John Lennon – Cottage Capers

On this day in history….8th December 1980

On this day in history : 8th December 1980 – John Lennon is shot dead outside his New York apartment…. He was 40-years-old….

John Lennon in 1980, shortly before his death – Jack Mitchell, derivative work CC BY-SA 3.0

Just before 11pm John and his wife Yoko Ono arrived at their luxury apartment building, the Dakota, on Manhattan’s Upper West Side – opposite Central Park…. They were returning home after spending several hours at the Record Plant recording studios….

The Dakota, Upper West Side, Manhattan, New York City – Ajay Suresh CC BY 2.0

Earlier in the day Mark David Chapman, a 25-year-old security guard from Honolulu, Hawaii, had asked John for his autograph…. John obliged by signing the copy of the album ‘Double Fantasy’ offered to him…. Chapman then made his way to the former Beatles’ apartment building to wait for him….

As John and Yoko approached the building Chapman fired his Charter Arms .38 Special revolver five times, from a distance of 9 or 10 feet away…. John was hit in the back 4 times…. He staggered up the steps to the building before collapsing…. Jay Hastings, the building’s concierge rushed to help him, yelling at Chapman – “Do you know what you’ve done?” – to which Chapman calmly replied – “Yes, I just shot John Lennon”…. Chapman made no attempt to escape….he removed his hat and coat, having dropped the gun, in preparation for the arrival of the police…. Two police officers arrived within a couple of minutes, having heard shots…. Chapman put up no resistance to his arrest…. Two more police officers arrived and seeing the severity of John’s injuries decided not to wait for an ambulance – but carried him to the squad car and drove him to hospital…. John Lennon was pronounced dead at the Roosevelt Hospital….

Main entrance of the Dakota, where John Lennon was shot – David Shankbone CC BY-SA 3.0

Police artist sketch of the murder – New York City Police Department – Fair use

Chapman claimed he had heard voices in his head telling him to kill John; in 1981 he was imprisoned to a life sentence in Attica Correctional Facility, Buffalo, New York…. He first became eligible for parole in 2000 – since then parole has been denied ten times….

Mug shot of Mark David Chapman – Fair use

British History, Uncategorized

On this day in history….25th March 1969

On this day in history : 25th March 1969 – Newly married John Lennon and Yoko Ono begin their ‘bed-in’ at the Hilton in Amsterdam – to convey a message of Peace to the World….

John and Yoko had married five days before; they knew only too well that their ‘tying the knot’ would cause much interest amongst the media and public – and so decided to use this publicity to promote world peace…. War was raging in Vietnam at the time and the Cold War was ongoing….

Their idea for a ‘bed-in’ was inspired by the ‘sit-ins’ often used by protesters….literally sitting in an establishment or outside it to cause obstruction – until their demands are met or they are forcibly removed….

The couple booked into the Honeymoon Presidential Suite (Room 702) of the Hilton and invited the world’s Press to join them everyday, for a week, between 9am and 9pm….

At first the Press had probably been expecting to find John and Yoko making love…. Controversy had surrounded the release of their album ‘Two Virgins’ in November 1968…. Both had posed naked on the cover and had caused outrage…. So much so, that EMI refused to distribute it….other distributors were found for both the UK and US but the album had to be sold in a plain brown wrapping…. As for the title, that came about as the couple felt they were ‘two innocents in a world gone mad’….

So the Press may have been a little disappointed to find John and Yoko sitting up in bed wearing pyjamas….in John’s words ‘like angels’…. Above their heads were signs reading ‘Hair Peace’ and ‘Bed Peace’ – when asked about the ‘hair’ John replied that they both intended to grow their hair even longer for the Peace Cause….and that everybody should do the same…. He also added that the world needed to laugh more…. When questioned as to why Amsterdam his answer was simple “it could have been anywhere really”….

John and Yoko flew to Vienna to give a press conference on the 31st of March….a further bed-in was arranged. The original intention was to hold it in New York – but because John had a cannabis conviction from the previous year he was denied access to the US…. So instead it was decided to hold it at the Sheridan Oceanus Hotel in the Bahamas…. John and Yoko arrived on the 24th of May 1969 – but because of the intense heat after just one night the couple left for Montreal. Here they set themselves up at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel and invited the Canadian Broadcasting Company to conduct interviews from their room….. They received a very mixed reaction from the American Press….

British History

On this day in history….26th October 1965

On this day in history : 26th October 1965 – The Beatles visit Buckingham Palace to be awarded with their MBE medals by Her Majesty the Queen….

The band had been notified four months before that they were to be the recipients of the Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire award, when their names had appeared on the Queen’s Birthday Honours list in the previous June….

There were those who did not agree with the decision to honour the Beatles – rock and roll music was still rather distasteful to some…. A few previously decorated individuals even returned their medals in disgust and protest….

However, honoured they were – as Britain’s greatest musical ambassadors…. They received their awards that day alongside 185 other people…. They were taken to one side before the ceremony and coached in the protocol for meeting the Queen…. The boys were so nervous, even popping to the loo for a calming smoke before the proceedings…. But all went smoothly – they even shared a joke or two with Her Majesty….

Ironically, four years later, just as there had been those who returned their medals in protest at the Beatles being honoured, John Lennon was to do the same with his…. “Your Majesty, I am returning my MBE as a protest against Britain’s involvement in the Nigeria-Biafra thing, against our support of America in Vietnam and against ‘Cold Turkey’ slipping down the charts. With love, John Lennon”….

In 2009 his medal was discovered lying in a vault in St. James’ Palace….

British History

On this day in history….4th March 1966

On this day in history : 4th March 1966 – John Lennon gives an interview in which he states the Beatles are more popular than Jesus Christ – it causes outrage in the United States….

Image : YouTube

The interview was for the Evening Standard….it was the first in a series of articles entitled “How Does a Beatle Live?” Each member of the group was individually interviewed – starting with John Lennon at his home in Weybridge….

“Christianity will go. It will vanish and shrink. I needn’t argue about that; I’m right and I’ll be proved right. We’re more popular than Jesus now; I don’t know which will go first – rock ‘n’ roll or Christianity. Jesus was all right but his disciples were thick and ordinary. It’s them twisting it that ruins it for me”….

His words provoked no reaction from the public in the UK…. However, in July 1966 it was quoted in a US teen magazine and was received in America in a very different manner….

The publication that had been granted rights to all four interviews was a magazine called ‘Datebook’. Being broad minded – covering topics such as the legalisation of marijuana and inter-racial relationships – it was considered the most suitable for publishing the interviews…. Datebook teased its readers with the snippet “I don’t know which will go first – rock ‘n’ roll or Christianity” printed on the front cover….

Tommy Charles a DJ for WAQY, a radio station in Birmingham, Alabama heard of the comments – and was furious…. “That does it for me. I am not going to play the Beatles any more”…. The listeners were asked for their opinions – and they were less than favourable….the people were beginning to show their contempt….

The ball started to roll….more than twenty other radio stations followed suit and banned Beatles music…. The public were keen to show their anger – in the South especially – demonstrations were held, bonfires lit, Beatles memorabilia and records burned…. Soon the protests crossed over to Mexico and on to other particularly religious countries – such as Spain and South Africa…. The Vatican issued a public denouncement of Lennon’s comments….

Unfortunately the controversy coincided with the upcoming US tour scheduled for August and the recent release of the album ‘Revolver’….

Fair use

Lennon apologised for his comments, cheekily saying “If I had said television was more popular than Jesus, I might have got away with it”…. The Press were somewhat sympathetic….

However, it was touch and go as to whether the tour would go ahead – but it was decided that it should…. Overshadowed by disturbances and protests – even being picketed by the Ku Klux Klan – some dates were cancelled, such as Memphis – because the Beatles were not welcome in town….

There was some support for the Beatles though…. One Kentucky radio station said it would play Beatles music in order to show its “contempt for hypocrisy personified”…. And a Jesuit magazine – ‘America’ – wrote that “Lennon was simply stating what many a Christian educator would readily admit”….