Flashermac Posted September 18, 2005 Report Share Posted September 18, 2005 Lennon's first wife tells her story in new book Sunday September 18, 2005 NEW YORK (Reuters) - John Lennon's first wife Cynthia says she and her son were "airbrushed" from the Beatles' story and wants to set things straight in a book that reveals he once hit her and ruined their marriage with drugs. "I'm a great believer in justice in life and I think there has to be two sides," she told Reuters in an interview about her new book "John," which hits bookstores on September 27. It is one of a clutch of books to be published ahead of the 25th anniversary of Lennon's murder on December 8, 1980, including one edited by his widow, Yoko Ono, that will be a collection of tributes and anecdotes by friends and celebrities. It also comes hot on the heels of a Broadway musical produced under Ono's guidance that was criticised as one-sided and that will close this month after a mere six-week run. Reviewers said the show was more about John's life with Ono than his life as a Beatle. Cynthia Lennon rejects the idea that her book is a retaliatory blow. "(When) I read about the battle of the widows, I thought 'I'm not John's widow, Yoko is John's widow,'" she said, adding that she does not harbour any bitterness towards Ono. The woman who met Lennon at art school in Liverpool said that while countless books had told the story of the Fab Four who revolutionised popular music in the sixties, not many have been written by those involved. "The fans deserve it," she said. "They should have a true perspective on what's going on from everybody who was connected," she said by telephone from her home in Spain. In the book, she describes the early days of the Beatles, from Liverpool to Hamburg, and how her marriage was kept secret because the band's manager, Brian Epstein, thought it did not suit a Beatle's image to have a wife and baby in tow. She also recounts how Lennon once hit her out of jealousy when they were dating, and how his use of the psychedelic drug LSD destroyed their marriage. "It's the intimacy of the story that I have tried to portray," she said, adding that she feels like she and her son Julian, now 42, were "airbrushed" out of the story. Much of the story of their 1962-1969 marriage she already told in her 1978 book "A Twist of Lennon." But the new book adds details of John's relationship with Julian after the divorce and the impact of his death in 1980. There is also more about Ono, who married Lennon in 1969 and who controls his estate. Cynthia Lennon describes her growing suspicions about Ono's evolving affair with John during the marriage, and how Lennon's grieving widow made clear that his ex-wife was not welcome immediately after he was slain. "It's not as though you're an old school friend of mine, Cynthia," she recalls Ono telling her when she suggested accompanying her son Julian to New York after Lennon was shot by John Chapman. Julian, a teenager at the time, went to New York without his mother. The book, to be published by the Crown Books unit of Random House, also discusses the other woman in Lennon's life, May Pang, with whom he lived during a break from Ono. Pang has written her own book called "John Lennon: The Lost Weekend." Now 66 and with her fourth husband, Cynthia Lennon makes no apologies for selling letters and memorabilia after the divorce, saying: "It did pay a lot of bills." And while the book discusses her divorce settlement and money problems, she says she does not dwell on such things. "Money was never of any importance to me because I married a budding Beatle, but I fell in love with an art student." She said writing the book was painful but she wanted to add her piece to the "jigsaw puzzle" of the Beatles' legend. "I think about this as the Bible," she joked, recalling Lennon's famous declaration that the Beatles were more popular than Jesus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torneyboy Posted September 18, 2005 Report Share Posted September 18, 2005 Not for money Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuckwoww Posted September 19, 2005 Report Share Posted September 19, 2005 Torneyboy said:Not for money A few more details.... http://tinyurl.com/7qt2m the John Lennon musical bombed by the way. The New York Post said the show was "so shaky it can scarcely stagger from one side of the stage to another". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evel_Penivel Posted September 19, 2005 Report Share Posted September 19, 2005 If the woman is on her fourth husband, she's either very unlucky or damn hard to live with. Yoko must have had a good personality (or at least gives a world-class BJ), it couldn't have been because of her looks or talent Lennon was attracted to her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dean Posted September 19, 2005 Report Share Posted September 19, 2005 The two surviving members should come out with a Beatles version of "Mama Mia!". Not really being a big fan of Abba, I saw the musical a couple of years ago and didn't realize that the two persons listed as the creators of the play were the two male member os Abba. In all earnest, I think that Ringo could really use the money! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuckwoww Posted September 19, 2005 Report Share Posted September 19, 2005 dean said:The two surviving members should come out with a Beatles version of "Mama Mia!". Not really being a big fan of Abba, I saw the musical a couple of years ago and didn't realize that the two persons listed as the creators of the play were the two male member os Abba. In all earnest, I think that Ringo could really use the money! Sir Paul would be the one to do it I guess. Funny thing about Abba. They used to make me squirm...now I find myself liking them more and more. Great engineering. Amazing how they got such an exciting sound out of so little. Never saw them live. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuckwoww Posted September 19, 2005 Report Share Posted September 19, 2005 Evel_Penivel said:If the woman is on her fourth husband, she's either very unlucky or damn hard to live with. Yoko must have had a good personality (or at least gives a world-class BJ), it couldn't have been because of her looks or talent Lennon was attracted to her. Those exotic Asian women you know...plain little Scouser doesn't stand a chance. Happens all the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest lazyphil Posted September 19, 2005 Report Share Posted September 19, 2005 A Flake?...more like a Topic, IMO of course. Boom Boom. Ran out of my blue tablets today, solly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torneyboy Posted September 19, 2005 Report Share Posted September 19, 2005 you can say that again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BelgianBoy Posted September 19, 2005 Report Share Posted September 19, 2005 Happy BD Torney ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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