushed around from one corner of the Lancer to another unit you treat like ordinary passenger all right hospital is an oddly personal detail get kicked and so they started knocking over our road managers and things everyone was falling all over slightly worrying you when the road manager gonna choke ya I swear there was 30 of them what do you say they well I saw five in sort of outfits you know the word sort of doing it there's actual kicking and unglue ian and challenging get kicked him no I was very delicate and moved every time to touch me it gets a candlestick park in 1966 I wasn't there but again we all know about it and I did talk to John about it did you really not sing no did you really not produce a voice no the screaming was that intense a lot overwhelming but they didn't sing and that was the last concert and then we got back to the dressing room and we sat on a on a sofa and George on set to my right and he said now if that's it he says no more no more touring and I understood that you know because they wanted to be and these were some of the really great times back in studio 2 at Abbey Road this was where this was this was where history was really being made helping them make rock and roll history was their indispensable record producer George Martin whose training was in classical music he had a very great musical knowledge and background so he could translate for us and suggest a lot of things which he did you know I need come up with amazing technical things like slowing down the piano playing it slow with Helen and things like that you know but we we said what can we wear on his birthday and he and he say well look Chet I thought of this this afternoon last night I think I was talking to whoever Easter and I came up with this you know and we said oh great right no put it on here you know back in the studio Lennon and McCartney pointed the band in a new direction towards a landmark album I think the Strawberry Fields did represent the the major change in the boys lives it was the beginning of the pepper episode it was the beginning of the highly imaginative some people say a psychedelic way of writing the Sergeant Pepper album is some outstanding nothing less than was standing no matter how or why they were written they were true songs of the time they epitomized the age the minute they captured the essence of those milliseconds that they were living in in October of 67 a film was released starring John but none of the other Beatles I did it just because I felt like doing him some time dick Lester asked me and I said yes and I wouldn't have done it if the others hadn't liked it yeah let's head finders we're on holiday into it Paul for three reasons counting on what they were first reason gets you in and the reason when you're in stayin alive all know the reason they find afterwards will be a very good warm I was fought I'm sure would be glad you John's growing interest in peace and love led to one of his most memorable compositions all you need is love is basically a simple message but it's a good song John sings it great and I think it's affected a lot of people you know and I still think the message is really true I think that it is what people need still then in August of 67 just two months after sergeant pepper made rock history tragedy befell one of the most important members of the beatles entourage now is watching the television suddenly kind of picked up an Epstein that I'll watch my lipstick up to now what's he doing and they announced he was dead how would you be today without mr. Epstein I don't know are you driving down to London tonight yes somebody's taking us darling you heard the news this afternoon I believe yes and Paul's already gone down yes I see what you have no idea what your planned up tomorrow no no we just go and find out you know just have to play everything by ear yes I understand that this afternoon my Rishi conferred with you all could I ask you what he what advice he offered you he told us not to get overwhelmed by grief until whatever thoughts we have a Brian to keep them happy because any thoughts we have a half of him will travel to him wherever he is we were in Wales with Mallory she would just stand down at the team his lecture the first night but based on banger I don't know he just sort of I can't remember you know it just sort of came over somebody came up to suppress were there because we've done down with this strange engineer and they said fines dead then we were I was stunned you know I'm real worthless and a Maharishi we went into room and he was sort of saying oh forget it you know are you happy idiot as John's association with the Maharishi was drawing to a close his association with a controversial artist he'd met at a London gallery was just beginning we get bored very easily of course Yoko came on the scene I think he she had some a great influence on this life I think he went a little bit strange after that my ephedrine there we are that was the end of the real John Lennon that was the end of John's real creative genius and the things that he was himself and what it created himself because Yoko used him as a vessel for her own ideas I will channel my ideas through you we will do this all this avant-garde stuff he went along with everything John just disappeared and if you see one of those like a sci-fi film where this person is there and suddenly they're drawn back into space with all black stars around them and they sort of disappear a bit start tracking it was it was very much like that 1968 John phoned me up and we had a big long chat on the phone and that was the last time I spoke to him myself until the mid seventies for another lot seven years because we didn't know it's going to be ever suddenly as did we but for us John did that disappearing act from the time that he met Yoko he was sort of on a different track with different ideals with different he's still the same John but he was driving his life in a different way he got into a different car for a while and was driving from Makkah with Brian Epstein gone the Beatles were forced to fend for themselves one noble experiment that emerged from the chaos was Apple Apple No Sam set it open and see where he goes like a talk instead it going and hope for the best we want to set up a system whereby people who just want to make a film about anything don't have to go underneath and simply akkad ugly old it was just a lovely idea that that give young people a chance but they went crazy about it instead of keeping it under control it got silly very quickly I mean they were just throwing money out the window virtually I'm sad because of philosophy behind it I still feel was right Jon's flair for the controversial spilled over into Apple when he and Yoko released the two virgins album in 1968 I can't imagine ever Brian Epstein or EMI okay in a front court John and Yoko full rondalee nude so yeah I'm sure it was an attempt an accessible attempt by John to thumb his nose at the establishment I didn't have such a personally such an objection to it I'd rather have that than they were in a bag or in bed Mimi made a witty point about that she went up from Bournemouth to either a promotion or something done what it was and somebody said what do you think the two virgins she said of a look like that a stay dressed but actually they weren't fun part were they not surprisingly John and Cynthia Lennon divorced the same month two virgins was released four months later John and Yoko tied the knot and held a very public bed-in for peace honeymoon we could possibly do adventure everywhere where we can spread the word vision and but we filtered Amsterdam is a very important place to do it because the thing is that it has a very fresh and alive interest Amsterdam for the year from the barrels of oil eyes well he gets a trophy and this is what a world Quinta stages and we're thinking that instead of going out and fight and make war something like that we should just stay in bed everybody should just been busy you know I hated them John himself said Layton even Yoko I think is sad what we could have done that different they are whatever oh god is this the honeymoon are they ever getting up it's ridiculous isn't it mr. Dickens we want to talk about peace and level get up and talk about it then I know they were making a point but I hated it I hated the bed ISM bug ISM hated the lot getting in a bag to eat chocolate cake I mean I get real while you're in bed and you're giving your pest problems in pillowcases and all that are you laughing at us yeah no more than you're laughing at us alone I mean we have a laugh we think it's funny that the pet that the front-page news should be the fact that two people went to bed on the honeymoon we see the funny side of it I'm not in Vienna which is pretty square place there's all these beautiful photographs of microphones being held to a bag you know to able to buy to speak but the closer John got to Yoko the more the gap widened between John and the other Beatles you could say the seed was sown very early on I don't know really it just did friction came in business things came in relationships between each other we're all looking for like people in our lives like John and found Yoko it made it very different we wanted a very strong intimate life with her at the same time we'd always reserved the intimacy for the group so we was starting to find those kind of things were clashing reading over the ochre you can understand it at a time with her but does he have to have that much time with her you know it was the sort of feeling within the group Paul said that is real writing with John though they've been writing separately for years they still spark the ideas off each other he said but but but with Yoko said when I wanted to sit down with John or spark some ideas and try to write Yoko was always there and he said I didn't feel like doing it and that is why the Len the currently partnership ended with Yoko there was no breakup of the Beatles because of anyone not Yoko not Cline it was imagine if if you can imagine the pressure you imagine not been able to go down to the corner shop to our packet of Franks they live with that for nine years and in fact less than that six years so it's not it wasn't Josh Yoko did you ever see a time when in fact you weren't working together I could see us working not together for a period but we'd always get the other belong reason other like I mean if you need other people Friday well what you know um we all get along fun despite John's optimism Paul announced a solo album and the breakup of the Beatles in April of 1970 yes it was a shock but it didn't affect my life personally in any way whatsoever I wasn't on the Beatles payroll so when they broke up it wasn't oh my god the incomes gone oh my god you know what it was like oh yeah wish it was a shot that the Beatles had gone but it didn't affect my life in any way whatsoever now on his own professionally John's involvement in peace protests and politics began to deepen somewhere along the line John became a political politically minded person which he definitely was not in Hamburg I don't know where all that came from you know I guess he realized somewhere along the way well I've got to do something other than just be a rock and roll musician if I want to impress the whole world John's public statements about war actually began when the Beatles were still together it seems a bit silly to be an American for none of them to mention Vietnam as if nothing was happening but why should they ask you about it your succession and the time others I think because Americans always ask showbiz people what they think mother so do the British you know judges you know how it is so I mean you've just gotta you can't just keep quiet about anything that's going on in the world unless you're a monk sorry months I didn't mean I meant actually hmm I almost hope if John had gone to Vietnam himself and had spread a message whatever you know obviously against the thing it would have shortened the whole thing by many years another major focus of John's life was the new mrs. Lennon to work on this relationship with Yoko is very hard and we thought we got the gift of love you know but love is like a precious plant you know you can't just accept it and leave it in the cupboard or just think it's gonna get on with itself or like a pet you know there's laughter you've got to keep watering it you know you've got to really look after it and love you have to water and be careful of it and keep the flies off despite their status as music's most famous soulmates there was a split in the mid 70s otherwise known as the Lost Weekend his and Yoko's relationship wasn't what it had been I mean I've got a lovely quote that says them the Romeo and Juliet of the rock world the dream had broken or something like that but somebody had some thought that was close to or knew them and it did give him time to think the split was temporary and John and Yoko continued their journey through life which included the birth of their son Sean in October of 75 and of course more music she let him go he came back had the child and everything he wanted money he can make what music he wanted he didn't care whether they criticized it or loved criticism of his records work well we think it could be but it doesn't really matter because it's this as the 70s progressed John grew more philosophical and more optimistic the 60s were just waking up in the morning yo and we haven't even got to dinnertime here and I can't wait you know I just can't wait I'm so glad to be around I'd like to live to ripe old age with Yoko only and I'm not afraid of dying I don't know how it feel at the moment with I'm prepared for death because I don't believe in it I think it's just getting out of wrong car and getting into another he said we've just had a report in that's coming through that John Lennon has been assassinated I said what's the matter with you are you sick or something and just slammed the phone down it's hard to imagine how you can feel that somebody that you knew someone who spent a lot of time with you know it's been shot I mean it wasn't if he died in an accident or he died of an illness I mean you know to know that you know friend of yours had been shot was I think a bigger shock to me than anything but the thing really was that he obviously felt he'd escaped from Beatlemania which let's face it was riding a tiger was only a whisker from from being torn apart I think they knew that I mean you know the experience in the Philippines was was pretty horrendous and having got away from that and being able to live in New York they comparatively and normal life you know can be said to people of anything normally and then suddenly out of out of the past this you know Spectre comes and strikes him down it was terrible I was getting the children up for school and stuff and we were in a house another telephone we'd not want moved into it and top of them connected and the lady of the road came over and there's somebody on the phone for you and it was my cousin the one I was talking about before Lee and I'd given her this lady Sylvia's number Witsel this formation until the phone was connected if there was an emergency or anything and Lyra used the number and I went over and she just told me and I mean I can't explain what I was like because there's no need to and she came over straight away she's a doctor and she's I'm taking death I'm coming straight away and we just spent the day together crying stuff and she she had three children at home I have my three children she had to go home it was just crazy crazy crazy stuff also devastated were Cynthia and Julian who got caught up in a tug of war with Yoko but of course we think about Julian and he'd gone off to the states without Cynthia and he said to us that he was sitting on the plane with the headlines everywhere on his own because Yoko wouldn't allow Cynthia to go to the funeral she said it's not as if we're old school friend visit to Cynthia and I think I don't know what the words were but if you come he doesn't so again Julian had the worst of thought if they ever let Mark Chapman out somebody will kill him somebody will get him believe me believe me you yeah I needed to be John Lennon I think as most people began to see at the United States a political figure but one with the heart and one with a message and approaching of Jesus for you you got as close as you can get to been Jesus without actually being I don't profess to be a practicing Christian all our things trifles body wasn't on earth any but there's anything great about and I believe I'm not a practicing Christian like I was brought up to be I don't have uncritical applause the wrist and the day goes by that I don't think of him the think of all the lovely times that him and I would spend together apart from the professional side of things you know the socializing the private times with him and wining and dining and having fun together you know and constantly thought about it I don't ever remember a life where John wasn't in it he was just so unbelievable I mean he was a unique guy he unique guy thank you all very much you

Channel: Pamela Dixon

Views: 887,550

Rating: 4.7126012 out of 5

Keywords: John Lennon (Musical Artist), Documentary (TV Genre), The Beatles (Musical Group), Music (TV Genre), Inside John Lennon: Unauthorized

Id: 0Q2b72HrP8Y

Length: 52min 0sec (3120 seconds)

Published: Thu Nov 20 2014