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Post by vectisfabber on Sept 24, 2012 3:24:13 GMT -5
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 24, 2012 8:57:13 GMT -5
Keep us informed, let me know if it was worth reading....
Davies usually puts together good prose.....
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Post by John S. Damm on Sept 24, 2012 10:44:45 GMT -5
This book sounds like it will be good!
I remember in the Ray Coleman book on Lennon being fascinated by some of John's letters that Cynthia Lennon obviously furnished him and he reprinted. The one that caused me to pause was where John was on tour in the U.S.(maybe 1965) and admitting to be a bastard as to not being around for Julian.
Of course, John would continue to struggle in that regard as a father to Julian but he at least recognized in that letter his short-comings. I know some will say "talk is cheap" but I still credit John for admitting a problem he had. I know men who would never admit that they were absentee fathers and pretend everything was fine.
This book should be at least interesting. I hope they transcribe in print handwritten letters as I can't always read John's handwriting! ;D
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Post by debjorgo on Oct 8, 2012 22:27:02 GMT -5
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Post by winstonoboogie on Oct 9, 2012 16:14:48 GMT -5
Well, not to excuse it, but it could be argued that John was still bitter and angry over the Beatles' breakup. But hopefully John and George Martin mended fences before John's death.
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Post by Steve Marinucci on Oct 9, 2012 16:26:27 GMT -5
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lowbasso
A Hard Day's Knight
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Post by lowbasso on Oct 9, 2012 19:09:56 GMT -5
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Post by Steve Marinucci on Oct 9, 2012 19:44:51 GMT -5
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Post by debjorgo on Oct 9, 2012 20:07:40 GMT -5
That's the same link I posted three post's above.
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lowbasso
A Hard Day's Knight
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Post by lowbasso on Oct 10, 2012 11:52:36 GMT -5
That's the same link I posted three post's above. Sorry debjorgo, missed your post amoung the throngs of casting call postings of Beatles Nostalgia. Apologies.
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Post by John S. Damm on Oct 10, 2012 12:41:31 GMT -5
Al Jazeera? I don't know, maybe that was one interview you should be glad got cancelled! It would probably link Hunter Davies (and thus you) to something controversial in that corner of the world! I did find an article on the English version website called Communism, hypnotism and the Beatles redux: www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2012/10/2012108141343581483.html
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lowbasso
A Hard Day's Knight
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Post by lowbasso on Oct 11, 2012 10:34:54 GMT -5
Be careful if you do an interview with Al Jazeera....anything you say could result in a Fatwa being issued against you and then you'd have to go into hiding for decades....
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Post by Steve Marinucci on Oct 11, 2012 11:02:48 GMT -5
That's the same link I posted three post's above. No, there's a difference. It's my affiliate link and supports me.
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Post by Steve Marinucci on Oct 11, 2012 11:03:57 GMT -5
Al Jazeera? I don't know, maybe that was one interview you should be glad got cancelled! It would probably link Hunter Davies (and thus you) to something controversial in that corner of the world! I did find an article on the English version website called Communism, hypnotism and the Beatles redux: www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2012/10/2012108141343581483.htmlNo, John, I'm sorry it didn't happen. For one, it would have been on worldwide TV. Oh well...
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Post by acebackwords on Oct 11, 2012 15:18:21 GMT -5
Interesting post. My favorite line was from John's angry letter to Paul in 1971: "When people ask me questions about 'What did George Martin REALLY do?' I have only one answer, 'What does he do now?' I notice you had no answer for that! Its not a putdown, its the truth." I wonder if John's answer would have been a little different a couple years later after George scored all those number one hits with America. And probably more number ones than John scored.
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andyb
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Post by andyb on Oct 11, 2012 15:53:34 GMT -5
Probably.
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Post by debjorgo on Oct 11, 2012 16:51:52 GMT -5
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lowbasso
A Hard Day's Knight
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Post by lowbasso on Oct 27, 2012 19:26:18 GMT -5
Been reading The John Lennon Letters Book now for the past week. Came across an interesting one that divulged some info I had never heard before; John had come across an interview with Cynthia, his ex-wife, where a newspaper was about to serialise her memoirs, "A Twist Of Lennon." That book had an account of why their marraige had failed in 1968. And John wrote a reply to her about the account; adding some details of what he claims Cynthia said to him in 1974 when she visited him with Julian. Cynthia says most of John's allegations in the letter were 'stupid'.
Letter to Cynthia in 1976 (page 305 in the book):
Dear Cynthia, As you well know our marraige was long over before the advent of LSD or Yoko Ono, and that's reality! Your memory is impaired, to say the least. Your version of our first LSD trip is rather vague. And you seem to have forgotten subsequent trips all altogether. You also seem to have forgotten that, only two years ago, while I was separated from Yoko Ono, you suddenly brought Julian to see me after three years of silence. During this visit, you didn't allow me to be alone with him for one moment. You even asked me to remarry you and or give you another child for Julian's sake. I politely told you no, and that anyway I was still in love with Yoko (which I thought was very down to earth). There were no detectives sent to Italy. Our mutual friend, Alex Mardas, went to Bassanini's (Cynthia's second husband) hotel to see how you were, as you said you were too ill to come home. Finally I don't blame you for wanting to get away from your Beatles past, but if you are serious about it, you should avoid talking to and posing for mags and newspapers. We did have some good years, so dwell on them for a change, and as Dylan says, it was a 'simple twist of fate' Have a good luck to you from the 3 of us John
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Post by acebackwords on Nov 11, 2012 20:32:35 GMT -5
Been reading The John Lennon Letters Book now for the past week. Came across an interesting one that divulged some info I had never heard before; John had come across an interview with Cynthia, his ex-wife, where a newspaper was about to serialise her memoirs, "A Twist Of Lennon." That book had an account of why their marraige had failed in 1968. And John wrote a reply to her about the account; adding some details of what he claims Cynthia said to him in 1974 when she visited him with Julian.oh Cynthia says most of John's allegations in the letter were 'stupid'. Letter to Cynthia in 1976 (page 305 in the book): Dear Cynthia, As you well know our marraige was long over before the advent of LSD or Yoko Ono, and that's reality! Your memory is impaired, to say the least. Your version of our first LSD trip is rather vague. And you seem to have forgotten subsequent trips all altogether. You also seem to have forgotten that, only two years ago, while I was separated from Yoko Ono, you suddenly brought Julian to see me after three years of silence. During this visit, you didn't allow me to be alone with him for one moment. You even asked me to remarry you and or give you another child for Julian's sake. I politely told you no, and that anyway I was still in love with Yoko (which I thought was very down to earth). There were no detectives sent to Italy. Our mutual friend, Alex Mardas, went to Bassanini's (Cynthia's second husband) hotel to see how you were, as you said you were too ill to come home. Finally I don't blame you for wanting to get away from your Beatles past, but if you are serious about it, you should avoid talking to and posing for mags and newspapers. We did have some good years, so dwell on them for a change, and as Dylan says, it was a 'simple twist of fate' Have a good luck to you from the 3 of us John
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lowbasso
A Hard Day's Knight
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Post by lowbasso on Nov 12, 2012 12:11:25 GMT -5
Finished the book last week thanks to all the free time I had sitting in the dark with no power due to Hurricane Sandy.
Really interesting book. Along with the letter I posted above in this thread about Cynthia trying to restore her marraige to John during his "Lost Weekend" period; this, according to John, but which Cynthia says was nonsense, another comment his Aunt Mimi apparently made to him during the last few years he was alive in the late 70's jumped out at me from the book as a pretty cruel thing to say to him after he had become iconic in the world and he had arranged for her to live in relative comfort in a nice home for the remaining years of her life.
Hunter Davies says Mimi said this to John on Pg. 340 of the book, though he does not produce a letter from Mimi to John as evidence nor explain his source of this quote but nevertheless says she made it to John;
"His relationship with Mimi was complicated - loving yet resentful. He knew that she adored him, and that, having brought him up as her son, her life revolved around him. On the other hand he felt she had been too hard on him, too much the disciplinarian when he was growing up. Even as he approached the age of forty, she was still telling him off saying he was too thin, too silly, too obscene, too far away, 'an idiot who had got lucky.'"
Wow. To call him "an idiot who got lucky." That is pretty strong in my book to say about someone you really cared about. That must have been hard to hear..... I hope that was not the last thing John heard from her before he tragically died.
She was one tough bird. She lived on a few years beyond John's murder. I wonder if she ever regretted saying such a thing to John so close to losing him.
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Post by acebackwords on Nov 12, 2012 13:51:49 GMT -5
Lowbasso. In my opinion that is Lennon at his bullshit artist worstt. Lennon had hundreds of extramarital affairs but he sued Cynthia for divorce on grounds of adultery for a one night stand she had with Magic Alex that Lennon himself had set up.. A strategum that backfired when Yoko showed up in court 6 months pregnant.
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lowbasso
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Post by lowbasso on Nov 12, 2012 20:26:48 GMT -5
Lowbasso. In my opinion that is Lennon at his bullshit artist wot. Lennon had hundreds of extramarital affairs but he sued Cynthia for divorce on grounds of adultery for a one night stand she had with Magic Alex that Lennon himself had set. A strategum that backfired when Yoko showed up in court 6 months pregnant. I am sure John's divorce lawyer was also responsible for determining how he got out of the marraige with Cynthia. Divorce proceedings are always seedy no matter who is involved. I don't see why he would want to treat Cynthia like he says in the letter in the mid-70's, especially with Julian in the middle of it all.
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Post by acebackwords on Nov 13, 2012 13:02:03 GMT -5
Finished the book last week thanks to all the free time I had sitting in the dark with no power due to Hurricane Sandy. Really interesting book. Along with the letter I posted above in this thread about Cynthia trying to restore her marraige to John during his "Lost Weekend" period; this, according to John, but which Cynthia says was nonsense,= May Pang writes about that incident in her book. Cynthia made some innocent comment about how she always wished they had had another baby together, which John interpretted as a desparate and devious desire to revive their marriage by any means (I guess the drugs were kicking in at that point). Pang, too, thought John's reaction was nonsense. I've always been fascinated by Mimi. She seemed madly, obsessively in love with John. It was practically a lover's triangle with Mimi competing against Julia, and prevailing in wresting John away from her. But for all her "love" she seemed to disapprove of virtually every aspect of John's life, character, personality, appearance, etc. And has been pointed out, her primary weapon against John was to constantly shame him. Its no wonder John ended up such a conflicted person. Lowbasso: I'd be curious if the letters changed your opinion about Lennon in any way or if you felt you learned new things about him.
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andyb
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Post by andyb on Nov 13, 2012 13:53:31 GMT -5
I read the book recently and all it proved to me is that John was sh*t at at writing letters.
Waste of £15 or whatever it cost me.
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lowbasso
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Post by lowbasso on Nov 13, 2012 14:15:56 GMT -5
Finished the book last week thanks to all the free time I had sitting in the dark with no power due to Hurricane Sandy. Really interesting book. Along with the letter I posted above in this thread about Cynthia trying to restore her marraige to John during his "Lost Weekend" period; this, according to John, but which Cynthia says was nonsense,= May Pang writes about that incident in her book. Cynthia made some innocent comment about how she always wished they had had another baby together, which John interpretted as a desparate and devious desire to revive their marriage by any means (I guess the drugs were kicking in at that point). Pang, too, thought John's reaction was nonsense. I've always been fascinated by Mimi. She seemed madly, obsessively in love with John. It was practically a lover's triangle with Mimi competing against Julia, and prevailing in wresting John away from her. But for all her "love" she seemed to disapprove of virtually every aspect of John's life, character, personality, appearance, etc. And has been pointed out, her primary weapon against John was to constantly shame him. Its no wonder John ended up such a conflicted person. Lowbasso: I'd be curious if the letters changed your opinion about Lennon in any way or if you felt you learned new things about him. You make some good points Ace about how Mimi was always so negative to John, even after his band became the greatest pop group of all time and his songwriting with Paul, and alone achieved legendary status as some of the best music written in the 20th century. To still call him "an idiot who got lucky" is sad on her part. I found the letters, especially to his family and relatives, very kind and often upbeat. He genuinely cared for his extended family, especially his half-sisters and cousins. He is not as acerbic or acidic in his letterwriting as he often was in interviews. Perhaps because he wasn't in the limelight on the occasions of his letterwriting. Even when he lashes out at Cynthia in the mid-70's over her not letting him spend enough time alone with Julian, he still reminds her that they did have some good times during their marraige. He is rather harsh on George Martin, but you can also see (if you read between the lines) he really knows deep down how much Martin contributed to the success of the recordings. My overall impression is of a more genuine, heartfelt, personal John in his letters than you got from him in public in front of the camera. I enjoyed the book. John is the most enigmatic of The Beatles, so any chance to read more of his actual writings during his lifetime, be it letters, or song lyrics, is always worth it. I enjoyed the book on those terms. Did you read it as well Ace?
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Post by acebackwords on Nov 13, 2012 16:51:25 GMT -5
Did you read it as well Ace? Not yet but I look forward to checking it out. I've read some of Lennon's letters over the years that were printed in magazines and some of them were pretty hilarious (like the blasting he gave Dodd, I mean Todd, Rundgren).
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Post by John S. Damm on Nov 13, 2012 22:44:32 GMT -5
I remember Cynthia Lennon's first book and it was one of the rare times we heard about John between 1976 and August 1980 as John was pissed off about the book and tried to stop it through litigation. WTF! John should have paid Cynthia for writing such a mild, fairly good-natured book. Sure, she was hurt and expressed some anger but it was mild and in that first book she concluded that Yoko was probably best for John. I thought John over-reacted to such a mild and ultimately forgiving book. I didn't read Cynthia's re-write about 20 years later but her first book was mild. Shut-up John and put your big-boy pants on for this book!
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Post by acebackwords on Nov 14, 2012 15:00:55 GMT -5
I remember Cynthia Lennon's first book and it was one of the rare times we heard about John between 1976 and August 1980 as John was pissed off about the book and tried to stop it through litigation. Ironic, considering that Lennon was the one who always complained bitterly when one of his songs got banned by the BBC, and he pretty much took the public role of the great free speech activists. But I guess those sentiments didn't always cut both ways with John. One thing's for sure: John was quite frightened about some of the things Cynthia COULD have written (wonder what that was?). And he was quite grateful and relieved at how "mild" the book turned out to be. According to the book "Nowhere Man" (the one based on his journals) John said a prayer and sent out a "bless you!" psychic message in Cynthia's direction after reading it.
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Post by acebackwords on Nov 14, 2012 15:07:28 GMT -5
Lennon quote: "Your version of our first LSD trip is rather vague. And you seem to have forgotten subsequent trips all altogether." I'm curious about this one. Does anyone know anything about this? As far as I know Cynthia only took 2 acid trips -- the time they got dosed by their dentist, and a time at a party where she hallucinated that John turned into "a giant mule with razor sharp teeth leering and laughing at me." Bummer, man.
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Post by John S. Damm on Nov 14, 2012 15:58:53 GMT -5
And he was quite grateful and relieved at how "mild" the book turned out to be. According to the book "Nowhere Man" (the one based on his journals) John said a prayer and sent out a "bless you!" psychic message in Cynthia's direction after reading it. I have the book NM and I had forgotten John's ultimate relief. But man he put up a fight apparently before reading it. He was mad that she wrote any type of book. It could have been a poetry book and John would have been pissed. In Howard Sounes' book Fab about Paul, it is claimed Paul always got catty with his brother Mike if Paul thought in the least that Mike was exploiting the connection to Paul. Paul did not like Mike doing anything professionally under the McCartney name. None of the Beatles approved of books being written by family, business associates or friends no matter how flattering the books. The Beatles felt that was exploiting them. Now it was okay for them to spill dirt themselves or exploit themselves for money but how dare an ex-wife(Cynthia), brother(Mike "McGear" McCartney) or sister(Louise Harrison) do so! I say good to Cynthia for at least her first book(I withhold judgment on her second book) as I am sure that she needed the money and she was classy about it.
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