October 9 John Lennon. John Lennon: unconquered rebel and eternal romantic - photo. Stranger John Lennon

John Lennon was born on October 9th. John Lennon and Cynthia Powell: The marriage that failed

The first wife of the famous singer and musician Cynthia Powell is not nearly as famous as Yoko Ono. They met as students and were together for 10 years. Sin, as Lennon called her, was always in the shadow of her husband, did not strive for fame and did not interfere with his career. She simply was the keeper of his home until new feelings captured John Lennon.

Student love

Cynthia Powell. / Photo: www.heydullblog.com

Cynthia Powell first saw John in a calligraphy class. He entered the audience late, which immediately attracted everyone's attention. Lennon was wearing some kind of shapeless coat and tight trousers. It was as if he was challenging everyone present. Not only with his appearance, but with his slightly daring demeanor

John Lennon in his youth. / Photo: www.warrenkinsella.com

Cynthia, who received the title “Miss Importance” among students, was not eager to meet her rude classmate. She was a decent girl and a very diligent student. She always dressed in a formal suit and spoke only correct English.

Meanwhile, John sat down at the desk behind Sylvia and clapped her familiarly on the shoulder, introducing himself. Could the modest Sylvia imagine that after some time she would fall in love with this awkward young man, whose manners almost frightened her at first?

John Lennon and Cynthia Powell, 1960. / Photo: www.histolines.com

Soon she noticed how he looked at the blonde passing by with admiration, noticing that she looked like Brigitte Bardot. And the next morning, the shy Powell appeared in the audience with blond hair. Her efforts did not go unnoticed. At the next party, John invited her to escape from the boring company and spend time together. From that day on, Cynthia and John became inseparable. Young and carefree lovers enjoyed each other's company. And they thought it would last forever.

Modest wedding

John and Cynthia Lennon. / Photo: www.histolines.com

The news of his girlfriend's pregnancy stunned John, but he behaved quite well. Despite the fact that marriage could have ruined his musical career, he proposed marriage to the girl.

The producer of the group in which John played was afraid that the leader’s marriage would negatively affect the band’s popularity. Brian Epstein demanded that Cynthia never appear at The Beatles performance venues or have any contact with the press. To the public, John Lennon must be a promising bachelor. Cynthia could only agree.

This is how Cynthia illustrated her own wedding. / Photo: www.beatles-chronology.ru

Their wedding ceremony took place in an atmosphere of strict secrecy. The producer himself was the best man, and the guests were Paul McCartney, George Harrison and the bride's older brother Tony and his wife Margery. The musical accompaniment was the unimaginable roar from a jackhammer working outside. The bride and groom had little understanding of what was happening around them. And only after leaving the registration hall they finally realized that they had become husband and wife.

In addition to the festive dinner, paid for by Brian, the newlyweds received a truly royal gift from the producer: he provided their use of his apartment, which he used extremely rarely.

Stranger John Lennon

John Lennon. / Photo: www.cyprus-mail.com

Their family life can hardly be called ideal. At the time of their marriage to Cynthia, the Fab Four were not yet known or popular outside their hometown. Income was unstable and rather modest, which is why the young family had to constantly change their place of residence.

Julian Lennon was born in April 1963, the boy's father was on tour at that time. The baby was baptized secretly; even John himself found out about it only two days later. Brian Epstein became Julian's godfather.

John and Cynthia Lennon with their son Julian. / Photo: www.vesti.az

Despite the fact that John Lennon was not distinguished by puritanical behavior, he demanded unconditional devotion from his wife. He was jealous of her even towards her friends and started ugly scandals. Cynthia, who unconditionally loved her husband, forgave him a lot. She always hoped to change him for the better.

She devoted herself completely to John and Julian. And she could not do anything, seeing how her husband was moving away from her. Fame had already begun to make his head spin. The house Lennon bought, the servants, the drivers, could not replace John himself. Just as they could not replace a father to a growing son.

Divorce

John and Cynthia Lennon. / Photo: www.rediff.com

The end of their family life was sad for Cynthia. Lennon, after returning from a trip to the Maharishi in India, admitted to his wife that he had numerous relationships with women around the world. And soon Cynthia found John and Yoko Ono in their own marital bed. She did not object when he asked for a divorce in 1968.

Her greatest pain was the pain of her own son. John Lennon, who did not particularly indulge the boy with his company, completely ceased to be interested in his son’s life after the divorce. He completely surrendered to the power of new feelings. And he devoted himself to raising his second son, Sean, who was born in the marriage of a musician and Yoko Ono.

Cynthia Lennon with her son Julian. / Photo: www.pinimg.com

When Cynthia Lennon was asked at the end of her life whether she would go all the way with John again, knowing what awaited her, she just shook her head and said that she would have left without looking back. She wrote the book “My Husband John,” which makes you look at the famous musician from a completely different perspective. Cynthia died in 2015 from cancer.

When John and Cynthia were already divorcing, the musician dedicated a song to his son Julian, which later became a real hit.

“Hey Jude”: one of the most popular songs of “The Beatles”, dedicated to the son of John Lennon

At the age of 4, John entered primary school near the now famous Penny Lane. Quite early on, he began to compose himself, mainly poetry, which he himself illustrated.

In 1952, John moved from primary school to secondary school, which was called " "It was a typical English school with harsh discipline and a strict routine that was not inferior to that of the institute. John, with his unbridled character, never became even an average student in it; on the contrary, from the very beginning he declared war on the school rules of behavior.

The only subjects in which John showed interest and in which he demonstrated remarkable ability were drawing, English and literature, although even here his inclinations did not coincide with the curriculum. He still wrote short poems, drew caricatures and simply made sketches, sometimes of indecent content. He was not at all interested in music then.

Until the beginning of 1956, Lennon only watched as new music absorbed his peers one after another, as rock and roll became not just a musical style, but a style of clothing, behavior, and life. Song"Rock Around The Clock", which topped the British charts in January 1956, had not yet convinced him, but in February a new song was broadcast on the radio "Heartbreak Hotel", and John was absolutely captivated.

He convinced Mimi to buy him a used guitar. Julia knew how to play the banjo a little and willingly helped John master the simplest chords.

The new music required at least known playing skills, so John decided that for now he would be satisfied with skiffle - an original synthesis of American country music and British folk traditions. He did not rack his brains for long over the composition of his ensemble, but included Pete Shotton, Nigel Whalley and Ivan Vaughan - his closest friends.

They named the group after the school -. Soon the ensemble was joined by Rod Davis, Eric Griffiths and Colin Hanton. At first they performed rarely - at festivals in youth clubs, at skiffle group competitions. On July 6, 1957, the group played at a celebration in the garden of St. Peter's Church. Ivan Vaughan invited a school friend with him to the concert, who played the guitar excellently and could interest John. Comrade's name was.

John liked Paul, but tried not to show it. It was only when McCartney sang Eddie Cochran's new hit "Twenty Flight Rock" that John could not resist and asked to copy the words. A week later, Lennon, through Pete, invited Paul to join the group. John attended school sporadically, and it is not surprising that he failed all his exams. In the end, the director took pity on him and gave him a recommendation for admission to the Liverpool College of Art.

July 15, 1958 Julia Lennon was hit bycar. As John later recalled, at that moment he experienced the greatest shock of his life. And it’s hard to say how it all would have ended if it weren’t for Paul, rock and roll and new college friends.

One of John's new friends was Stuart Sutcliffe, an extremely talented art student. They were interesting and understandable to each other. Stewart, influenced by John, became interested in rock and roll.

At art college, John met Cynthia Powell.

They dated, then began to live with Cynthia. Cynthia was absolutely sure that sooner or later John would leave her, and when in the summer of 1962 she told him that she was pregnant, she was sincerely surprised by his proposal to get married. The wedding took place on August 23.

John and Yoko

In November 1966, John met in London the Japanese avant-garde artist Yoko Ono, who came to England with an exhibition of her works. On November 8, John divorced Cynthia. Their son Julian was 5 years old at the time. On March 20, 1969, the marriage of John Lennon and Yoko Ono was registered in Gibraltar.

On May 26, John and Yoko, staying in a room at Montreal's Queen Elizabeth Hotel, began an eight-day stand-up demonstration for peace. For eight days they sat in pajamas under blankets, talking with friends and giving interviews to journalists.

On the seventh day (June 1), Lennon impromptu composed the song "Give Peace A Chance".

On September 13, 1969, the debut concert of The Plastic Ono Band took place. The ensemble then included Eric Clapton, Klaus Voorman and Alan White. By this time, Lennon had already announced to Paul, George and Ringo his decision to leave the Beatles. The reason for this step was the refusal of McCartney and Harrison to record the song "Cold Turkey" as a quartet. Paul and George thought she was too weak for the Beatles. John recorded the song with the Plastic Ono Band and released it as a single in October.

Perhaps the press in 1969 did not pay as much attention to any rock musician as to John Lennon. On December 15, he and Yoko Ono organized an anti-war concert under the slogan “War Is Over (If You Want).”

On December 30, British television dedicated a special program to Lennon, naming him among the three political figures of the decade, that is, placing him side by side with Mao Zedong and John Kennedy.

1970 began no less stormy for him. On January 5, John announced in Denmark that from now on he would spend all income from songs and records on organizing the fight for peace.

In March 1971, Lennon released a single with his call-to song “Power To The People”. In the summer of that year, John and Yoko took part in a protest march against the use of British troops in Northern Ireland, held a series of actions in support of the Scottish shipbuilders' strike, and on September 3 flew from London to New York. John Lennon never returned to his homeland.

Lennon was a terrible driver. At the age of 25, he received a driver's license and 2 years later he crashes his famous Rolls-Royce, injuring himself, Yoko Ono and the children who were with them. After that, he gave up driving forever.

He eventually disposed of the Rolls-Royce to pay off a $250,000 tax bill. After his death, the car was sold at auction for $2.3 million.

Arriving in the United States, he immediately became involved in the struggle for civil rights of Indians and for easing the regime in local prisons.

On March 23, 1973, authorities granted Yoko legal permanent residence in the United States. On the same day, John Lennon was ordered to leave the country within 2 months. This move could be seen as an attempt to drive a wedge between John and Yoko. Whether for this reason or for other reasons, by the fall they actually quarreled seriously, so much so that they separated for more than a year.

In music, his last major political effort was the double album Some Time In New York City (1972). The album was not successful: an excessive dose of “current politics” in the songs turned out to be disastrous, which John himself later admitted in an interview.

The album "Mind Games" (1973) was taken in a completely different vein. By 1975, John and Yoko were living together again. On October 9, 1975, their son Sean was born, and Lennon decided to temporarily leave the world of music and show business for his sake. This “for a while” resulted in five long years, during which John was an exemplary “householder” and father.

He crossed the threshold of the recording studio again only on August 4, 1980, when he began work on the album “Double Fantasy”. Appearing in November, the disc amazed listeners with its freshness, sophistication of melodies and arrangements, depth and clarity of lyrics.

In those days, John and Yoko gave frequent and long interviews to journalists. John willingly shared his plans.

On December 8, 1980, around 11 p.m., a maniac named Mark David Chapman killed him with five shots at point-blank range.

John Lennon died on the way to the hospital.

(John Lennon) received the status of a legend during his lifetime. He not only wrote dozens of immortal hits, but also took a direct part in the creation of The Beatles. After the collapse of the musical group, Lennon continued to work solo and release albums.

Interesting facts from the life of John Lennon

Childhood star

The future musician was born on October 9, 1940 and received the name John Winston Lennon. His hometown is Liverpool. John was not even 5 years old when his parents divorced. Over time, the mother of the future musician married for the second time and gave her son to be raised by his aunt.

Mimi Smith raised the boy strictly and never tired of telling him that music would never bring him a stable income. Despite her words, Lennon continued to spend all his free time playing the guitar.

School years

John was not at all interested in studying school subjects, so the boy consistently received only “twos” and “threes.” But his creative abilities manifested themselves very early - John not only independently published a school newspaper, but also assembled a real musical group, which was called The Quarrymen.

The Making of The Beatles

Lennon founded a group called The Quarrymen in 1956. In total, the band consisted of 6 people, and John himself took the place of guitarist. After some time, two more talented guys joined the group - Paul McCartney and George Harrison.

The Quarrymen team existed for 3 years, after which its name was changed to The Beatles. At the very beginning of their creative journey, Lennon became the unofficial leader of the group and retained this status until the collapse of the group.

Difficult character

John Lennon's violent temper was known to everyone around him. The musician could not only say a harsh word, but also easily start a fight. During one of the performances, the artist heard an insult directed at himself from one of those present at the concert. John stopped playing, went down into the hall and started a fight with the offender. After the fight stopped, the musician got up on stage and continued performing.

Addiction

At the peak of his popularity, John began using hard drugs. In 1967, he became interested in the teachings of Timothy Leary, who devoted his life to the study of psychedelic states. As a result, Lennon became heavily addicted to illegal substances. Fortunately, a year later he managed to get rid of his addiction, and he replaced drugs with meditation.

Solo activities

The Beatles group existed for 10 years, although 3 years before the official breakup Lennon focused on solo activities. There were no problems with writing new compositions, because it was John who created a huge part of The Beatles' repertoire. The musician presented his first solo collection in 1970, after which he began to regularly expand his discography. Before his death, he managed to present 6 studio albums, and after his murder, 3 more collections of compositions were released.

Acting talent

John Lennon was a very versatile person. He studied not only music, poetry and drawing, but was also interested in cinema. He starred in several films, but none of them managed to become successful. Lennon's acting skills can be appreciated in such films as "Yellow Submarine" and "How I Won the War." Together with his second wife, Lennon was involved in directing. They made 10 films that went unnoticed by viewers.

Personal life

In 1962, Cynthia Powell became the musician's wife. Their marriage lasted 6 years, during which the couple had a son, Julian. By the way, he followed in his father’s footsteps and connected his life with music. Lennon found true family happiness in his second marriage. The guitarist married artist Yoko Ono in 1969. They were inseparable until the death of the legendary musician. In 1975, the couple had a son, Sean, who is now a singer.

Lennon's death

The legendary musician passed away on December 8, 1980. American Mark Chapman shot John several times right in the middle of the street. Medics quickly arrived at the scene, but they were unable to save Lennon. Mark Chapman was a fan of The Beatles and decided to become famous throughout the world through murder.

John Lennon's killer is still serving a life sentence in his cell. However, he does not lose hope of being released, and regularly asks the authorities for early release.

Lennon's colleagues Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney are planning, which Lennon wrote. The musicians want to honor their friend's memory.

Every self-respecting Beatlemaniac celebrates John Lennon's birthday every year on October 9th. Even people far from rock music have heard this name. The rock legend would have turned 78 years old. Sputnik recalls interesting facts from the life of one of the brightest rebels of the 20th century, John Lennon.

The parents named the boy John Winston Lennon in honor of his paternal grandfather, John "Jack" Lennon, and Prime Minister Winston Churchill.

The number 9 turned out to be fatal for him in the literal sense. John was born on October 9 at 6:30 a.m. (6+3+0=9), lived in house number 9. Lennon's height was 180 cm (1+8+0=9). He met the future manager of the Beatles, Brian Epstein, on November 9, 1961. The contract for the first recording of the Beatles' first disc was signed on May 9, 1962. Lennon met Yoko Ono, his second wife, on November 9, 1966. It is known that when the Beatles were on tour, John usually got apartment number nine. Even the number "9" appears in the titles of several of Lennon's songs. For example, One after 909, Revolution 9, No. 9 Dream...

Mark Chapman shot John Lennon on the evening of December 8, 1980 in New York, while in his native UK it was already December 9, 1980. And now the top 15 facts without mysticism.

1. Lennon was born during the German bombing of Liverpool.

2. John had poor eyesight. In his youth, he refused to wear glasses. When Lennon visited cinemas as a teenager, he asked his friends to tell him what was happening on the screen. Already when the musician became famous, he found his “signature” form of glasses. The image of Lennon that is familiar to us arose in the late 60s, when The Beatles practically broke up.

3. Young Lennon led a well-known gang of hooligans in Liverpool, which kept the entire neighborhood in fear. Nowadays such aggressive loafers are called gopniks.

4. His aunt was involved in raising the future rocker. His mother didn't care about him. Although John idolized his mother. Her death was a serious shock for him. A woman was hit by a police officer. Since then, Lennon did not like those who personified law and order.

5. John did poorly at school, but he published a magazine in which he drew caricatures of teachers - a rebellious spirit settled in him from an early age.

6. When John was establishing himself in a teenage gang, he often crossed paths with his future colleagues in The Beatles. Young Lennon fought with both Paul McCartney and George Harrison. John put together his first beat group, The Quarrymen, while still at school; it had 5 musicians: two guitarists, two drummers and one played washboard. When Paul McCartney and George Harrison joined, the name was changed to Silver Beetles, and then to The Beatles.

7. Lennon composed lyrics for songs, and also wrote prose and poetry.

8. Lennon became a millionaire at age 23.

9. In 1963, speaking to the royal family, announcing the next number, Lennon exclaimed with mischief: “Those who are sitting in the cheap seats, please applaud. The rest can limit themselves to the jingling of their precious jewelry!”

10. In the mid-60s, Queen Elizabeth II presented the Beatles with the highest award - the Order of the British Empire. In 1969, the musician returned this award to the Queen with the signature "With love. John." It was a protest over British support for US aggression in Vietnam.

11. In addition to his musical activities, Lennon was also known as a political activist. He expressed his views both in songs and in public speeches. The famous song "Imagine" expresses Lennon's thoughts about how the world should work. Lennon preached the ideas of equality and brotherhood of people, peace, freedom. This made him a hippie idol and one of the most significant public figures of the 1960s and 1970s.

12. He was banned from entering the United States for several years. Mostly because of his political views and statements. Some modern politicians will not like his words even today.

13. The last photograph from his life shows Lennon with his killer Mark Chapman.

14. Chapman shot Lennon five times in the back as he and his wife Yoko Ono were returning from the Hit Factory recording studio. After 25 minutes, doctors pronounced Lennon dead from blood loss. The US parole board this year denied release to Lennon's killer for the tenth time.

15 . The name of John Lennon is immortalized in many countries around the world: the John Lennon Museum was opened in Japan; there are monuments to the musician in Havana, Vilnius, Liverpool, on an island near Reykjavik; in Lviv a street is named after him. Also, Liverpool Airport was renamed in Lennon's honor, and an asteroid and a crater on Mercury were named.

Even almost 40 years after his death, Lennon was not remembered by everyone as a homely and loving John. He will remain forever a rebel. And this composition is his real leitmotif.

By the way, earlier in October the annual music festival “Ave the Beatles” was held in Chisinau. There was once a Beatles restaurant at Botanica. And, it turns out, that’s it, there are no more memorable places in our city?! Either from boredom, or from - out of self-irony, Chisinau residents still find an opportunity to touch the glory of the rock and roll legend... For example, there is a poster circulating on the Internet announcing The Beatles concert in Chisinau in 2010.

John Lennon was born on October 9, 1940. One of the founders and member of The Beatles, a famous singer, poet and composer, a popular musician of the 20th century, John Lennon still has his fans today and is included in the list of the greatest guitarists of all time, according to Classic Rock magazine. John Winston Lennon was born on October 9, 1940, according to many sources, right during the German air raid on Liverpool. John's parents, Julia and Alfred, divorced immediately after the birth of their son, and the boy was taken in by his mother's sister. In high school, John had very poor academic performance, but even then he showed his leadership qualities along with his daring freethinking. He drew cartoons of the school's teaching staff, published a magazine, and sang in the school choir. In 1956, inspired by rock and roll and the work of Presley, Lennon created the Quarry Men group in honor of the school where all the team members studied. In 1957, fate brought John together with Paul McCartney, who immediately became a member of the ensemble. And after some time, Paul invites his friend George Harrison to the group. Creative activity absorbed Lennon so much that he did not even pass his final exams at school, but nevertheless entered the Liverpool College of Art, where he met his future wife Cynthia Powell (a boy, Julian, was born in this marriage). In 1958, John's mother died as a result of a traffic accident. In 1959, the Quarry Men split up and were replaced by The Beatles. The early Beatles led a completely immoral lifestyle, taking drugs, swearing and drinking alcohol on stage. All this changed with the arrival of Brian Epstein as manager in 1961. In 1963, the whole of Europe was already talking about The Beatles, and in 1964 the group gained worldwide fame. Lennon became the team leader. Along with his musical activities in 1964-1965, Lennon wrote and published books of his poetry and prose. In 1964–1966, the Beatles topped all the charts and were at the zenith of their fame. According to Lennon himself, they were more popular than Jesus. In 1967, John again became interested in drugs and lost leadership in the group. In 1968, Lennon divorced Cynthia, and in 1969 he entered into a marriage with Yoko Ono and left The Beatles in 1970 for the sake of creativity with her. It was from this moment that many Beatles fans blamed Ono for the “collapse” of the group. And the newlyweds themselves created their own group - “Plastic Ono Band”. In the 1970-1980s, they recorded songs together and participated in various political actions and other events. After the birth of their son in 1975, Lennon and his wife settled in New York, and from that time John finally left music, devoting almost all his time to his family. But on December 8, 1980, John Lennon was killed in New York by a mentally unstable US citizen, to whom he had shortly before given his autograph...