Heroin and the Beatles’ Breakup

By |2020-09-10T11:18:43-07:00August 3, 2019|Breakup, Drugs|

Finally, someone outside of Dullblog (in fact, George Martin’s biographer, in Salon) says what I’ve been thinking for years: heroin broke up the Beatles. Kenneth Womack does a good job of digging into quotes from McCartney, Barry Miles, and John and Yoko about the Lennons’ heroin habit to show how the Beatles’ delicate balance didn’t just tip, but fracture, in 1969. This quote, to me, is particularly telling: Indeed, by this juncture, Lennon’s mood swings and absenteeism—the ups and downs of his erratic, unpredictable behavior—were likely the result of their protracted heroin use. As music historian Barry Miles later wrote, “The other [...]

Pictures of Beatles and Pot?

By |2019-06-21T13:01:35-07:00June 21, 2019|Drugs, Uncategorized|

I had a funny little thought today: we know the Beatles smoked a progidious amount of marijuana. Even Paul McCartney, the Beatle most likely to get you home by eleven p.m., smoked so relentlessly that he was actually thrown in jail for smuggling. But I couldn't recall a single photo of any Beatle with a joint, or even any paraphernalia. These, the most relentlessly photographed humans on Earth. No friend or fan ever snapped them with a doobie hanging from their lip? A statuesque bong lurking defiantly in a corner? It beggars the imagination. What about you? Ever seen one? Link to [...]

Drugs and Differences

By |2022-09-04T17:56:19-07:00May 16, 2016|1980, Drugs, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Wings|

Given the comments on a recent thread beginning here, we've decided to resurface a great post by Nancy on the topic. Originally posted 3/13/13.--MG On the apparently unstoppable "How Do You Sleep?" thread, Peter Deville commented that "it's interesting to note that the growing differences within the band coincided with a divergence in their individual drugs of choice, having made the collective journey from alcohol to uppers to pot." He adds: "Acid initially created that soon-to-be familiar fissure, with John, George and Ringo on one side and Paul on the other. I'm not suggesting that the drug divergence was responsible for the [...]

John Lennon: Witness for the (Marijuana) Defense

By |2022-07-24T13:22:56-07:00December 16, 2015|Drugs|

"Yoko, smell this flower! It's like I've never even smelled flowers before!" In 1969, Gerald Le Dain, a Canadian lawyer and Supreme Court Justice, headed a government commission on the “non-medical” use of cannabis and other drugs, with the ultimate aim to develop pertinent social policy.  This commission, which ran from 1969 to 1972, was known as the LeDain Commission of  Inquiry Into the Non-Medical Use of Drugs. Le Dain sought input not only from medical, legal, and law enforcement sources, but also from well known celebs like our very own John Winston Lennon, who gave private testimony while on [...]

Flaming Lips’ “With a Little Help from My Fwends”: Sgt. Pepper’s through a 21st century blender

By |2014-11-03T10:09:08-08:00November 3, 2014|1967, Covers, Drugs, Flaming Lips, Psychedelia, Sgt. Pepper|

Watch up for that blue goo--it really gums up the songs. NANCY CARR * With a Little Help from My Fwends, the Sgt. Pepper’s tribute album from the Flaming Lips and a bunch of their buddies, is a frequently painful listening experience that is also revelatory. It’s just that much of what it reveals leads to depressing conclusions about how the 21st century is shaping up. This is a true cover album, in the sense that Booker T. and the MG’s McLemore Avenue is, and that Mojo magazine compilations of various people doing songs from Revolver or Yellow Submarine aren’t. [...]

Oh! Our mistake

By |2022-07-24T12:51:53-07:00February 1, 2008|biography, books, Drugs, McCartney|

Harmless-seeming Pied Piper of the Get High Generation From Many Years from Now, Paul McCartney's memoir/bio, page 314: "...Another inaccurate but frequently told story is that 'Fixing a Hole' was about heroin. This track is actually about marijuana."

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