John Lennon A Cruel, Jealous Fiend, Says New Biography

John Lennon didn't give peace a chance at home - where he callously abused and routinely tormented the women closest to him.

The music legend was prone to unprovoked acts of cruelty, jealous rage and perverse sexual fantasies, according to the explosive new tell-all "John Lennon: The Life" by Beatles biographer Philip Norman.

The portrait is so damning that Yoko Ono, who contributed extensively and even convinced son Sean Lennon to speak to Norman, has panned the book as "too mean."

The fans who flocked to Strawberry Fields in Central Park yesterday to celebrate what would have been Lennon's 68th birthday might want to stay away from the exposé, which chronicles his callous treatment of Yoko, the physical and verbal abuse of his two sons, and his chronic infidelities.

Read the whole story here.

Comments

[DeadCivilian]

Let me get this straight:

Is this the same guy who used to make fun of cripples onstage?

The same guy who sang

"I'd rather see you dead, little girl, than to be with another man"? and
"Well you know that I'm a wicked guy and I was born with a jealous mind" ? and
"I used to be cruel to my woman I beat her and kept her apart from the things that she loved" ?

Do you mean THAT John Lennon? Well, duh. What a revelation! Where would we be without investigative journalists like Philip Norman to enlighten us to things we could glean from Lennon's own lyrics in 1967?

Maybe he was brave enough to acknowledge his faults publicly and through self-reflection work to improve his personal relationships and the world around him, despite his flaws.

Lennon will be remembered for "Give Peace a Chance", and every Christmas ever-after for "War is over, if you want it".

What will Norman's legacy be, besides a sleazy 'tell-all' book to cash in on the Lennon name and make a quick buck? Seriously, Philip, besides a few thousand more dead trees, what is YOUR contribution to life on our planet?

(crickets)

[kennydd]

let me re phrase that the most interesting ,influential and the greatest individual artist in the history of popular music bar none

[PaxMundis]

"
let me re phrase that the most interesting ,influential and the greatest individual artist in the history of popular music bar none"

Bull. If there was no Louis Armstrong, popular music as we know it wouldn't exist.

[PaxMundis]

"let me re phrase that the most interesting ,influential and the greatest individual artist in the history of popular music bar none"

I'll admit he was good, but he was no Louis Armstrong.

[kennydd]

Does it matter? We all know he was complicated and not so perfect That probably is what made him the most interesting and influential and arguably the greatest individual in the history of popular music BAR none.

[woodcut]

Things were different then - before AIDS. "Free Love" may not have been free, emotionally, but I think Jack Nicholson, Warren Beatty, & even Barbara Walters were having lots of sex !

[kassandrasduplex]

And during his lifetime Lennon was fairly up front and open about his HUMAN failings. He wrote of his infidelities and his abusive nature in his music, and admitted much in interviews. However, he spent his time and money trying to do a lot more good than most were doing during the darkest years of Nixon and the Vietnam War. Tthe guy was murdered in what many believe was a political assassination. How would any others behave living the truly Vida Loco he lived?
The Right Wing Noise Machine is trying to do to Lennon what it has done to the Kennedys. Pathetic. Nothing new to see here folks, move along.
For the Record: listen to Norwegian Wood, and the stunning Srgt. Pepper's number It's Getting Better All the Time. Nuff said. And you can trace the humanization and bildungsroman of a tortured genius.

[PaxMundis]

"The Right Wing Noise Machine is trying to do to Lennon what it has done to the Kennedys. Pathetic. Nothing new to see here folks, move along."

Sorry, but referring to the "Right Wing Noise Machine" is just silly, exactly like conservatives attacking the messenger when the media points out their faults. Philip Norman is a respected author who has written before about the Beatles. I seriously doubt he was planning a hatchet job.

[Bitsko]

Bob Spitz's "The Beatles: The Biography" said pretty much the same thing. Since that was a bestseller I suppose thievery doesn't enter into it.

[CrazyLiberal]

There have been several books dealing with the life and times of Lennon. Who would know better than the people that were around him at the time.

Lennon befriended a photographer named Paul Goresh in NYC. At first Lennon was upset about Goresh taking pictures of him from across the street and he confronted Goresh about it and told him to give him (Lennon) the film. Upon receiving the film, John exposed it, but a few days later he felt so guilty that he apologized and he and Goresh became friends.

According to Paul Goresh, Lennon was an exceptional person, very friendly, very intelligent and very sincere.

Cynthia Lennon, May Pang, Pattie Boyd (George Harrison's ex wife), Neil Aspinall and a host of other people who knew Lennon say that although he had a terrible temper, he was a very giving person.

Obviously, I don't believe what Philip Norman. He's just sensationalizing and manufacturing lies it to sell more books. There are parts that do tell the truth, like when Cynthia caught him and Yoko in matching bathrobes and Lennon going for years without seeing Julian.

The rest is BS. For example, according to various accounts, Yoko actually was stalking Lennon. John grew up surrounded by strong willed women, Cynthia was a mellow person so when Lennon found out that Yoko was aggressive and domineering like the women he grew up with (his aunt Mimi and later his mother Julia), he was psychologically smitten by her.

[PaxMundis]

"Obviously, I don't believe what Philip Norman. He's just sensationalizing and manufacturing lies it to sell more books. There are parts that do tell the truth, like when Cynthia caught him and Yoko in matching bathrobes and Lennon going for years without seeing Julian."

He did a hell of a lot of resarch.

[dakotaharp]

In polite circles it was a rule to never speak ill of the dead.

[mrblifil]

"I used to be cruel to my woman I beat her and kept her away from the things that she loved...Man I was mean but I'm changing my scene but I'm doing the best that I can..."

I mean the dude was telling us this exact thing back in the day. "Jealous Guy" also has a dark underpinning along the same lines. So I don't think that it's so amazing that 28 years later somebody goes ahead and supplies the forensic evidence.

[popples]

I don't think anyone who isn't a friend/loved-one of John Lennon can say for certain if Yoko's telling the truth. Quite frankly, I don't care (beyond feeling sorry for his children if the stories are to be believed). John's music and message lives on. It's bigger than him now.

Martin Luther King, Picasso, JFK, Mozart were people who created beautiful art and inspired movements. They were incredible men, but also deeply flawed ones.

I still love John's music and admire his conviction. I pass no judgement on either him or Yoko. It's not my place.

[PaxMundis]

MLK and JFK fooled around, Mozart could act childish, but Picasso was simply horrible to everyone who knew him, judging by the bio by the creator of this site.

[popples]

Well, I didn't mean to put them all on the same level in terms of behavior. But all of them did great things and not so great things. That's the point I was trying to make. Didn't mean to offend anyone.

[Bitsko]

That was a terrible book!

[kassandrasduplex]

So did John McCain and Newt Gingrich cheat. The difference is one of hypocrisy. Lennon admitted his flaws and tried to be a better person. Others aren't so forthright, so sanguine about their human failings. Many others are genuine monsters because of the self-deception and charades they live. Lennon is not guilty of that.

[TERRYKEITH4]

Strawbery Fields? That's talking about drugs!

[kidrio]

How does Philip Norman look himself in the mirror. John has been dead for years. Let it be!!!

[PaxMundis]

If the things in the book are true, wouldn't you want to know about them? The whole point about the Goldman book was that a lot of his stuff was uncorroborated, and he editorialized and sensationalized parts of it. From what I've read about this book, the author has done his homework. Would you rather he do a shameless hagiography of the man?

[Strappo]

I knew there was a reason he was always my favorite Beatle.

[Sportswoman]

"John" by Cynthia Lennon already showed this side of Lennon, but was not mean-spirited. She was very forgiving of him and believed they might someday reconcile as he thought John was weary of Yoko who was Queen of Control. Julian saw and heard a lot in that house. Cynthia wondered how man could sing about peace and treat his son like he did.

[PaxMundis]

I honestly don't think that the author is out just to be mean - he just wanted to be thorough. What bugs me is that people are basing the book on one article, and I find it downright bizarre how people are ready to trash him based simply on the article. Everything I've read suggests that the book is well-researched and fair to its subject.

[SFkid]

A rock star and a jerk? shocking! The man ditched his first born, enough said.