Just another year?

1971: The Year That Music Changed Everything

Documentary - 8 episodes

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14544732/

1971 could have been merely a non-discrete year, but the creators of this docu-series believed it marked a watershed moment. They considered it the year when the carefree values of the 1960s began to shift. It represented the onset of revolutions. The generation born in the post-war years, once content, has aged, and their offspring now find themselves in a world rife with turmoil and uncertainty. 

In the late 1960s, America witnessed its sons returning in body bags from defending a country that did not wish to be defended. The Americans saw no reason to uphold the free world against a perceived communist threat. 

The hippie movement created a new cocoon for disillusioned youths to escape into weed, and rock and roll. In relation to that, the cult killing by the Manson family took centre stage. 

The hierarchical and patriarchal order of society was shifting. The introduction of oral contraceptive pills provided women, for the first time in their lives, an opportunity to control their fertility and potentially their sexuality as well. This was particularly significant, as they gained more self-confidence after emerging en masse to support the economy when men went off to fight in World War II. 

1971 must have seemed meaningless. With the Beatles breaking up, Lennon and Yoko engaging in their eccentric activities, and the great musicians Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin, and Jimi Hendrix having passed away, the youth must have felt that music was dead. A new wave of performers emerged, bringing fresh messages and revolutionary ideas. 

Marvin Gaye belted out protest songs with 'What's Going On?'. Aretha Franklin joined the movement of Black Consciousness, and Tina Turner became an icon of female empowerment following her publicised abusive relationship with Ike. The Rolling Stones attempted to fill the gap left by the Beatles, but were often busy rolling dope in the South of France. David Bowie was making his mark on the scene with his androgynous appearance, dressed in a full gown. 

The Black Power movement was in full swing. Angela Davis, a UCLA professor and an unapologetic, card-carrying member of the US Communist Party, was in the spotlight. The gun she had acquired was used in the courtroom killing of a judge. Numerous musicians rallied behind her. James Brown's soul music empowered Black men and women. 

1971 was also when the world realised that our minds can be fickle and suggestible. The Stanford Experiment taught us an invaluable lesson that remains relevant today—anonymity caused people to behave in a despicable manner. The Charles Manson trials revealed how impressionable, naive young minds can be manipulated into committing outrageous acts. The US Army massacre at My Lai in Vietnam demonstrated that the Americans were no different from the Germans in Auschwitz and the Japanese in Nanking.

It was a time of political awareness, social change, and musical experimentation. It was also the birthplace of many fantastic singer-songwriters, such as Carole King and Joni Mitchell. Music was explored using electronic devices, such as synthesisers, as exemplified by the band The Who.

1971 witnessed the UK's longest obscenity trial, which involved a 1960s counterculture publication, Oz. In one of its editions, schoolchildren were invited to edit the Schoolkids' Issue, which included pasting a cartoon mascot from the Daily Express into a sex strip illustration. The editors received jail sentences. John Lennon and Yoko Ono, who were themselves embroiled in controversy over nude album covers, came to their defence by organising protest marches and dedicating a song to this cause.

Logically, not everything changes in a year. Many of the things mentioned evolve over time.

 

1971 could be merely a random year. Every year contributes slightly to the transformation of our life on Earth. 1971 might serve as just a talking point, much like the story of how the Hardy-Ramanujan number came about. When visiting mathematician Ramanujan in the hospital, Professor Hardy, unsure of how to break the ice, mentioned that he took a taxi with the number 1729, which he considered dull. Ramanujan responded by stating that the number was interesting because it is the smallest number expressible as the sum of two cubes in two different ways. [1729 can be expressed as 1³ + 12³ = 10³ + 9³]

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The watershed moment!

Beatles '64 (Documentary, 2024)
Director: David Tedeschi.

I suppose the world will never have enough of the Fab Four. In 1995, when Apple Corps released the Beatles Anthology 1, the world went wild. It was marketed as a collection of long-lost recordings yet to be released. The band had not put out an album since their breakup in 1970 and had not performed together since the 'Let It Be' rooftop concert, so the audience was eager for some classic tunes.

The first anthology was undeniably nostalgic. It featured the Beatles' unfinished track, 'Free as a Bird.' By then, two of the four members had passed away, and their voices were electronically blended. The result was a spark in the eyes of every Beatles fan. The music video showcased numerous old black-and-white photographs from their time in Liverpool as young lads. The other songs were reworks of their earlier hits, showcasing their playful moments in the studio and experiments with alternative tempos and arrangements for their music.

In this way, two more anthologies followed shortly after. By then, the frenzy had subsided. Occasionally, there would be one or two feature films centred around Beatlemania. That was all until Martin Scorsese embarked on a project to release some footage from their archives of the recordings made during the Beatles' remarkable first trip to the USA. People realised that they could never get enough of the Beatles.

Mass hysteria?
https://www.quora.com/How-did-the-elderly-perceive-
The-Beatles-in-the-60s

America was in mourning after JFK's assassination in November 1963. The music industry was already poised to encourage the public to move on. In a calculated move, it planned a transcontinental cultural exchange to bring the British music sensation, the Beatles, to perform in the USA. To this end, the album 'I Want to Hold Your Hand' was released, with hopes that their visit to the US would introduce and boost sales there. Previously, British performers had not fared well in America. 

Unexpectedly, 'I Want to Hold Your Hand' hit the Top 10 in December 1963. So, when the Beatles arrived in New York in February 1964, the US witnessed an unprecedented phenomenon of adolescent girls screaming their lungs out for no apparent reason. The girls featured in the 1964 footage were interviewed in this documentary, yet none could explain why they were screaming at the time. Such is the power of the human mind. Monkey see, monkey do.

Ali is the greatest!
Bettmann Archive

The older section of society could not grasp what all the fuss was about. Still reeling from the loss of their beloved President, they only saw four young chaps with peculiar haircuts and fashionable suits. They thought they were merely a fleeting trend accompanied by loud music. Nevertheless, they were indifferent. In America, they had Elvis Presley with his sensuous gyrating moves and lyrics rich with sexual innuendos, female singers lamenting their romantic tribulations, and the Beach Boys serenading with their ever-popular surfing songs. The Beatles seemed harmless enough.

The Beatles soon graced three Ed Sullivan shows, including concerts in Washington, D.C., and Florida. They even paid a visit to Cassius Clay (Muhammad Ali) as he prepared to face Sonny Liston.

The Beatles' appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show marked a pivotal moment. It signalled the beginning of the British Invasion in music.

(P.S. Ringo is named Ringo because he wore various rings and frequently changed them. His given name is Richard Starkey.)

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google.com, pub-8936739298367050, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0

Back to the USSR?

Communism, Hypnotism and the Beatles (1965)
Rev. David A. Noebel

An Analysis of the Communist use of music - the Communist Master Plan.

This book predates John Lennon's infamous press statement in 1966, in which he was quoted as saying that the Beatles were, at that time, 'more popular than Jesus'. To his defence, the baby boomers were, in fact, losing interest in what the church had to say. 

In 1956, during a visit to Poland, Nikita Khrushchev was thought to have told the West that he would 'bury them'. Some say it was something that came out after being lost in translation. Again, during his state visit to the US, he may have said (again disputed) that he predicted the adoption of communism and the gradual creation of a 'socialist stare' in the US. 

David Noebel is said to be a fiery Christian evangelist who argues his claims with dubious scientific evidence. In this booklet, he used many Pavlovian animal behavioural study models to convince his congregation that music has a hypnotizing effect that can alter teenagers' responses to situations. He even goes to the extent of suggesting that music can be used as a brainwashing device. He quotes Khrushchev as saying that the Soviets did not have to do anything to turn Americans into commies. They will change in time. Through music? "Have they planted this through rock and roll?" he asks.

Looking at how the millennials and the woke generation behave, it seems like Khrushchev's dream may have materialized. Extremist leftist ideas have permeated all forms of life. All the institutions have been infiltrated. Posts on social media reeks of the communist ideas. They claim to champion the marginalized, but what they really want is the annihilation of our civilization as we know it. They even have opinions on theistic matters even though they are godless in their belief system.

After seeing their mesmerizing effect on their young audience, the author has a bone to pick with the Beatles. He cannot fathom what makes them go hysterical to the extent of peeling off their undergarments. 

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With a little help from their friends...

The Beatles: Get Back (Docuseries; 2021)
Disney Plus

Imagine working around Saville Row, London, on 31st January 1969. You step out for lunch and hear a loud commotion with music emanating from atop one of the roofs. Upon enquiring, you find out that the Beatles were performing live. It was destined to be their last public performance before the group disbanded.

A year previously, they had come out with the eponymous 'White Album' to soaring success. The White Album, their ninth album, a double album, was named simply because of the colour of the album's jacket. The White Album was a phenomenal hit, but it was rumoured that the four members had serious creative differences that most of the time, they had to record separately. It is said Yoko Ono's persistent presence in the studio was their sore point, together with Paul McCartney's domineering attitude. 

Partly encouraged by the skyrocketing sales of the 'White Album', they were coaxed to get together for a brainstorming session. The plan was to have a public concert and to pen new songs. The getting together was a volatile business. The idea of breaking up as a group was still in the air. Their previous agreed arrangement of not allowing spouses into the studio was not followed. Yoko was no mere expressionless fly on the wall making some occasional eerily high-pitched screech; she was more of a leech clinging on to the juices of John Lennon. George Harrison constantly expressed his displeasure over Paul's vetoing of his creative ideas. It led to its zenith when George quit the band, only to be cajoled back to write songs together for their next project. The project is another problem. The band was unsure what it wanted to create. After yo-yoing between cutting singles and albums, they finally decided to make a movie/documentary, 'Let it Be'.

"Let it Be' came to fruition in 1970, and a few months, the Beatles split.

60 hours of video and 150-hour audio recordings were left in the estates of the remaining Beatles and their estates. To keep the band's legacy alive and make some moolah on the side, Peter Jackson was hired to make a 'documentary within a documentary'. He managed to squeeze it down to ~7.5 hours.

The documentary brings viewers up close into the recording studios to show just how talented the Fab Four were. Just how easily their creative juices flow and how seamlessly song lyrics and melodies welled up.

Get Back!

It is interesting how the 'Get Back' came to be. It was a time when the newspapers were full of reports of the Labour Party's stand against South Indian immigration. The demonstrators' banners screamed 'get back' and 'go back to where you belong'. So, when Paul saw these headlines, out rolled 'Get Back' and veiled reference to protest against Labour's stance. Looking at the whole, it may be a swipe at counterculture. Jo Jo was a weed-smoking hippy and transgender Sweet Loretta Martin. Interestingly, in the documentary, every time Paul sang the verse 'go back to where you belong', he looked at Yoko as if mocking her presence there. Maybe, he is telling her to go back to Japan or leave the Beatles alone!

One must remember that the footages are not raw material but recorded with the 'actors' knowledge. They were aware that they were being taped, sometimes breaking the fourth wall. Hence, they must appear on tape to do the socially accepted thing.

What I learned after watching Fab Four's behaviour, I gather that Paul is a prolific writer of songs but somewhat wants his way of doing things. George feels stunted as a musician, Lennon is too profoundly into Yoko, and Ringo just gets along with a little help from his friends.

(P.S. Remember 1995 when the world got all excited when the Beatles' old recordings re-surfaced, and we were all waiting eagerly to hear the unheard versions of the same old Beatles' song? Well, to the uninitiated, this whole exercise of sitting through a seven and a half-hour band recording session, brainstorming, talking, arguing and singing the same song, again and again, may sound uninspiring. To a true blue Beatles fan or an occasional music lover, both the Beatles' Anthologies albums and this docuseries are treasure troves of all the nostalgia and musical genius embedded in Beatlemania.)

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Beatles always fly!

Yesterday (2019)
Director: Danny Boyle

Growing up in the late 70s and 80s, popular music formed like soundtrack music of our lives. It was always in the background as we, my schoolmates and I, went on living and doing stuff we needed to as we ventured into adulthood. Of course, there was a time and place to listen to music. Technology had not developed for us to enjoy it on the go. Listening to neighbours blaring their cassette player is not counted. 

Then there was the excitement of listening to new songs on the radio and recording them on cassette tapes as the music played. Once a week, the newspapers would display the Top 10 songs and albums in different cities. The slightly affluent ones amongst us would get their fix of the latest songs recorded at record shops for a fee. Of course, it was not legal, but what the heck, we were and still are in a third world country. 

Bee Gees and Saturday Night Fever essentially filled up most of our pubescent lives. Sporadic input came from the Second British Invasion Bands and the New Wave music. The country was excited in 1983 when RTM decided to be liberal by choosing to screen music videos nominated for the MTV awards that year. That was probably when the terrestrial station had the most viewers glued to the idiot box, excluding the live sports telecasts, of course. I remember watching 'Karma Chameleon', 'Sweet Dreams (are made of this)', 'Let's Dance', 'Every breath you take, 'Uptown Girl', 'What a feeling' and 'Maniac' by Michael Sembello. After an initial screening, the moral guardians of the station decreed that the music video of 'Maniac' was too raunchy for public viewing. A lady training in her yoga doing stretching, ballet-like dancing, doing the splits and running in her leotard was X-rated.

The Beatles was not part of our coming of age process, it was for a generation before us, but they did appear in our consciousness after Lennon's assassination in 1980.

Imagine that that one day, you get up and realise that the legendary bands and their music that formed part of your character suddenly get wiped out. What would you do if you are an aspiring musician and all your attempts at getting your first break has all gone down the tubes?

In 'Yesterday', a light British rom-com, Jack Malik, a struggling artist, finds himself in such a predicament after a minor accident following a brief global power outage. Jack realises that in his post-outage alternate reality, 'The Beatles' music does not exist. Neither do other things like Coca Cola, the band Oasis and Harry Potter franchise. Even Google search repeatedly brings him to beetle the bug or Beetle VW!

In his rapacious desire to reach greater heights in his deadpan musical career, Jack presents the Beatles' songs as his. He almost becomes rich and famous when Ed Sheeran introduces him to bigwig producers in the US of A. Jack feels guilty of his plagiarising ways and is about to lose the love of his love when common sense prevails. He won over his girl, gives up his nearly international stardom to be a music teacher and lives happily forever and ever.

This movie is like a treasure trove for diehard Beatles' fans to identify their song lyrics in the dialogue. There are many insider jokes about the Beatles' background here and there. A little knowledge about how a particular song came to be written would help, e.g. the story behind Strawberry Fields and Penny Lane. So when somebody put out a yellow oblong toy, a Beatles fan would quickly know it is not a rubber ducky but a yellow toy submarine! It is an excellent guessing game to which of their song they would include next.

Perusing online, one would notice that this film is not highly rated. Reviewers lamented that the writer did not explore many loose ends associated with the sudden missing of specific icons from the world record. Everybody just accepted it matter-of-factly. Many also felt that the storyline is so predictable, a copy of generic rom-com. Maybe these people were expected a biopic.

There is a reason why it is called rom-com or romantic comedy. And it is an oxymoron. Romance is not about being funny unless one has a warped sense of humour. A wise man once said, "At the end of the day, romance is just a Greek tragedy with plenty of melodrama with a few rings entangled with it, engagement ring, wedding ring and suffer-ring!

(P.S. The proponents of critical race theory and woke culture sympathisers seem ecstatic with the ample representation of the minority group in this picture. The main character is of Indian descent, and his love interest is white!)

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The leaders and the led...

I wanna hold your hand (1978)
Director: Robert Zemeckis (debut)

I remember growing up watching many of Zemeckis directed movies. So, I was pleasantly surprised when I came across this film which was set in 1964 New York when the Beatles visited New York to appear at the Ed Sullivan's Show.

At one look, it appears like the director is trying to recreate the atmosphere and the mania associated with the arrival of the Liverpool lads at the Big Apple. Looking at the bigger picture, he seems to be ridiculing the younger generation's eccentricity, if not fetishism to pop culture.

It tells the tale of a group of youngsters who make a trip to New York to catch a glimpse of the Fab Four. Each of them has a different agenda; to watch the Ed Sullivan Show, to snap pictures of Beatles, to partake in anti-Beatles' rally, to impress a girl and so on.

In no way was the film a groundbreaking feat. All you throughout the offering are screaming and shrieking bevvy of girls before and during the Beatles' show. Even though the setting is supposed to the mid-sixties, one cannot help but have an 80s feel to throughout the film.

It is interesting how the storyteller managed to make a movie about the Beatles without actually making them appear on the screen. The 'appearances' are restricted to their 'voices' in the background and their songs. 

We are all so easily suggestible. We are easily swayed by the consensus of the masses. Some of us are spineless. We walk around like zombies following the scent of the herd. Sometimes, our senses get all entangled. We cannot comprehend whether our likes are related to our nostalgia, our simple cravings for the unattainable, our biological need or is a way to satisfy our sexual pervasions. Our fetish is further fanned by the wind of mass media and commercialisation. Every day a new 'want' is created. And many lose sleep to achieve it. At least it gives them something to forward to in their otherwise mundane life. They have overcome many major hurdles establishing themselves as the ruler of the world that they are trying to find the fine prints to perfect it. Paradoxically, it only brings them down. Or maybe, it has always been like this - the victors or elitists writing and re-writing the course of history whilst the weak majority just trail along, sometimes paying with their lives.

https://asok22.wixsite.com/real-lesson 

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Can't get enough!

The Beatles Lyrics, Hunter Davies (2014)

I guess we will never have enough of the Beatles. This time around a book to analyse the lyrical content of each song composed by them album by album from 1962 (Love me do/PS I love you) to 1969 (Abbey Road).
The obvious loophole in these type of publications is that they may be guilty of over analysing and interpreting things as the author wants to see it. The author, however, claims to have spent enough time to know what goes through the Beatles' minds. Roughly, I would divide the songs onto 3 eras- the early years, the studio years and the beginning of the end...
I realised from the outset that the best way to appreciate this book is to simultaneously search the songs on Youtube as the authors analyses song by song, album by album over the years.
Invariably, the lyrics of the songs are reflective of things that happen around their daily lives. The early post-Hamburg stage was the time they would do (write) anything just to be noticed. They were running around performing around the globe to screaming teenagers whose voices buried their melody and songs. In spite of their hectic schedules, they still managed to write a few songs here and there. (And everywhere - on receipts, bits of envelopes and letters!) In fact, these memorobilias are collectors items and are regular features at Christy's.
John Lennon and Paul McCartney have distinctive ways of writing song. Paul goes more for melody whilst John is particularly fastidious about lyrics. The early era comprised lovey-dovey songs. Their respective love lives became a nidus for their creativity.

Something as mundane as paper reporting of a depressed teenager running away from her house can metamorphose into a hit song. A Melanie Coe's disappearance was described beautifully from the side of Melanie and her parents. The lyrics mirror the emotions that went through their mind on the said day of event. (She is leaving home)

George Harrison, being the younger of the pioneer three lived in the shadow of the two only to blossom later. Their entanglement with Indian culture enriched their songs, music and lyrics wise. With the help of psychedelic drugs and Eastern mysticism, their songs suddenly started sounding so profound and light years ahead of their time. Hinduism, with its pacifistic outlook to life and symbiotic nature with environment, is just a platform to build your lyrics of a song to sound exotic and different. 

Compared to the acts who were in vogue during their time, the Beatles were considered decent and mild mannered. Their songs were clean, they were well dressed - suit and tie; but the band wanted to let it all out but restrained, unlike Rolling Stones.
To different people, the lyrics of Beatles' songs denote different things; to the young it may be about joy, fun, love and its intricacies, the the older it could be about deeper meanings of purpose of life. Even Charles Manson interpreted it as a call to justify his hideous activities. Their stint with Maharishi and the mysticism of Indian philosophy immensely enriched their songs especially in Harrison's composition as evidenced by his works in the post-Beatles years.

Life becomes more difficult as time went on; internal problems mounted and their ego bloated. Yoko's entry was not seen as a welcoming move to the rest of the group. Despite their squabbles, they still managed to churn out gems of songs in the White Album and Abbey Road Album.

John Lennon Quotes:

22 Sayings To Remember The Beatles Frontman 34 Years After His Assassination
  Natalie Roterman  | Dec 08 2014, 01:26PM EST



A manuscript written by John Lennon entitled 'Henry and Harry' is seen at Sotheby's, London March 21, 2014. Reuters/Paul Hackett
It was 34 years ago that one of the biggest musical sensations lost one of theirs. While The Beatles had split a little over 10 years prior, on December 8 they lost a member as John Lennon was shot outside his New York apartment. Fellow Beatle, Sir Paul McCartney remembers the state if shock he was left in when he heard the news: "I was at home and I got a phone call. It was early in the morning... It was just so horrific, you couldn't take it in and I couldn't take it in.
No less, the world became a sadder, less love-filled place when Lennon was gone, but luckily we were left with enormous amounts of wisdom and eye opening quotes from the genius. This is how we remember him:

• “Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans.”
• “Time you enjoy wasting, was not wasted.”
• “As usual, there is a great woman behind every idiot.”
• “Love is the answer, and you know that for sure; Love is a flower, you've got to let it grow.”
• “You don't need anybody to tell you who you are or what you are. You are what you are!”
• “Living is Easy with Eyes Closed.”
• “Surrealism had a great effect on me because then I realized that the imagery in my mind wasn't insanity. Surrealism to me is reality.”
• “The more I see, the less I know for sure.”
• “Reality leaves a lot to the imagination.”
• “Music is everybody's possession. It's only publishers who think that people own it.”
• “If everyone demanded peace instead of another television set, then there'd be peace.”
• “Imagine all the people living life in peace. You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one. I hope someday you'll join us, and the world will be as one.”
• “Count your age by friends, not years. Count your life by smiles, not tears.”
• “I believe in everything until it's disproved. So I believe in fairies, the myths, dragons. It all exists, even if it's in your mind. Who's to say that dreams and nightmares aren't as real as the here and now?”
• “One thing you can't hide - is when you're crippled inside.”
• “There's nowhere you can be that isn't where you're meant to be...”
• “If someone thinks that peace and love are just a cliche that must have been left behind in the 60s, that's a problem. Peace and love are eternal.”
• “God is a concept by which we measure our pain.”
• “It's weird not to be weird.”
• “Love is a promise, love is a souvenir, once given never forgotten, never let it disappear.”
• “I'm not afraid of death because I don't believe in it.
• It's just getting out of one car, and into another.”

http://www.latintimes.com/john-lennon-quotes

A rock star finding for the Truth

Living in the Material World (Documentary, 2011)
Director:Martin Scorsese

No, this documentary has nothing to do with Madonna and her living in a material world.

 

Yes, we do not seem to have enough of the Beatles. The Beatles can never die. Scores of decades from now, we will still be talking about these four lads from Liverpool and their ability to transform the world music scene.

 

Well, this documentary is not about the Fab Four per se but was the product of his widow's perspective on the quiet Beatle. It starts with a look at his humble beginnings in the Beatles as the go-along non-assertive guy. The decisions in the band were made primarily by Lennon and McCartney. He was always composing songs in the background, only to have his compositions steamrolled by the domineering duo.

 

I suppose after maturing along the way, he demanded recognition and walked out of the Beatles even before the final break-up.

A good proportion of the 3hour 2-part show is devoted to his personal life post Beatles. Through a series of interviews (old and new), we get a glimpse of what happened to George after the glitz of showbiz.

There was the decadent years of LSD and cocaine, the uncertain years of search for meaning of life, his dive into the mystical world of Hinduism and Indian music, his friendship with many icons from varied fields - Jackie Stewart (F1 racer), Ravi Shanker, Eric Clapton (who wrote about and stole his wife, Patty Boyd), actors (he plunged into movie making in the 80s), Travelling Wilburys etcetera.

We discover that he has started to live a quiet life, writing songs that try to find the meaning of life. He went deep into Krsna consciousness, albeit a non-overtly metamorphized one (a closet devotee)!

The film ends with his fight with cancer and an insane intruder into his mansion.

Most of us grew up with either John or Paul as our favourite Beatles. Rarely does anyone pick George, and almost never does anyone pick Ringo. But as you grow older, you start appreciating George's meaningful songs about life and the meaning of life.

Picturesque life

The Illustrated Biography: John Lennon
200 classic, rare & unseen photographs by Daily Mail

Even 40 years after the break up of The Beatles and 30 after his assassination, John Lennon still manages to draw a crowd every single time something is written or said about him. There is nothing new in this book that we did not already know about this sometimes eccentric music maestro. That he started of with a gig in Hamburg, about how Dacca records rejected them saying that guitar music was on the way out, about his famous line "...those in the cheap seats clap your hands, the rest of you can just rattle your jewelry" in Prince of Wales Theatre in London, about the Beatles being more famous than Jesus and the subsequent decadence into drugs, spiritualism, Yoko (Oh, no!) and the dissolution of Beatles to retirement from music to starting over and death at the hands of a deranged fan (or mastermind power play of the CIA, if you believe the conspiracy theorists). It is a sort a pictorial biography of the 4 boys from Liverpool, in particular Lennon. 

This book is divided into two parts, the first with the Beatles (In my life) and the second (Starting Over) which tells about his time with Ono.

A few new things about Lennon - being shy of being seen outside with glasses, he started wearing his trademark round NHS spectacles after shooting his a film anti war satire film 'How I won the War' acting as a private in the army. 

Lennon also published books on his collection of jokes. He tried his hand in acting but did not shine, though.
He was also a caricaturist.
A good coffee table ornament if you are in the habit of keeping your guest wait long for you to come down or they find your company quite boring!

Before he started going places!

Nowhere Boy 2009
If you expecting another of those Beatles glorifying films, you are in for a disappointment. It is actually an emotional drama of John Lennon's early days as a confused teenager who has deal with his estranged biological mother, Julia, who left him at the age of 5 to stay with her sister, Mimi. He grows up to be a troubled teenage always getting into the wrong side of the school - the trouble side.
This is a biography of a teenager John Lennon was told by his principal that he is going nowhere (in his future) - hence the title but also his later song, Nowhere Man.
He grows up with Auntie Mimi and Uncle George since five. John is very attached to his uncle but he, however, dies early.
With his friend Stan, he secretly goes to visit his biological mother Julia, a shallow, inappropriately behaviouring promiscuous young at heart (for her age) lady who is married with two kids. John finds himself able to open up better than with Aunt Mimi but he still cannot get over the idea that she dumped him.
John and his friend Pete gets suspended from school. He finds solace in his mum's house. Here he is taught the banjo and his interest in music grows.
Feeling unwelcome by Julia's husband, he returns to Mimi's house.
He decides that he wants to be like Elvis, get a guitar and Quarryman is formed. The union with the unlikely left handed rock and roller of Paul McCartney starts. As the band performs, George Harrison joins in.
On his 17th birthday, he confronts Julia on the whereabouts of his father who absconded from them. This leads to a big showdown between John, Julia and Mimi. It is revealed that Julia was two timing her husband (more than twice) when he went off for war. Julia also had given birth to another child, Victoria. The recalcitrant Julia would not change her ways even after the war. The marriage ended leaving John nowhere to go. That is when Mimi took him in. Julia claims that she was not thinking straight probably due to what appears like bipolar disorder. Finally all spoke their peace and forgive each other and try to catch up with lost time. Just then, Julia succumbs to a motor vehicle accident.
After all the bereavement, John accepts Mimi as mother as he leaves to Hamburg with his band. As we know that is when the real story of Beatles began.
It is a quality movie with good acting from Aaron Johnson (Lennon), Kristin Scott Thomas (Mimi) and Anne-Marie Duff (Julia). Lennon here is depicted as bossy, spoilt, anti establishment kid whose morals are questionable. McCartney appears like a goody two shoes who drinks only tea, not beer. He has lost his mother to cancer and built his strong bond with bond with John after Julia died. He felt the pain of John losing his mother. A lot of Liverpudlian English which takes a little getting used to to comprehend! Sorry, no Beatles hit songs here.