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 [...]

“Lennonology: Strange Days Indeed” a Lennon/Ono data feast

By |2016-05-10T07:46:38-07:00May 9, 2016|books, John Lennon, Reviews, Yoko Ono|

By Mary Klein, Guest Dullblogger A Lennon/Ono banquet Chip Madinger's and Scott Raile's  Strange Days Indeed–A Scrapbook of Madness presents John Lennon and Yoko Ono aficionados with a dizzying spread of information – and it's only the first volume in a projected three- to four-volume work that aspires to chronicle all the doings of JohnandYoko. Madinger (coauthor of Eight Arms to Hold You, 2000) and Scott Raile (academic advisor at the University of Colorado, Boulder) draw from an enormous range of materials to create a day-by-day, sometimes hour-by-hour, chronicle of the couple's activities, beginning in 1966. Even those familiar with the Lennon/Ono story will learn [...]

Fred Arnold’s Beatle Memorabilia Collection

By |2016-04-05T18:25:25-07:00April 5, 2016|John Lennon, Yoko Ono|

We love receiving emails from our ever vigilant commentariat about new developments in Beatleland. The autographed postcard from the Fred Arnold Collection. Commentator @ODirony sent us an interesting link about a homeless fellow by the name of Fred Arnold, who was killed after being struck by a car in Little Rock, Arkansas.  Turns out Arnold was a prolific collector of Beatles’ memorabilia and had a personal relationship with John and Yoko.  You can read the entire story here.  A quick google of “Fred Arnold and John Lennon” yielded this--an autographed War Is Over postcard given to Fred Arnold and currently [...]

John Lennon’s Self-Portrait

By |2016-03-17T15:11:34-07:00March 16, 2016|Art, auctions of note, John Lennon, Stu Sutcliffe, Uncategorized|

Lennon Self-Portrait No, this isn’t THAT self-portrait--the home movie of the same name, depicting John’s penis in various states of erection (which Yoko has kept under wraps and Beatle fans have been trying to find ever since), but this, an early oil painting done by the man himself, up for auction by Cooper Owen Music Media Auctions in 2014. According to the auction site, John Lennon’s first ever self-portrait that he painted at art college in 1958 has emerged for sale in our next auction. The abstract work in oil depicts a red figure side-on with unflattering features including ‘moobs’ and [...]

John and Yoko at the Fillmore

By |2016-02-11T16:54:10-08:00February 9, 2016|1970s, concert, john and yoko, John Lennon, Uncategorized|

  Frank Zappa tells an interesting story about John and Yoko and their guest appearance at Zappa’s 1971 live album concert at the Fillmore East. After briefly meeting them through a reporter, Zappa invited John and Yoko to come to the Fillmore that evening to jam with the band.  Nervous but buoyed by cocaine, The Lennons played with the Mothers for nearly an hour and performed four songs, including a 5-minute jam.  According to Zappa, “we played for about 40 minutes I guess, and it just so happens that we had made arrangements to record that night...and the whole thing got laid down on tape. [...]

The Lennon Audio Diaries

By |2016-02-12T11:16:51-08:00February 9, 2016|1979, John Lennon|

In the fall of 1979, John sat down with a tape recorder and began to tell his life story.  But these Lennon audio diaries were a non-starter: in true Lennon fashion, he got bored after 1.25 minutes and let his thoughts drift to his usual preoccupations—Paul McCartney, his mother Julia, and his fear of professional redundancy. According to Rolling Stone magazine, the 13 minutes or so of audio tapes were found in a fan’s garage (?!) and were sent to a voice analysis expert by News of the World for authentication.  (They needn’t have bothered; the voice on the tapes is so clearly [...]

Was John Lennon bipolar?

By |2016-02-04T13:28:57-08:00February 4, 2016|John Lennon|

After watching a TV program on Spike Milligan's battle with depression, John Lennon sent the comedian a book. In the comments on the John and Mimi post, @Karen and some others have elucidated a theory that I've toyed with for years, myself: that John Lennon, Chief Beatle and beloved by all denizens of Dullblog, suffered from bipolar disorder. Formerly called manic depression, bipolar disorder is "a condition in which a person has periods of depression and periods of being extremely happy or being cross or irritable. In addition to these mood swings, the person also has extreme changes in activity [...]

David Bowie, Shine On

By |2016-01-11T18:33:45-08:00January 11, 2016|David Bowie, john and yoko, John Lennon, Obituaries, Paul McCartney|

The news that David Bowie has died at age 69 has saddened people worldwide. He profoundly influenced musicians, fashion designers, and countless teenage kids who felt they were "weird" until they encountered his work. And he collaborated successfully with many other artists, including Brian Eno, Mick Jagger, and John Lennon, Bowie and John joined forces on the song "Fame," released in 1975, and were friends throughout the 70s. Today Yoko Ono paid tribute to Bowie, writing that "After John died, David was always there for Sean and me. When Sean was at boarding school in Switzerland, David would pick him up and take him [...]

I Only Have Eyes For You (A Lennon Collage)

By |2016-01-30T18:48:31-08:00December 12, 2015|Art, John Lennon, Julian Lennon|

I found this photo in my archives and wanted to share it for those Dullbloggers who may not have seen it. It’s a photo collage John made for Paul, which Paul subsequently copied to Julian, who in turn added it to his Beatles’ Memorabilia book. (If you want the exact circumstances, I think Julian describes them there.) Any comments out there as to what you think inspired this Lennon collage?

Four In Hand by John Lennon

By |2015-12-02T17:35:51-08:00December 2, 2015|John Lennon|

This musical was brought to you by Purell. With all this talk of certain male sexual practices, I couldn't help but remember Four In Hand by John Lennon, the sketch he wrote for Kenneth Tynan's erotic revue "Oh! Calcutta!" First mounted (so to speak) in 1969, "Oh! Calcutta!" was a massive success — long runs on both sides of the Atlantic, an even longer run as a revival — but you don't hear about it a lot today. Tragically, a lot of the hijinks of the late 60s and early 70s went down the Memory Hole as soon as Reagan was elected, [...]

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