John Lennon

John Lennon



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“life is what happens while you are busy making other plans”



BIOGRAPHY

John Lennon was a key member of the Beatles. He went on to have a distinguished solo career, and became an icon of the 1960s counter-culture revolution.
John Lennon was born, October 1940, during a German air raid in Oxford Street Maternity hospital, Liverpool. During his childhood,he saw little of his father, Freddie, who went AWOL whilst serving in the navy. For several years, John was brought up by his mother’s sister Mimi.
In his early years John was a mischievous students, who would be quick to take the micky out of teachers and other student. Whilst in his early teens he got his first guitar and would spend many hours playing.
In the late 1950s John formed a rockgroup called the Quarry Men Skiffle Band. This was the precursor to the Beatles. In 1957, he met and formed a successful musical partnership with Paul McCartney. They complemented each other very well. Lennon focused on the more satirical aspects and McCartney veered towards the more optimistic cheerful qualities. Lennon was considered the leader of the Beatles, due to his superior age and also hismusical abilities. It was, however, McCartney who persuaded Lennon to allow George Harrison to enter the band as lead guitarist.
The first concert of the Beatles was at the Cavern club in Liverpool on 21st March, 1961. After being rejected by many music labels, they eventually signed an agreement with Parlophone in 1962. During the great success of the Beatles, during the 1960s John Lennon wouldoften be the figurehead for the group, although, they maintained that the decisions of the group were democratic.
John Lennon was no stranger to controversy. In the early 1960s, he made an off the cuff remark about Jesus that landed the group in a mire of controversy. John Lennon said that “the Beatles were more popular than Jesus Christ.” He claimed this was a mere observation, which was probablytrue in England. Nevertheless, it led to a boycott in the US, especially in the deep south. There was also a wave of record burnings, although Lennon wryly remarked that to burn them they had to buy them first.
In 1969 the Beatles had started to split up; it was John Lennon who was the main factor behind this. After 1970, John Lennon created a very successful solo career, often with the help ofhis second wife, Yoko Ono. In the early 1970s John Lennon also became a figurehead for the anti war Movement. His song “Give Peace a Chance” became an anthem for the anti-war movement. Due to his anti war stance the Nixon administration tried to have him deported, but after a long struggle he was able to gain a green card in 1976. His song “Imagine” has also become a tremendously influential song;it was voted 'most popular song' by the British public.
John Lennon was shot dead in 1980, by David Chapman – an obsessed fan. The death shocked the world, both musical and non musical.








HIS DEATH
As John Lennon was leaving The Dakota Building early on the day of December 8th, he was approached by what he thought was a fan. As usual John obliged with an autograph. Mark had askedhim, "John, will you sign this?" and John said "Sure, no problem". And he signed it with Mark's pen. After he had signed it, He asked Mark "Is that all you want?" and then He asked it again, "Is that all you want?" and Mark replied with a yes, "Yes, thank you John."
Mark said Yoko was already in the limo and John then went and entered the car and they drove away. He said he remembers feeling thesweat from his hand that was around the base of the .38 revolver. He had placed a piece of cardboard in front of the gun that was in his pocket to shield it from being noticed.
He said, "Here is a man who was just kind enough to give me his autograph on his album, and was going to be dead and didn’t even know it" As John Lennon drove away, Mark was upset with himself because he knew he just had...