John Lennon in June 1969 in Montreal , during the recording of Give Peace a Chance .
Name John Winston Lennon
Birth 9  October  1940
Liverpool , UK
Death 8  December  1980 (40 years)
New York , United States
Main activity Singer-songwriter
writer , artist
Genre Rock , pop rock , rock ‘n’ roll
music experimental
Instruments Guitar , harmonica,
piano , keyboards
Years of 1957 to 1975
in 1980
Labels Apple , Parlophone , Capitol
Official Website
Circle The Quarrymen
The Beatles
Plastic Ono Band
Lennon Julia
Julia Baird
Julian Lennon
Sean Lennon
Cynthia Powell
Yoko Ono
May Pang
John Winston Ono Lennon MBE (born John Winston Lennon on 9  October  1940 in Liverpool , and assassinated on 8  December  1980 in New York ) is a musician , songwriter , guitarist , singer and writer, UK. He is the founder of the Beatles , English music group worldwide success since its formation in the early 1960s. Within the Beatles, he formed with Paul McCartney one of the tandems of songwriters the most influential and prolific in rock history, giving birth to more than two hundred songs .
As a teenager, influenced by his idols of American rock ‘n’ roll , it is carried away by the wave of music skiffle raging in Liverpool in 1956 and founded the group Quarrymen , which evolved to become, with Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr , the Beatles. From Please Please Me in 1963, Let It Be in 1970, the Beatles became one of the biggest events in the history of the music industry, introducing many innovations and blending musical genres and influences. Lennon plays a central role in this popular success, critical and commercial component much of the success of the group. The dissensions between the musicians, especially between Lennon and McCartney, put an end to the adventure in 1970.
When the Beatles split, John Lennon is dedicated to his solo career, supported and inspired by his wife Yoko Ono , Japanese artist avant-garde. Ono and Lennon then form one of the most talked about couples of the world for their art as well as for their political involvement. They create the Plastic Ono Band , a group variable geometry where they are accompanied by friends on stage and in studio. In 1971, John Lennon composed one of his most iconic songs, Imagine  , the album of the same name is also his most commercially successful solo. Lennon withdraws from all public activities in 1975 to care for her newborn son Sean , then resumes his career in 1980, just weeks before being assassinated by Mark David Chapman in front of his residence Dakota Building in New York .
Besides his music, Lennon is also famous for its many pronouncements, including pacifists , from the late 1960s. Its activities and commitment, especially against the Vietnam War , earned him regular trouble with the government of the United States , trying to expel him. Complex personality, he shows an acerbic humor, tinged with absurdity and nonsense , and is also distinguished by its sometimes violent conflict, contradict his image as representative of the pacifist ideal. He showed talent in the fields of painting and the writing , playing in several films, and directed short films experimental .
Thirty years after his death, he is one of the most popular artists of the xx th  century, and embodies the peace movement peace and love for years 1960 and 1970. A gathering in his memory continues to be held in New York every December 8, when he died, and several memorials were erected in his honor throughout the world

Biography

Childhood and adolescence (1940-1957)
Birth and marital status
John Winston Lennon was born on 9  October  1940 at the maternity hospital in Oxford Street in Liverpool , during a raid of the German air force , in the midst of the Blitz has one . He is the son of Alfred “Fred” Lennon and Julia Stanley . To get to the hospital where he is born, her aunt Mary “Mimi” Elizabeth is forced to cross the city at night, guided by the light of explosions 1 b , 1 . John holds his first name from his grandfather John “Jack” Lennon, and his middle name, Winston, was given in honor of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill b 1 . Jack Lennon, born in 1855 in Dublin and died in 1921, was lead singer of business. It has long lived in the United States before returning to Liverpool , where Lennon was born Fred 2 . Orphaned, he receives a good education and left school at fifteen. He worked one year as an office boy and then engaged in the merchant marine has two . He also began to attend Julia Stanley, despite the disagreement of the family of the girl, and they eventually married in 1938. Two years later she is pregnant with the future John, while Fred is at sea was one .
Fred Lennon is a sailor and is frequently away physical therapy Seattle from the family home, while pouring money regularly to his family. They live in a house on Newcastle Road , in a suburb called Penny Lane c 1 . Fred misses much of 1943, stopping to support his wife and son, then returned the following year b 2 . He then offers to take care of his family, but Julia, pregnant by another man, refuses b 3 . His sister “Mimi” Smith has complained to social services, Julia must entrust the custody of John d 1 . Mimi Smith said afterwards: “I knew when I saw John in the hospital I was that which would be his mother, not Julia. Is this is horrible to say? Not really, because Julia has considered it as something totally natural. She often said that I was his real mother, she did african mango give him that day ” 3 . Mimi also reported that all three had discussed and had agreed to it formally adopts the little John, but the decision never materialized was 3 . When the second child born to Julia, a girl named Victoria first, she confides to the Army of salvation for the adoption. Subsequently, John Lennon tries unsuccessfully to trace this half-sister, Ingrid became the new name given him by his adoptive parents and by her marriage Pedersen e 1 , and published his memoirs after death John 4 . Named Julia as his mother, the second half-sister Lennon did the same, first in 1988 5 and 2007 6 .
In July 1946, Fred picks up John to his sister and her son moved to Blackpool , with the secret intention to emigrate with him to New Zealand for a . Finances are in good shape, thanks to the black market after the war was 4 . Sensing something, Julia joined them immediately. Fred suggested he accompany them to New Zealand, but she refuses after a heated debate. John, five years old, must choose between her parents. He chose his father, but while his mother off again in tears, John turns and runs toward her, crying too. Back in Liverpool, it is permanently assigned to her aunt and loses contact with his father for twenty years, growing up in the Beatlemania b 4 . Lennon spent her childhood and adolescence, surrounded by women: his mother and four sisters of that c 1 . But, from nine to sixteen, he was also fortunate to live among a string of cousins, including Stanley Park and Leila, with whom he performs many happy outings, cinema and even travel, all three or only with Stanley, older than him seven years s 1 .
Youth in “Mimi” Smith

“  Mendips  “, the childhood home of John Lennon.
By John live in Woolton , another district of Liverpool , with his aunt Mimi and uncle George and Smith at 251 Menlove Avenue , in a house called “Mendips.” He spent the rest of his childhood and adolescence. Of the four Beatles, he is best placed in the social scale , living in a house in the suburbs with a garden c 1 . Lennon was educated in the tradition of England s 2  , it goes to catechism and thereby its communion, voluntarily, to fifteen years to 5 . He attended first Dovedale Primary School, where he learned to read and write in five months, helped by his uncle George was 6 . John turns out to be a very curious and gifted child in literature. He invented songs from nursery rhymes that he learns in school. He creates a world close to his favorite novel, The Adventures of Alice in Wonderland , which he draws all the characters f 1 , a 5 . Throughout his education, leadership, and Lennon is turbulent and constantly fights as well with other children of his school than those in his neighborhood. It explains, for example: “I loved The Wind in the Willows . When I read a book, it had to become true. That’s why I wanted to be leader at school. To play the other games that I liked, as I had just read ” a 5 . Quickly forgotten if his father, Lennon often think of his mother, he sees now and then a 7 .
From 1952 to 1957, he attended high school in Quarry Bank , suburban setting close to home and good reputation. From day one, he is impressed by the number of students and the difficulty that this presages for it to reach yet to take hold. The aggressiveness of Lennon and fighting are always put in high school: “I wanted to be admired. I wanted to be the boss. I liked more than to the petty bourgeois ” has 8 . But John is also a student humorous, including creating comics comic 5 b , g 1  and is also the author of bawdy poems and obscene drawings, which earned him regular trouble was 9 . The results are bad, getting worse each year, as explained by a teacher in his third ballot: “Without hope. Instead, the class clown. A newsletter appalling. Lose their time to other students ” 7 . The following year, they are redirected to the lower classes, the “chain C” is 9 . John may be ashamed, but does not go to work so far, have not the slightest desire to “compete with stupid” . He also leads his friend Pete Shotton with him on the slippery slope to 3 . Consequently, it fails in some General Certificate of Education (the equivalent of BEPC ), which greatly undermines its future. However, it is assisted by Mr  Pobjoy, a new teacher who was attached to it. Pobjoy allows him to enter the Fine Arts, knowing good at drawing, Aunt Mimi supports the idea was 3 . Lennon missed the test yet drawing the patent: “It had to do something on the theme of travel. I’ve drawn them a hunchback, full of warts. Must believe that it does not like them ” a 3 .
In June 1955, Uncle George died of a hemorrhage, while Lennon was almost fifteen years, he got on well with him and even if it shows anything, his aunt said that her death was much shocked at 10 . Lennon lives alone with Mimi b 5 . Her mother made ​​almost daily visits and himself will often see her growing up, when it hosts regular fights with her ​​aunt. Julia is then an ally in the quest for independence and rebellion of his son, mocking parents and teachers who bully at school. He sees his mother and more like a young aunt or a sister is 10 . In terms of personality, John very much like it has three . Julia also plays an important role in his musical education, offering him his first guitar, a Gallotone reputation management Champion sound cheap b 6 . She tells him including the banjo  and the first song he knows how to play is, according to sources, Is not That a Shame by Fats Domino 2 d , or ‘ll Be The Day by Buddy Holly was 11 .
The first records of rock ‘n’ roll American quickly reach the ears of young people from Liverpool, and by his own admission, John Lennon “misses the time Bill Haley  ” . But one day, running 1956, he heard Heartbreak Hotel for Elvis Presley , and there, he says, “it was the end of the world” c 2 . He stated, referring to the King  : “Nothing really affected me until I heard Elvis. If there had been no Elvis, there would have been the Beatles. I’m a fan of Elvis because he allowed me to leave Liverpool. As soon as I heard and I liked it, it’s been all my life. He has nothing else existed. I did more than rock ‘n’ roll. Apart from sex, food and money – but it’s the same, in fact c 3 , has 12 . ”
Early career (1957-1962)
The Quarrymen
Main article: The Quarrymen .
While John Lennon, now crazy rock ‘n’ roll, is in high school in Quarry Bank , the wave of skiffle sweeping Liverpool. Then comes the idea of forming a group with his friend Eric Griffith, what drives them to take guitar lessons, quickly abandoned by Lennon b 7 . At 16, during the summer of 1956, he founded, with Griffith, Pete Shotton , Nigel Walley and Ivan Vaughan , the group Quarrymen , which occurs in small parish fairs b 8 . It was during one of them, the 6  July  1957 , Ivan Vaughan presents Paul McCartney with John E 2 . The young Paul, aged fifteen and left impressed with him playing the chords of the song Twenty Flight Rock of Eddie Cochran . Lennon summarizes this crucial meeting: “It is from the day I met Paul that things began to move forward” is 13 . Paul’s father begins to think that Lennon is a poor attendance for his son, but he ended quickly accept the Quarrymen repeat at home, and the duo began working together g 2 , g 3 . In 1957, they wrote their first songs as Hello, Little Girl , who later became one of the songs the group’s flagship The Fourmost 2 g , or One After 909 found many years later on the album Let It Be . “We used to skip class and go home to Forthlin Road , to compose. There are many songs from that era that we never used because they are simple songs ” h 1 , remembers Paul McCartney. Aunt Mimi is very skeptical about a possible music career of his nephew, telling him often as “the guitar is fine, but you can never live again” . A few years later, when the Beatles are at the top of glory, John offers Mimi a silver tray on which is engraved this sentence s 3 .
Lennon attended the Liverpool College of Art from the fall of 1957, section Arts and letters, which he does not like, in retrospect, he thinks he should have studied illustration and painting at 14 . It sports a style at the time of Teddy Boy , wearing leather jackets, and made ​​known to all as a rebel disreputable. Beaux-Arts, he became friends with Stuart Sutcliffe , where he met his future wife also Cynthia Powell 9 b , d 3 . Distracted, John often forget to bring his drawing materials and does not hesitate to borrow pencils and brushes. One day he came over with his guitar, he sings the ballad U.S. Is not She Sweet f 2 . Powell, meanwhile, dyes his hair blonde after hearing Lennon compliment a girl with blond hair d 4 . However, he is rude and inattentive during class, as to be rejected by some teachers 8 , 9 . Having failed an exam, he left the facility before the end of the year b 10 .
Besides their passion for music, John and Paul soon share something in common, that weaves a strong bond between them: the loss of their mother c 4 . Almost two years after the death of Mary McCartney g 4 , Julia was hit by a car, July 15, 1958, a few steps from “  Mendips  ” g 5 . John saw the death of his mother as a major trauma, plunging it into bitterness: “I had lost it twice. The first when I was sent to my aunt. And the second at 17, when it is really physically dead. It made ​​me very, very bitter ” c 5 . He did not deliver his disappearance, dedicating several songs later.
Within the Quarrymen, John Lennon has a certain authority over others, because of its age as its excesses. Its position in the group, Paul McCartney said: “We all admired John. It was the older and it was more the leader. It was the keenest mind, the most intelligent and all that stuff ‘ d 5 , s 4 . The look of Lennon at the time was heavily influenced by Elvis Presley and Marlon Brando . In February 1958, McCartney convinced him to include his friend George Harrison in the group. Lennon, just tried to start as convinced that Harrison is too young, changes his mind after having auditioned a bus g 6 .
Creation of the Beatles
Main article: The Beatles .

The Beatles were discovered by Brian Epstein while playing at the Cavern Club in Liverpool.
Later, Lennon named his band the Silver Beetles , in reference to the film The Wild One , then, in 1960, the Beatles , the second “e” changing to “a” on an idea by Lennon and Sutcliffe, in reference to the Beat Generation . The group is heavily influenced by the repertoire rock ‘n’ roll at the time and his game is very aggressive. Having made ​​a reputation in Liverpool, the group started in August 1960 by Bruno Koschmider, owner of clubs in Hamburg, Germany. The Beatles since their cheap auto insurance quotes weapons are in the boxes of the red light district of Sankt Pauli . John is full of jokes during his concerts: “My name is John, I play the guitar. Sometimes I play the chitterlings as ” 5 s or “Boche band, we won the war! ” knowing that the German public will not understand and that will present the English sailors laugh s 6 .
Aunt Mimi is terrified of this trip and begged his nephew, unsuccessfully, to return to school for 6 . For this escapade German Lennon imposes Stuart Sutcliffe in the low g 7 , g 8 . Although very talented painter, Stuart proved a poor musician f 3 . Shortly after the beginning of the engagement, he left the group to live his juegos de mario love affair with Astrid Kirchherr , author of the first official pictures of the Beatles s 7 . Then McCartney takes the bass, Lennon and Harrison refused to leave their guitars f 4 . The group has other troubles when McCartney and drummer at the time, Pete Best , are returned to Germany after having set fire to a condom , the back of the cinema where they are housed, while George is his also referred, not of working age 9 g . Lennon, meanwhile, loses his work permit soon after and must also leave England d 7 .
They returned to Germany in April 1961 and to record My Bonnie with Tony Sheridan d 8 . In November, Brian Epstein to the Beatles offers to become their manager , they accept 10 g . The latter plays a key role for the group, causing members to change their outfits of leather jackets, suits, giving them a more wise s 8 . John Lennon saw a second tragedy when Sutcliffe died of a brain tumor , 10 April 1962, days before the return of the group in Hamburg 11 b , d 9 . Lennon then holds a role with Kirchherr: it later reported that he had saved in cheer him up, saying “either you live or you die, you can not stay in the middle” f 5 .
The life of John Lennon takes a new turn in mid-1962 when Cynthia tells him she is pregnant by him of 10 . They were married Aug. 23, but the union remains secret. Indeed, it would be bad for the image of the group that its members are not single. Thus, even Ringo Starr , just hired by the group is not aware and learns that Lennon is married in an interview in the book, in which John claims to have a dependent wife f 6 . The marriage gets out that the birth of their first child, Julian Lennon , 8 April 1963 to 11 . Julian grew up, however, without a real connection with his father and declared later in an interview: “I never really wanted to know the reality about how Dad was behaving with me. It has been said very negative things about me, as when he said that I had to come from a bottle of whiskey on a Saturday night. Stuff like that. We think: where is the love in all this? With Paul being dragged often than Dad and me. We were great friends and there seems to be many more pictures of me and Paul playing together at that age than there are pictures of my father and me ‘ s 9 . At the time of birth of Julian, John is on holiday with Brian Epstein , the Beatles’ manager. He says: “Cynthia was going to deliver, but I did not miss a holiday for a carpet cleaning Seattle baby. I thought I was a funny motherfucker and I left ” c 6 .
Beatlemania (1963-1966)
Main article: Beatlemania .
Rise in popularity

John Lennon in 1964.
After several refusals of labels London, the Beatles were hired by George Martin at Parlophone , a subsidiary of EMI . The first single of the group, Love Me Do seems October 5, 1962. The song reached the 17 th place in sales in the UK f 7 . The first album, Please Please Me , was largely recorded February 11, 1963 in a single session of twelve hours, while Lennon had a cold 11 g . Eight of the fourteen songs on the album are written by John and Paul McCartney f 8 . These are first signed “McCartney / Lennon” before the formula is finally changed to “  Lennon / McCartney  ” 10 . The success of the group takes on the scale: a pack of fans following the four boys, crowds throng around them, sometimes in hysterics, which takes the Beatles off guard f 9 . The phenomenon is called “  Beatlemania  “by the British press. On November 4, 1963, they have the honor to perform before the royal family h 2 . If the group is needed quickly in Europe, it is different to the U.S. where the phenomenon takes longer to start. It was not until the passage of the group Ed Sullivan Show February 9, 1964, shattering the record audience for a television program for the group won a great reputation in the country f 10 . Subsequently, the Beatles shackle international tours, albums and movies knowing a worldwide success.
This is not without celebrity rumors. Thus the year 1963 saw a burst case against Lennon and Brian Epstein . Both have indeed spent a holiday together in Spain , leading to much speculation, Epstein was gay f 11 . The thing takes a certain extent when, during the 21 th anniversary of McCartney, Lennon physically attacked someone asked, “How was your honeymoon, John? ” It was a joke, however, that Lennon was taken as an insult to 12 . A fiction film traces the holiday passed by Lennon and Epstein in Spain: The Hours and Times s 10 . This prosperous period saw Lennon get into the writing of two books: In flagrant delusion and an ice cube in the wind , collections of stories and drawings of surreal and humorous f 12 . The four band members are made ​​members Wire Shelving of the Order of the British Empire June 12, 1965 s 11 . They also meet the folk poet Bob Dylan , John acknowledges that a talent as a writer. This recognition comes respect and exchange between the two music icons. Dylan is also to payment protection insurance discover the marijuana to the Beatles during the group’s first tour in the United States in the summer of 1964 f 13 .
Lennon saw evil madness around them and took refuge in sarcasm and bulimia – he will speak later period of his “big Elvis” in an interview s 12 . In this period it is repugnant to itself, comes the song Help! , he considers, in retrospect only, as a real call for help in the world 3 pm . It also shows nostalgic period ‘leather and rock’ n ‘roll, “when the Beatles were as obscure young musicians fenced in small clubs. “What we’ve done the best ever was recorded. We were performers , we played straight rock in the dance halls in Liverpool and Hamburg, and what we produced was fantastic. There was no match for us in Britain 11  ” .
“More popular than Jesus”
Main article: Controversy around about John Lennon on Jesus Christ .

Paul McCartney , George Harrison and John Lennon on Dutch television in 1964.
After writing an ice cube in the wind , John Lennon gave an interview in March 1966 to a journalist friend, Maureen Cleave, five months before the third summer U.S. tour – the first two were held in 1964 and 1965. He says: “The Christianity will disappear. It will shrink, evaporate. I do not have to discuss it. I am right, it will be proved that I’m right. We’re more popular than Jesus now. I do not know what will disappear first, the rock ‘n’ roll or Christianity ” s 13 . Immediately truncated and distorted remarks caused a wave of hatred, of the southern United States, against the group, and Lennon in particular. So in Alabama , records of the Beatles are burned. Epstein has a news conference a statement approved by Lennon, which does not calm the situation so far: twenty-two American radio stations boycotting the group, the sale of his records is prohibited in South Africa and benefits the American public Beatles are stretched f 14 . The situation calmed down after many public apologies to Lennon in late August f 15 . In 2008, in an article celebrating forty years of the “  White Album  ” L’Osservatore Romano , the official newspaper of the Vatican , is back with indulgence on this gap by calling it “a phrase that provoked outrage, but that sounds today like a quip from a young English working class overtaken by unexpected success ” s 14 .
It was also at that time held the last concert of the Beatles, who no longer know how to reconcile their musical innovations and hysterical crowds c 7 . They decided unanimously to finalize the cost, after the final concert of their U.S. tour in the summer of 1966, August 29 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco . Subsequently, they refuse to play, even for a million dollars f 16 . Lennon lived, however badly that decision, saying: “The more tours … Life without the Beatles is like a void in the future” . He is even considering to leave the band 12 .
The Beatles are now working in the studio. From Revolver , McCartney sees Lennon take a dominant place in the group. However, even when the author is unique, as in the case of Yesterday Paul’s songs continue to be signed “  Lennon / McCartney  , “Epstein decision that will not degrade the cohesion of the group f 17 . Idle by the end of touring, Lennon played in the movie parody of Richard Lester , How I Won the War . If it is neither a critical nor commercial success to its release, October 18, 1967, the film allows him to express his pacifist positions vis-à-vis the Vietnam War f 18 , f 19 . During filming, Lennon made ​​one of its flagship titles, Strawberry Fields Forever c 8 . During this time, Lennon changed much physically, become much more accepting now lean to wear iphone ringtones glasses in public, round and now legendary because of his myopia e 3 .
Peak and collapse of the Beatles (1967-1970)
Sgt. Pepper’s and stay in India
Articles: Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (album) and the Beatles’ stay in India .

Lennon stayed with the rest of the group in the Ashram of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in 1968.
1967 sees the culmination of the Beatles with the release of the album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band , which triumphed at the top of the charts on both sides of the Atlantic. The period is also a prolific tandem to Lennon / McCartney , the two men spending many hours working their songs and experimenting with new sounds f 20 . Lennon goes further and delve into the psychedelic , with a lot of drugs and complex sounds. The role of the drug is also increasingly important in the band’s songs, in the words of McCartney s 15 , and sometimes causes controversy, as the fact that Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds is a supposed allusion to LSD due its initial 4 pm . On June 25, 1967, the Beatles perform, live from Studio 1 at Abbey Road and Mondovision , a John Lennon song specially composed for the show Our World , broadcast to over 400 million viewers around the world : All You Need Is Love , which became No. 1 across the world. The triumph was total.
Shortly after there is a dramatic event: Brian Epstein died August 27, 1967, while the group attended a lecture of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi f 21 . The Beatles then need a new leader , and that Paul McCartney takes the role. It is the manager of the film Magical Mystery Tour , which proves to be a commercial and critical failure. Lennon saw the bad side: “I realized we had problems. I had no confidence in our ability to do anything other than music, and I was afraid ” 13 . He is looking more and more inner peace, and turns to a Japanese artist of avant-garde , Yoko Ono (member of the movement Fluxus ), whom he met at an exhibition at the Indica Gallery in London in 1966. Between February and April 1968, during a visit to Rishikesh in the ashram of Maharishi, who must teach the Transcendental Meditation , John lives, as Paul, an extraordinary creative period and composed many new songs, he use of the “  White Album  “on the last two drives of the group and even in his early solo albums.
Lennon finally divorce his return f 22 . He tries to continue his wife, claiming to be victims and not guilty of adultery 14 . However, the situation changes when it is discovered that Yoko is pregnant with John. Divorce proceedings are complicated and turn finally to the detriment of Lennon 14 . This divorce drives Paul McCartney to write Hey Jude , a song intended to comfort Julian Lennon, five, which is very close to f 23 .
As of May 1968, the presence of Yoko Ono during the recording sessions, along with John and literally in the middle of the group, causing discomfort, resentment and animosity f 22 . So far, no wife had been tolerated during the recordings, but Lennon made ​​it clear to others that take it or leave e 4 . The artist has found his muse, most of his new compositions are strongly influenced by Ono, or refer directly to it: I’m So Tired , Happiness Is a Warm Gun , Yer Blues , Julia , Revolution 9 , and Many other 5 pm . Yoko sings even the title The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill e 5 . All this leads to the “  White Album  “double album of thirty titles devoted the bursting of the Beatles, everyone will use other than as musicians. A split more flagrant occurs between Lennon and McCartney f 24 . Exasperated by the behavior of musicians, especially that of John, the sound engineer Geoff Emerick slams the door in the middle of recording sessions 15 , while Ringo Starr escapes in Sardinia. The album did not win less than a resounding success.
Separation of the group
Upon his return visit to India , John begins to lose interest in the Beatles, who want to continue to evolve beyond the restrictive framework of the Fab Four . Between November 1968 and late 1969, to mark its first venture outside the Beatles, he published three albums of experimental music attributed to “John Lennon and Yoko Ono” Unfinished Music No.1: Two Virgins , better known for his wallet as for its musical content, Unfinished Music No.2: Life with the Lions and Wedding Album . The participation of the couple at Rock and Roll Circus of Rolling Stones in December 1968, home loans south africa is another step Los Angeles DUI attorney outside of the Beatles. Lennon the opportunity to form a supergroup called The Dirty Mac (referring to the group Fleetwood Mac ) 16 . In addition to himself on vocals and rhythm guitar , he counts Eric Clapton to solo guitar , Mitch Mitchell (of Jimi Hendrix Experience acne scars ) on drums and Keith Richards (Rolling Stones) on bass . The group interprets Yer Blues , composed by John and published one month earlier, on the “  White Album  “by the Beatles, followed by a beef with Yoko singing and Ivry Gitlis the violin 16 .
On the set of the documentary Get Back (later renamed Let It Be ), the mood is gloomy,  George Harrison is to leave the band for twelve days stretch marks in January 1969 f 25 . Yoko continues to attend all of the Beatles recording sessions, sitting next to John. At electronic cigarettes the same time, it committed more openly in the political, particularly in relation to war, under the influence of Ono f 26 . John and Yoko were married March 20, 1969 at Gibraltar and then organize the website hosting famous bed-in for peace 27 paleo f . This period inspired the song The Ballad of John and Yoko , recorded April 14, 1969 by Lennon and McCartney alone, the latter providing many instruments f 28 . That same year, Lennon adopted as a second name Ono 17 . In July, he launched Give Peace a Chance , his first solo single, although awarded the Plastic Ono Band . This is when a group theory, an idea inspired by Yoko Ono to manipulate the models on stage, hence the name i 1 . However, the song is still credited Lennon / McCartney , Lennon feeling both guilty to launch the first true solo album, but not yet ready to “cut the cord with Paul” i 2 .
In late September 1969, Lennon ends Beatles by announcing his departure to the other members no no hair removal of the group, following the recording of the album Abbey Road f 29 . In October, he published his second solo single, Cold Turkey , with Eric Clapton on guitar. The song had been approached to appear on Abbey Road , but was ultimately deemed too personal to be published other than solo i 3 . Lennon further accelerates this separation by engaging Allen Klein as the new manager of the group, while McCartney preferred his stepfather, Lee Eastman f 30 . Having also convinced George Harrison and Ringo Starr, Klein takes office. However, the effective separation of the Beatles kept secret for several months, for commercial reasons: Klein asked Phil Spector to rework the album Let It Be , causing the wrath of McCartney, who finds his songs denatured f 31 . It’s finally making it public break, April 10, 1970, in a press release included in pressing its promotional debut solo album b 12 , a very bad move made ​​by Lennon, who sees it as an attempt to promotion of the first game of his partner. In an interview with the magazine Rolling Stone , he said: “I was stupid not to do what Paul did, which was used to sell a disk” and adding “I formed the band, I ‘ have dissolved ” 18 . In December, a British television said the “man of the decade”, with John F. Kennedy and Ho Chi Minh i 4 , s 16 .
Solo career (1970-1980)
First year
After separation of the Beatles, John Lennon is dedicated to his career, his wife and policy. In February 1970, he published his third 45s solo, Instant Karma! , which marks the beginning of his collaboration with renowned producer Phil Spector . For promotion, Lennon makes a return to the English issue Top of the Pops for the first time since 1966, the song reached the top 5 rankings UK i 5 . At that time, Lennon following a therapy primal scream , the results are mixed f 32 . In September, he began recording his first true solo album, John Lennon / Plastic Ono Band . For four weeks, he surrounded himself with close friends: Ringo Starr , his former comrade of the Beatles, on drums, Klaus Voormann , a friend from the days of Hamburg , plays the bass, and finally the piano is provided by Billy Preston , and sometimes by Phil Spector himself i 4 .
In 1971, Lennon went for the first time in the family of Yoko Ono , in Japan . It is also involved in two legal battles: the dissolution of the Beatles by the courts, and obtaining custody of Kyoko, Yoko’s daughter i 6 . In July, he recorded his second album, Imagine , which gives it real credibility as a solo artist i 7 . The album also contains the eponymous song , a hymn pacifist and utopian often considered his greatest song f 33 , i 8 . The disc also includes political pamphlets (like Gimme Some Truth , buy spice addressed to Richard Nixon i 9 ), or How Do You Sleep? , attacking McCartney i 10 . Another song on the disc proves popular, Oh Yoko! , but Lennon gives up the single released in, fearing that “this is not representative of the image I had of me, the rock ‘n’ roller and biting hard , the verb acid ” i 11 . On August 31, 1971, he moved to New York and released Happy Xmas (War Is Over) in December, with the children of the choir Baptist Harlem  : If the single remaining discreet for the United States , it is successful in the United Kingdom , when there is published a year later i 12 . In addition, through its many commitments, John Lennon becomes the embodiment of the political activism of his generation and uses his fame to promote peace and good causes s 17 .
In 1972, in the midst of his troubles with the U.S. administration that does not want him on the ground, records Lennon Some Time in New York City , but critics as well as sales turn out bad i 13 . On August 30, it gives the Madison Square Garden two charity concerts, the last remaining full benefits of his life, appearances point out i 14 . At the beginning of next year, Lennon loses some of its yarn production, and stating on its hard to come: “It becomes a job, and it kills the music. It’s like when you leave school and you do not want to read a book ” i 15 . In April 1973, he left Greenwich Village to move the Dakota Building , in an area far more upscale i 16 .
The “lost weekend”

Lennon retired in Los Angeles with May Pang during his “lost weekend”.
In the summer of 1973, the relations of John with Yoko Ono deteriorate to the point that it puts at the door, and Lennon moved to Los Angeles with May Pang , his young assistant and new companion. He describes this period as his “lost weekend” ( Lost Weekend ), although it actually takes more than a year s nine . He who has regularly said that Yoko did not cause the end of the Beatles, jokes about a time when he was away from her: “It was separated for eighteen months, Yoko and me. And, to my knowledge, the Beatles have not reformed so far! So Yoko was not the cause of their separation ” e 6 . However, it is a John Lennon in distress who moved to California , confessing himself “becoming insane” , trying in vain “to drown in alcohol” all he giochi gratis felt e 7 . Influenced by May Pang, however it tries to reconnect with his son Julian and the meeting with Cynthia during a visit to Disneyland to 13 . He has then a guitar and other instruments and taught him to play for 14 .
Lennon also revived briefly with Paul McCartney, and made ​​friends with several musical celebrities like Elton John and David Bowie . On the one hand, he invited the first to sing his song Whatever Gets You Through the Night . In that period of wandering through Lennon, this title was published as a single in October 1974, a great success and raise his career in the U.S. is its No. 1 single and solo in his lifetime. Moreover, having bet with Elton John that he would accompany him in concert if the disk was out ahead, run Lennon November 28th, 1974 at Madison Square Garden , where he also plays Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds and I Saw Her Standing There . This last appearance on stage 15 i is published with the other songs on the album of the concert of Elton John Here and There . On the other hand, John Lennon co-wrote the song Fame with David Bowie, his first great success in the United States. Lennon also accompanies Bowie in his recovery Across the Universe , while the latter contains the first words of A Day in the Life ( “  I read the news today oh boy  ” ) in the title track of Young Americans s 18 .
During this time, Lennon recorded two albums anyway, with producer Phil Spector  : Walls and Bridges and Rock ‘n’ Roll , it consists of covers of classic rock ‘n’ roll, as Be-Bop-A-Lula or Peggy Sue . But this album is recorded against the heart, for it is a contractual obligation vis-à-vis Morris Levy. Indeed, Lennon was accused of plagiarism in 1969, having borrowed Property Malaysia the title of Come Together , the four words “  here come old flat-top  “of the song You Can not Catch Me by Chuck Berry (whose rights returned to Morris Levy). It must commit to record three songs from the catalog Levy i 17 . Finally, he said about Rock ‘n’ Roll  : “It was a humiliation, and I regret to myself in this position, but I did it i 18  ” . At the same time, he produced, wrote and sings on the album Pussy Denver Divorce Attorney Cats with his friend Harry Nilsson (disc quickly became “cult” to insiders s 19 ), and he toured for concerts with the informal group playing on the disk ( Ringo Starr , Keith Moon and other revelers) 19 . At that time, the merger with Julian continues, it drumming on the title of Walls and Bridges of 15 .
Temporary retreat and murder
Main article: Assassination of John Lennon .

The Dakota Building where John Lennon lived in New York car insurance and before that held his assassination.
In early 1975, Yoko Ono Lennon agrees to return to live with it, provided it meets certain conditions 20 . It accepts and to submit to a diet macrobiotic healthy without meat or alcohol, but also to leave his wife fully manage its business e 8  , then it invests in real estate and livestock i 19 . Yoko ends up pregnant, but, quarantine and started with the memory of its previous miscarriages, she wants an abortion. Lennon refuses and manages to convince her to keep the child, by committing to take care of e 9 . Thus, on October 9th, day of the thirty-fifth anniversary of John, was born his second son, Sean . Lennon then retired from public life and music to devote himself to the education of his son, his very last public performance took place June 13, 1975, during a TV show in honor of Lew Grade, producer and mogul of British audiovisual i 20 .
During this time, Lennon drew and wrote many 21 and is also involved in domestic chores e 10 . His musical activity is slowed down but far from stopped, as evidenced by the Lost Lennon Tapes , or the songs Real Love and Free as a Bird , he composed around 1977 and 1978 10 th . But this silence is puzzling public, both his fans, still waiting 11 th , the media – January 14, 1978, the New Musical Express as “Where are you, John Lennon? ” i 21  – or his colleagues in the rock scene i 22 . During this period, Lennon explained in a song, Watching the Wheels , on his return public in 1980 f 34 . It performs this year, a trip to Bermuda , where he wrote most of the songs from the new album. He finds a record with David Geffen and recording begins August 4. Released in November in the U.S. , the album Double Fantasy , with songs sung alternately by Yoko and he marks the return of Lennon auto loans for bad credit and gets in first, the correct results, they finally explode after murder of musician i 19 .
On December 8, 1980, at 22  h  52 , after a night of studio work and when he returned to his apartment in the Dakota Building , next to Central Park , Lennon received four bullets from a revolver fired by an unbalanced ( Mark David Chapman ) , in front of his wife. Taken to Roosevelt Hospital in an emergency, it is pronounced dead at 7 23 pm, fifteen minutes after the shooting. The next day, Yoko announces: “There will be no ceremony for John. John loved and prayed for humanity. Please do the same for him. Thank you. Yoko and Sean s 20  ” . His body was cremated and his ashes given to Yoko s 21 , s 22 .

The assassin, Mark Chapman pleaded guilty and received a sentence of life imprisonment with fifteen years incompressible. Is denied parole six times. The committee judging his last request to leave said: “This premeditated, senseless, selfish and tragic consequences, leads to the conclusion that [his] release remains inconsistent with the safety of the community” s 23 . The reasons for the killing remain unclear. Some see the sense of betrayal would have proven Chapman, accusing the idol of not keeping the promises of peace and equality of wealth he communicated in his songs. Others see it as an “answer” to the sentence stating that the media popularity of the Beatles in England exceeded that of Jesus s 24 . And some people do not see because a burr committed by an uncontrolled having been manipulated by the secret service 22 .
Lennon was raised by his violent death songs, so disturbing, as with the “  shoot [me]  “repeated before each verse of Come Together , and in an interview. On the day of his assassination, he said: “I consider my work will not be finished until I’m not dead and buried, and I hope it will be in very, very long” s 25 . Within a few months, his last album, Double Fantasy , flows to seven million copies worldwide e 12 .
Personality and commitments

Personality
Humor and irreverence
John Lennon is characterized by a sense of humor developed as an integral part of his image and personality. This humor enamel including Beatles songs he wrote or contributions. So in Getting Better , while Paul McCartney sings that everything is getting better all the time, Lennon added that “it can not be worse” in any Magic Tricks case f 35 . The refrain of his song Girl , sings with the other Beatles tit-tit-tit-tit , or “tit-tit-tit” in slang, but nobody notices c 9 . Lennon may also be couette bambou more bitter: when he learns that teachers are studying during his songs, he decided to write one devoid of any sense, I Am the Walrus (which literally means “I am the Walrus” by reference to Alice in Wonderland ), to see “what these bastards can find in there” h 6 . He writes Glass Onion in the same spirit, “revealing” in reality, the “Walrus” was Paul.
At press conferences, Lennon, like the other Beatles, do not hesitate to leave a few pikes humorous, sometimes tinted to absurd and nonsense . Thus, when asked in 1964 where did the name “  Beatles  “, he replied: “I had a vision when I was twelve. I saw a man on a flaming pie who said, “You are Beatles with an A! ” f 36 . The humor in the interview becomes a habit Beatles and continues throughout the Beatlemania . In 1966, during a press conference during a concert at Candlestick Park , they are asked what they inspired Eleanor Rigby , to which Lennon replied, a bit sarcastic and provoking laughter from the audience: “Two gay. Two fags ” 23 . Subsequently, he tempers this into perspective and humor in interview: “We asked questions-we made ​​jokes and jokes of the responses-but in reality, it was not funny at all. This was only the College Humor, who laugh at school ” c 10 .
The humor can also be irreverent. In November 1963, when the Beatles have the honor of playing before the royal family, a picnic ppi reclaim Lennon loose comedy before singing Twist and Shout , to the chagrin of the band’s manager, Brian Epstein , who feared such an overflow: “For our next title, people settled in the cheapest seats they really want to clap their hands? And all other, shake your jewelry! ” f 37 Lennon uses humor in these situations intimidating to deal with the pressure. When the Beatles returned to a series of concerts in Liverpool , they are not sure of themselves, fearing that the ruling could provide them with all the people they know on the spot. During an appearance on the balcony, facing the crowd, Lennon splits while a Nazi hello, no one seems to notice 11 c . He also likes to entertain his partner on stage, mimicking psychomotor disabilities, a recurring joke in 1964, when he asks the audience to clap hands and stomp s 26 . John also fun to change the lyrics of I Want to Hold Your Hand , knowing that assistance unleashed distinguishes nothing: he sings “  I want to hold your gland  “in reference to the female mammary protuberances s 27 . In August 1965, when the Beatles became the first rock band to give a concert in a stadium, Shea Stadium in New York, before a record crowd, Lennon put his comrades at home with a lot of facial expressions and gestures, martyred including a Farfisa organ with his elbows at the time of the interpretation of I’m Down by throwing winks fun to George Harrison. McCartney says: “It was good stuff, with John: when a concert proved a little tricky, and this one was without a doubt, old comic reflexes reappeared always” c 12
Beliefs and spirituality

Lennon was a time followed the teachings of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi .
John Lennon is in a period where it is opposed to Christianity , in response to a Christian education. In the song Girl , he slips allusions to this religion, the suffering required to reach the paradise 24 . It also questions the concept in the two books he wrote, where he attacks the Church among others: “I went out against the Church, but although it was screaming, it was never found ” c 9 . Lennon opened to other spiritualities in the mid-1960s, when reading the book The Psychedelic Experience of Timothy Leary , Richard Alpert and Ralph Metzner , based on the Book of the Dead from the Tibetan Buddhism s 28 , s 29 . This book, deeply related to the use of LSD , Lennon inspires one of his first songs with psychedelic tones, Tomorrow Never Knows , which closes the album Revolver in 1966. However, Lennon said in 1972 that he never read the Tibetan Book of the Dead, and was content to this adaptation c 13 .
Like the three other band members, John Lennon also met Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in August 1967 and participated in a weekend of personal training in Transcendental Meditation s 30 . In 1968, the group retires to India in the Ashram of Maharishi, they meditate and compose most of the songs from the “  White Album  ” g 12 . However, Lennon finally angry with the spiritual master, he thought he had pierced the weaknesses he expresses in his song Sexy Sadie , appeared on this album 7 pm . This dispute has not prevented Lennon to continue to practice meditation s 31 . In the same spirit, he is also interested in mantras and yoga i 23 .
John Lennon has a passion for certain areas of inspiration mystical or occult, such as tarot or numerology . He attributes an especially important value to the number 9, he considers closely related to his life. Born on October 9 as his son, who lived at number 9 Newcastle Road in Liverpool , he uses it in several titles of his songs: One After 909 , Revolution 9 (on which he heaped loop “  number nine, number nine …  “) or # 9 Dream solo. After his death, aficionados of numerology are still other signs: he was murdered on 72 th Avenue (7 2) and, if death a Dec. 8 in New York , jet lag meant that c It was already nine in Liverpool i 24 . Coincidence or not, Apple has chosen the date of September 9, 2009 (09/09/09) to publish the re-mastered versions of all the Beatles albums s 32 .
In 1970, to get rid of the weight of the death of his mother and her problems of heroin , Lennon began a primal therapy with Dr. Arthur Janov , after reading one of his books e 13 . Seeking publicity, Janov sent indeed his work with celebrities of the moment, as Peter Fonda or the Rolling Stones 14 th . Especially attracted by the prospect of this “liberating shout,” John, along with Yoko, following a shock treatment, where he is back into his childhood and receive massages strong, to stop his “neurotic gasps.” After three weeks, Dr. Janov offers him the prospect of entering the United States for medical reasons, which enchants the player e 15 . The couple goes well in California and the treatment is underway which, according to Lennon, strengthens its bond with Yoko. This continues until a dispute between Lennon and Janov, who wanted to film for a group session of shouting. The accusing look for the scoop, Lennon is gradually on the outs with him and the critical Ono, more and more regular, convinced him to put an end to the therapy. He left Janov and when his visa expires American, incomplete, therapy lasted only a few months. The remains are yet heard on her debut album, released late 1970, John Lennon / Plastic Ono Band 16 e  : for example, on the song Mother , he laments about his parents and hammers, screaming at the end of the song “  Mama, do not go, Daddy, come home!  “( “Mama, Do not go, Daddy, come home!” ). Require this treatment, Lennon comes in a worse condition that when he arrived f 32 .
Lennon and Ono are also behind the concept of Bagism . Their idea is to criticize the prejudices based on appearance, and consider only the message of the speaker, talking to him as if he were in a bag s 33 . Lennon defines Bagism as a “form of total communication ‘ s 34 . He also mentions the practice in several songs, including Give Peace a Chance and The Ballad of John and Yoko .
Use of drugs
Lennon’s first contact with drugs dates back to the period when the Beatles played in Hamburg  : both Astrid Kirchherr that some customers of the clubs 13 g had a habit of giving them amphetamines , which allowed them to hold out for eight hours they had to provide almost every night of 16 . In the first triumphal tour and the Beatles through the United States in the summer of 1964, Bob Dylan introduces them to the marijuana f 13 . It believes they are regulars, having understood the line “  I can not hide  “( “I can not hide” ) of the song I Want to Hold Your Hand as “  I get high  “( “I flat ” ) g 14 , g 15 .
In an interview with Playboy , Lennon said that during the filming of Help! , the Beatles “smoked marijuana for breakfast” s 35 . His first wife also said in an interview in 1995 that their marriage had began to falter because of the reputation of the group and the use of increasingly important drug, which was engaged Lennon s 36 . Lennon also consumed LSD , like the rest of the group s 15 . He also had with Yoko Ono, Joann Fabrics coupons an addiction to the heroin for several years. In August 1969, he attempted a total withdrawal (discussed at that time in his song Cold Turkey ) to develop a viable child, without success weaning fails and Yoko had a miscarriage i 25 . In an interview with the magazine Rolling Stone in 1971, he explains that he took with her ​​when they were suffering, “because of what the Beatles and others [they] did” . It also states that it is because the number of bad trips on LSD he lived, he decided to stop this kind of drug s 37 . Lennon said the couple not to have used drugs since the birth of Sean in 1975, although Yoko admitted a brief relapse at the end of the decade i 26 .
Substances Psychotropic have a significant influence on the creativity of the Beatles and that of Lennon in particular. Thus, from 1965 , and Day Tripper including 8 pm , he wrote more songs make direct reference to drug use ( Tomorrow Never Knows , She Said She Said , A Day in the Life , etc.).. Subsequently, each looking for references to drugs in the band’s songs: the title Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds is frequently associated with LSD, in reference to his initials, while Lucy in question was a classmate of the son of Lennon. However, Paul McCartney said it was “quite obvious” that the drug had inspired the text of the song s 15 . The drugs – especially LSD – are also changing the way we work group: so far considered the leader of the Beatles, Lennon withdrew gradually to let Paul McCartney taking over. The album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band is thus to be attributed mainly to McCartney, Lennon explained that subsequently, he was too busy to “destroy his ego  ” , one of the presumed effects of LSD 9 pm . It then helps the heroine to the remoteness of Lennon vis-à-vis group i 3 , the dip gradually, according to McCartney, the paranoia s 38 .
Like many celebrities of the 1960s , Lennon does not escape legal troubles because of Medigap Plans his drug use. In October 1968, while living in London with Yoko, the narcotics police raided his home and found a small amount of cannabis resin 17 th . Lennon was convinced not to hold, having been warned three weeks ago of the possibility of search c 14 . He decided to plead guilty and got away with a deposit of 400 pounds to pay for him and Ono 18 th . The officer who conducted the search, Sergeant Norman Pilcher, is known at the time to track down celebrities pop, having already managed to confuse Donovan , Marianne Faithfull and the Rolling Stones for the same reason e 19 . This episode ends the “immunity” that surrounded the Beatles up there, George Harrison was also taken in the future. The latter is even talk of a “conspiracy of the establishment  “and later, Norman Pilcher was convicted of perjury , under other circumstances c 15 . Nevertheless, this case will be brought against John Lennon, when he wants to settle permanently in the United States in the 1970 e 18 .
Social life
A complex
If Lennon proves sometimes very attentive – this attention up to the obsession in the case of Yoko Ono  – he also happens to have a backlash against his family. During his meeting with Cynthia Powell , when it accepts an invitation from Lennon on the pretext that she is dating another boy, he replied: “Shit, I have not asked to marry me, right? ” 25 Similarly, it is up to the surprise hit when dancing with his friend Stuart Sutcliffe 26 . The strong tendency to jealousy contrast to the singer’s own trend of adultery , he is guilty on several occasions during the careers of the Beatles . He mentions this aspect of his personality in song, especially the album Rubber Soul , with Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) and Run for Your Life 9 c .
This aspect of the personality of the artist is not reflected only Carpet Cleaning London in his love life, because he sometimes carried away with his friends and colleagues. It expresses, in 1980, a disappointment in some of his compositions of the period Beatles, blaming Paul McCartney , which he, unconsciously trying to destroy his great songs, especially Across the Universe , and Strawberry Fields Forever s 35 . Lennon is going to refuse to participate in the recording of Maxwell’s Silver Hammer , which he calls “song for grandmothers” . In an interview with Rolling Stone , published after the group disbanded, he let go of his resentment against Paul McCartney and Brian Epstein , accusing it of knowingly stole the group much of its income f 38 .
Finally, John Lennon himself tells his story and his journey to the Pacific in the bridge of Getting Better , its contribution to the song by Paul McCartney (in addition to the famous “  Can not Get No Worse  “in the chorus). He explains in the interview in 1980 for Playboy  : “Everything”  I Used To Be cruel to my woman, I beat Her and Her Kept apart from the Things That she loved  ‘was me. I was with my wife and cruel, physically, to any woman. I was a hitter. I could not express myself and Crossfit Denver I bumped. I fought with men and I hit women. That is why I am constantly connected to the peace ” s 39 . In this song of 1967, the fourth track on the album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band , he also adds, “  Man, I Was mean but I’m Changing My scene and I’m doing the best That I Can  “(” Dude, I mean, but I change the setting and I do the best I can “).
Relations with the Beatles

The reports of John Lennon with other ex-Beatles have changed much after their separation.
Each member of the Beatles has often mentioned the strong friendship between the quartet, from its beginnings at the height of Beatlemania . Close-knit, and concerned “in the eye of the storm” , creating an ocean of empathy in the middle of the madness around them all the time, the Beatles are even dubbed “the four-headed monster” in the early 1960s 27 . Ringo Starr , for example, mentioned “an incredible privacy, just four guys who loved each other. It was amazing ” 28 . From the start, too, a very strong complicity binds John Lennon to Paul McCartney , his writing partner, his alter ego, explains: “The fact is that we are really the same person. We’re just four parts of the same at all ” 28 .
After the group disbanded, Lennon relationships vary greatly with different members. Only Ringo Starr maintains ongoing relationships with him. He even composed some songs during the period of tension with Yoko Ono f 34 . Also, he participated as Harrison and McCartney, the third album of Starr, Ringo . However, if all four Beatles are involved in the album, they are all together at any time f 39 .
John and George Harrison to maintain a good relationship from Lennon to the United States. When Harrison on tour in New York, Lennon agreed to join him on stage. However, their relations become tense when Lennon did not attend the meeting to legally dissolve the group. Similarly, when in 1980, Harrison published his autobiography, I Me Mine , Lennon was exasperated not to be cited and does not hesitate to throw some spikes on the subject during an interview with Playboy s 35 .
But it was with Paul McCartney that relationships are the most likely. In his album Imagine , Lennon launched a violent song to him, How Do You Sleep? , in which he violently attacks his friend for his conformism, claims he did nothing other than Yesterday and sings: “  Those freaks WAS When you right THEY SAID WAS dead  “( “Those crazy were right to say that you were dead” , a reference to the rumor about the death of McCartney launched in 1969). Subsequently, however, Lennon said to have attacked more to himself than Paul f 39 . Their relations are warming in 1974 and in 1975, McCartney said that the last time they met together at Lennon, they watched the show Saturday Night Live in which Lorne Michaels offered to convene the group for 3000 dollars s 40 . In his interview with Playboy , Lennon said that, at the time, they planned to travel to the television studios as a joke, but they were too tired s 35 . The result has been imagined in the movie Two of Us , released in 2000 s 41 .
After the murder of Lennon, McCartney is in shock: his last attempt at reconciliation was unsuccessful, John literally putting the door f 40 . However, shortly before his death, Lennon said: “I never asked that two of my partners to be working: one was Paul McCartney, Yoko Ono and the other. Not bad, right? ‘ s 42 Subsequently, McCartney makes several tribute to his friend in song. In 1982, he wrote Here Today in his honor, published on Tug of War , he published the first album after the death of Lennon i 27 . McCartney also pays tribute to him in concert from 2008, he took the stage A Day in the Life and Give Peace a Chance s 43 .
This is the person who best sums up his relationship with the other members of the group when asked in 1980 if they are his worst enemies or best friends, Lennon replied that it is neither the one nor the other, and that he has not seen any for some time. He also said: “I still love these guys. The Beatles, it’s over, but John, Paul, George and Ringo, it goes’ s 35 .
Ideals and controversies
Pacifist and political

Lennon and Ono recorded Give Peace a Chance free ipad at the bed-in Montreal.
If the pacifist ideas of Lennon are already visible in the film How I Won the War , released in 1967 f 18 , he writes his first overtly political song the following year: Revolution , published as a single with the Beatles . It says in essence the way to make revolution, according to him more a matter of mind, and certainly without violence. His meeting with Yoko Ono led him to express his ideas further 26 f  : the year 1969 sees activate media on all fronts, accompanied everywhere by one that will become his wife. From their honeymoon in Amsterdam in March, Lennon and Ono hold a “  Bed-In for Peace  “in their hotel room, in bed in pajamas, they are reporters for a week, to promote peace in the world, gaining worldwide exposure s 44 , s 45 . The Lennon then organize a second bed-in in June in Montreal  , they have indeed had to abandon their first choice, the United States because Lennon is denied access i 28 . In Canada, Lennon and his friends recorded Give Peace a Chance in their hotel room, the 1 st  June 1969 e 20 . The song is taken up by demonstrators opposed to the war in Washington DC , October 15 following: Lennon, following the events from his home in London, described this day as “one of the most beautiful of his life” i 2 .
Also in song, Lennon plans to support the candidacy of Timothy Leary , “the Pope of LSD,” the post of governor of California by calling Come Together in line with the theme of the campaign Leary (“  come together, join the party  “). However, he finally decided to keep the song and recorded with the Beatles for release as singles. At the end of November 1969, John pushes his commitment to return his badge of a member of the British Empire , then owned by her aunt “Mimi” Smith, the Queen of England, in protest against certain commitments of the British Army. While some see it as a publicity maneuver, Lennon received in this lit case, the support of the philosopher Bertrand Russell e 21 . It allows even a small picnic destination of the queen, in a word accompanying his medal: “Your Majesty, I return my MBE in protest against the involvement of Britain in the Nigeria-Biafra conflict , against our support of United States in Vietnam, and against the poor sales of Cold Turkey . With love, John Lennon ” i 29 . In December, Lennon and Ono launched the campaign War Is Over (“the war is over”) the couple broadcasts in several languages ​​around the world, the message “The war is over … if you want. Merry Christmas, John and Yoko ” . That same month, the couple Lennon participates in an event dedicated to James Hanratty, executed by alleged error 1962 e 22 .
Lennon also committed along with other activists and gradually became more radical. In January 1970, he shaves his head and his hair sold at auction in support of Michael X, black revolutionary activist in London. The following month, Lennon appears short hair on the show Top of the Pops , where he performed his new single, Instant Karma! , also conveys a message of peace e 23 . The following year he became friends with Jerry Rubin and Abbie Hoffman , founder of the Youth International Party , a movement from left anti-war and anti-racist e 24  , and Lennon agreed to give a concert in support of prisoners when black are killed in riots in prison 25 th . The following month, when the poet John Sinclair was arrested for selling two joints of marijuana to an undercover policeman, he dedicates a song Lennon and participated in a concert in support, December 10, 1971 i 30 . He appeared on stage alongside Yoko Ono, Phil Ochs , Stevie Wonder and peace activists s 46 . Sinclair was released three days later i 31 . It was at this concert that the FBI became interested in the case of Lennon, agents hidden in the crowd that recorded everything that was going on e 26 . In 1972, the following year, Lennon wrote the song Angela to support the campaign to free Angela Davis , activist close to the Black Panthers i 32 .
A former officer of MI5 , David Shayler, also said that Lennon had provided money to the Irish Republican Army , as a result of Bloody Sunday . Shocked by the event, the singer has indeed said that he preferred to be on the side of the IRA rather than that of the British Army. Lennon wrote two songs with reference to this episode: The Luck of the Irish and Sunday Bloody Sunday (which he expressed his support for Catholic i 33 ), appeared on the album Some Time in New York City in 1972. In that year, Lennon would have also funded the Workers’ Revolutionary Party , British Trotskyist party. The gifts of the singer with the IRA and the WRP would total 45,000 pounds . This information, revealed only in 2000 in the press, have been strongly denied by Yoko Ono 27 th .
Attempt to evict the United States [ change ]
In 1972, fearing that peace operations and support to Lennon Democrat George McGovern in his re-election do not cost Richard Nixon , the U.S. government is trying to chase the lead singer of the country s 47 . Indeed, in February, John Lennon is quoted in a confidential report of the Committee of Homeland Security, about leftists in the country anti-Nixon: “These leftists, including Rennie Davis, already arrested for participation in actions of this type at the rally of the Democratic Party in Chicago in 1968, plan to use John Lennon to recruit as many people as possible ” . As a result, Nixon himself had personally requested that Lennon is now guarded 28 th . In addition, Senator Strom Thurmond believed that “the expulsion could be a strategic move-cons” against Lennon s 48 . Also, some songs How to Lose Weight Fast of the musician is prohibited and is constantly monitored, according to him, by FBI agents, who do not even try to hide: “I opened my door, and presto! There was a guy on duty on the other side of the street. They followed me everywhere, all the time! Above all, they insisted that I knew it! ” e 27
The procedures for expelling begin the following month, based on an offense of possession of cannabis dating from 1968, when Lennon was still living in London. Ensuing four years of trial s 49 . On March 16, 1972, Lennon received his deportation order of the U.S.. However, he manages to stay on American soil, through his lawyer Leon Wildes and support of many individuals, through a petition signed among others by Bob Dylan , Fred Astaire and even John Lindsay , then mayor of New York . Lennon problems with the U.S. administration did not prevent him from continuing his action. He participates in May, in a peaceful demonstration in Manhattan . In June, he published a new album, Some Time in New York City , by far the most politically active drive e 29 .

On March 23, 1973, Lennon was again asked to leave the country within sixty days e 30 , s 50 . Ono and meet him, the 1 st  April, with a speech expressing their desire to create a conceptual state, without borders or territory, no passport, but only a people Nutopia . This “New Utopia” (the first was that of Thomas More in his book Utopia ) is the national anthem a few seconds of silence, and all its citizens are ambassadors. However, the concept does not take from the public and fell into oblivion i 34 . On June 27, the couple appeared at hearings of the trial of the Watergate scandal i 16 .
Thereafter, the successors of Nixon -  Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter  – are less involved in the fight against Lennon, it is even present at the gala inauguration of Carter i 20 . Finally, he received his permanent resident card in July 1976 e 31 , with the possibility of becoming a U.S. citizen after five years i 20 . The narrative of these events was the subject of a documentary, The United States against John Lennon , released in 2006 s 51 .
Work

Music
Chant
If John Lennon sings much of the repertoire of the Beatles, he did not hate his voice less. George Martin remembers that “he had an innate dislike for his own voice, I never understood. He always told me to do something in his voice, put something over it, make it different ” c 16 , 29 . In fact, the producer makes regular alterations or corrections to meet the singer. Lennon, however, is capable of spectacular vocal performances. So cold when recording the album Please Please Me , completed in twelve hours, he preserves his voice until the last moment before yelling at Twist and Shout , while being aware that s abyss voice for days 30 . We also see in the video series Anthology , George Martin playing the tape of the first dose of A Day in the Life , no artifice, and moved: “Hear the voice of John! It gives me chills every time I listen! ” 31 But above all, from beginning to end of the group, the complementary voices of John Lennon and Paul McCartney, the expressiveness, precision, finesse and timbre of their harmonies, are instrumental in the success of the Beatles.
With the debut of his solo career, Lennon made ​​more ballads like Imagine , on which his voice is illustrated in more gentle than the first rock of the Beatles. In the early 1970s, the beginning of his therapy primal scream has effects that are felt on songs from the album John Lennon / Plastic Ono Band , as Mother and I Found Out , where he literally screams f 41 . But it was already the author of such extreme performances before starting this therapy, a year earlier, on Cold Turkey , it explores the limits of his voice to reflect the throes of withdrawal , saying he was inspired by Yoko Ono i 29 .
Instruments

Some guitars used by John Lennon.
The first instrument is Lennon learned to play the harmonica . His uncle George Smith offers him a as a child and teaches him to play in s 52 . The instrument comes in many first performances of Beatles in Hamburg and the Cavern Club , and became a recurring effect of their first recordings, reversing several singles such as Love Me Do , Please Please Me and From Me to You . Lennon later abandoned this instrument, which he uses for the last time in the studio I’m a Loser  : it considers the effect created is now no surprise h 10 .
The blu cigs coupon instrument par excellence of John Lennon’s guitar , which he initiated in his youth by his mother Julia , who first teaches the banjo . On most tracks of the Beatles, and it is the rhythm guitar , while George Harrison was lead guitarist . If using an acoustic guitar with the Quarrymen , he uses mostly electric guitar with the Beatles. One of them, the Rickenbacker 325 , has become iconic and has been reproduced as a game controller for The Beatles: Rock Band , released in  2009 s 53 . He also made ​​famous another model guitar, the Epiphone Casino , including the clips used in Hey Jude and Revolution in 1968, and during the concert on the roof of Apple in 1969 s 54 . Lennon plays a very few times in the low , particularly in the securities Helter HDMI switch Skelter , Let It Be and The Long and Winding Road , where Paul McCartney is at the piano or the guitar 32 . It is also expected to play the organ , as in the sequence of The Night Before the film Help! , or at the concert at Shea Stadium in New York in 1965 for the interpretation of I’m Down 42 f .
During his solo career, Lennon also shows some talent for the piano , an instrument already used during sessions composition with Paul McCartney , for example, I Want to Hold Your Hand was born of a piano improvisation s 55 . The title often considered the most emblematic solo Lennon, Imagine , also played the piano. During that time, Lennon also tried his hand at various random sounds with Yoko Ono , resulting in pieces of avant-garde albums, and experimental music such as Two Virgins . It is the same in the Beatles, Lennon which, if not the first interest in the forefront, is the first to place a piece of its kind on an album, Revolution 9 of the “  White Album  ” f 43 .
Writing and art
Songwriter
Main article: Lennon / McCartney .

The duo Lennon / McCartney is at the origin of most of the success of the Beatles.
During the career of the Beatles , Lennon signs all his songs brand Lennon / McCartney , his partner doing the same, a song was written in collaboration or not. Formed following the meeting of two musicians in 1957, the duo wrote his first songs during sessions with Paul or “  Mendips  ” g 16 . It is not uncommon that one has a title in mind, in which case the other adds the verses, composed a bridge or solo g 1 . Their early hits international, From Me to You , She Loves You or I Want to Hold Your Hand , for their part are written in full co h 11 . The compositions of this type are more frequent at the beginning of their careers. In the event that the original idea comes from Paul McCartney, Lennon often provides a counterpoint to the optimism of songs from her partner and adds it a touch of sadness or of impatience to We Can Work It Out and Michelle s 35 . The content of songs, Lennon is generally more likely to talk about himself, where McCartney has more facilities to imagine situations c 17 . Among his influences in terms of writing, happy quotes Lennon Bob Dylan , whose texts have pushed more introspection and analysis of his own feelings c 18 .
Gradually, John and Paul prefer to deal separately, which does not stop to help and complement their songs. In 1967, McCartney and adds a transition in A Day in the Life of Lennon f 44 , while they develop together With a Little Help from My Friends 19 c . Also, I’ve Got a Feeling is a mixture of unfinished songs from each 12 hours . Furthermore, while McCartney wrote the most popular songs of the group ( Hey Jude , Yesterday ) is Lennon who is behind the most successful compositions on the musical ( Strawberry Fields Forever , I Am the Walrus ) f 45 .
After the end of the group, Lennon freely admits having written a few songs “poor” rather than food purposes, such as Little Child or Any Time at All 13 hours . Over time, he writes songs more personal, I’m a Loser describes his feelings at the time f 46 . Similarly, he wrote Nowhere Man when he feels depressed, and “Nowhere Man” , and In My Life , which had become a superstar at age 25, he turns nostalgic about his past 14 hours . He also happens to express his concerns about his love life in Run for Your Life , where he threatened to kill his wife for adultery, an act which he did not, however, private tours in f 47 , or Do not Let Me Down , piercing cry of Lennon with Yoko Ono , getting them to stay with him f 27 . It also includes, from 1966, songs and psychedelic hues inspired by drugs, such as Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds or I Am the Walrus , text-filled nonsense f 48 . Other creations, such as I Want You (She’s So Heavy) and You Know My Name (Look Up the Number) are minimalist in their text f 49 .
If, in the Beatles , John Lennon was not allowed a single political song ( Revolution cheap car insurance ), he launched his solo career with Give Peace a Chance , a security-oriented and peaceful protest. His political and peppers all his solo discography, with hymns like Power to the People , Imagine and Working Class Hero , or songs of support for various causes. On his first album, John Lennon / Plastic Ono Band , Lennon turns the page of the Beatles, by quoting the song God , among the symbols that he no longer believes i 35 . The texts of the album already contain the themes dear to him thereafter, the study of self and of his doubts, and his relationship with Yoko Ono , whom he regularly spends songs i 6 . He also tried his hand at other ways of writing, less conventional: the “journalistic songs” written hastily on the album Some Time in New York City i 13  ; lullabies ( Beautiful Boy in destination of his son Sean) i 36 , or the songs of Christmas ( Happy Xmas (War Is Over) ) i 37 . Matured, Lennon inspired by his reading: and Mind Games is a reference to a book of psychology dealing with the raising of denver car accident lawyer consciousness i 15 . Similarly, it explores feminism , under the influence of Ono, via Woman Is the Nigger of the World and especially Woman , which he wrote after reading including The First Sex by Elizabeth Gould Davis i 22 . Lennon is also willing to let the nostalgia i 26 , but also regulates its accounts, sometimes severely, with Paul McCartney ( How Do You Sleep? ) i 10 , before turning against Allen Klein ( Steel and Glass ) i 38 . Finally, he does not forget his roots rock ‘n’ roll and even composed a few songs in this style, as It’s So Hard , which he recorded with renowned saxophonist King Curtis i 39 .
Artist and writer
John Lennon started writing and drawing creatively early, following the incentives of his uncle. He gathers his stories, his poems , his cartoons and caricatures in an exercise book from his school, he called the Daily Howl , and telling the diet solution his friends for fun 33 . The set is full of puns , it creates the drawings are often people with disabilities – for which John feels a certain fascination 34 or, according to George Harrison , fear c 20  – and stories that he tells legal steroids for sale are satirical at will canape design 33 . In 1964, Lennon published his first book, In His Own Write ( red-delusion ), a collection of drawings, poems and short stories full of humor and nonsense , some of which are taken from the Daily Howl . “C This is my kind of humor. I hide my feelings behind gibberish. ” For example, it plays the sound of the words c 21 , like the title of the book ( In His Own “Write” instead of “  right  “) or its chapeau: “  I was bored on the 9th Octover of 1940  ” ( bored rather than born , giving “I’m bored on …” instead of “I was born …” Octover instead of October ). The book is appreciated by the critics, which surprises the author: “To my amazement, the critics loved it. I do not think the book would be it as criticism. I did not think that people would accept the book as they did. To be honest, they considered more seriously than I did for my part. It all started as a joke for me ” 35 .
Following the success of the first, Lennon published a second book, A Spaniard in the Works ( an ice cube in the wind ) in 1965. The book contains such a story about Sherlock Holmes , he said the thing to be the longest he has ever written. In its way of working, Lennon admits to being chaotic and dissipated: “My mind does not dwell long on the same subject. I forget that I directed, I lose myself, I’m sick and it annoys me. That’s why I usually kill everyone. I killed them all in the first book, but in the second, I tried not to do, I tried to move forward. ” Lennon is also very influenced by Lewis Carroll and Ronald Searle and feeds at the time, the ambition to write a children’s book. an ice cube in the wind is selling less well than the first 22 c .
These two books inspired a play, The John Lennon Play: In His Own Write , staged in 1968. The first performance of the play marks one of the first public appearances of the arm of Lennon Yoko Ono 36 . When he retired from public life to care for his son Sean , Lennon is dedicated to new writing and drawing. These works are published in various posthumous works such as the Skywriting by Word of Mouth or Real Love: The Drawings for Sean s 56 .
Discography
With the Beatles
Main article: Discography of the Beatles .

It was during the recording of “White Album” that Lennon began to try out experimental music, with the title Revolution 9 .
Discography of John Lennon is first shared with that of the Beatles , and begins with the first album, Please Please Me in 1963, which is followed quickly With The Beatles that year. If these two albums contain a number of occasions , they also include signed first songs Lennon / McCartney f 50 . Several successive albums during Beatlemania , fast-paced two albums a year, until exit in 1965 from Rubber Soul , which marks a turning point for the group f 51 . It is also the beginning of the hippie Lennon, illustrated by the song The Word f 52 .
The next two albums, Revolver  (1966) and Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band  (1967), are often considered the pinnacle of artistic group f 53 . This is also valid for trotinette freestyle Lennon composed at that time many of his most popular songs such as Strawberry Fields Forever , Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds and I Am the Walrus , toned psychedelic f Translation Services 35 . The preparation of the white album marks the beginning of tension between John and Paul McCartney . Lennon composed at that time a large number of songs f 54 . The album is especially marked by Revolution 9 , a sound collage by John and Yoko Ono , and inserted on the album despite the obvious disagreement McCartney and George Martin f 43 . On Abbey Road , Lennon made ​​what he considers one of his favorite songs, Come Together 55 f .
Solo career
Main article: Discography of John Lennon .
John Lennon made ​​his first album out of the group in 1968 with Two Virgins . This is an album of experimental music performed with Yoko Ono, whose cover is adorned with a photograph of the naked couple. The album, which caused a scandal, knows a relative success f 56 . The first real single solo Lennon Give Peace a Chance , recorded in Montreal in 1969. After the final separation of the Beatles, Lennon makes his first album in 1970, John Lennon / Plastic Ono Band , which became one of his most popular albums. It is characterized by its melancholy tones ( Mother , insulation ) f 57 and sometimes belligerent ( Working Class Hero ) f 41 .
In 1971 released Imagine , one of the flagship albums of the singer, whom he described as “  Working Class Hero with sugar ” f bachelorette party supplies 39 , s 57 . The album contains the song of the same name , which topped the charts in many countries and over time became one of the greatest pacifist anthems ever written. Over the next three years, Lennon recorded four more albums, relatively minor, including Walls and Bridges , which is ranked No. 1 in the United States f 58 . He then retired for five years to care for his son Sean , and returned in 1980 with Double Fantasy , in very close collaboration with Yoko Ono . The singer is murdered shortly after f 59 .
Number of albums appear after the death of Lennon. If it is above all compilations , there is also a studio album released posthumously in 1984, Milk and Honey , and a collection of unreleased published in 1986, entitled Menlove Ave. 58 s The set John Lennon Anthology , released in 1998, is an overview of the solo career of the artist, containing a number of novel taken s 59 .
Filmography
As an actor, outside the four films that the group is the main topic during his career, John Lennon played in one movie in 1967. After the Beatles broke up, he produced several short films of avant-garde , with his wife Yoko Ono .
Success of the Beatles

The Beatles in an extract from the trailer of the film Help! . John Lennon in front, followed by Paul McCartney and George Harrison .
The first incursion of the Fab Four to the movies date of  1964 , with A Hard Day’s Night , directed by Richard Lester 37 . This documentary parody black and white is supposed to show how the Beatles live in the middle of Beatlemania . However, the representation of the madness around them is watered down because in reality, the four Beatles begin to live more and more difficult, especially Lennon 15 hours . It gradually sinks into a lot of life, it translates in his song Help! 3 pm , starting point of the film of the same name , again directed by Lester in 1965. This time, the film is in color and the story is completely fictional: the Beatles are being pursued by a Hindu sect that seeks to retrieve a ring that sacrificial Ringo wore on his finger. All the film critics at its output, considering himself relegated to a secondary role 15 hours .
In August 1966, Beatlemania has grown frightening and dangerous, frustrating the Beatles. They decide to stop touring and stop playing in public 38 . Lennon saw evil that case, which for buy steroids him means the end of the Beatles. He tries to find an alternative and accept a role as a soldier in the film How I Won the War , again directed by Lester and released in 1967 39 . During filming, he wrote Strawberry Fields Forever , Beatles heralded productions of that year 16 hours . After Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band to great success, the group, led by Paul McCartney , launched into a film, that it will produce itself 40 . The result is Magical Mystery Tour , conducted in collaboration with Bernard Knowles and published late 1967. The film features the Beatles in a psychedelic bus trip, accompanied by a motley collection of players selected at random 40 . Success is not to go, down the film critics and even the public is disappointed 40 . The songs of the film collected on the double EP Magical Mystery Tour , however, are welcome, all in the same vein psychedelic than Sgt. Pepper’s 17 pm .
Experimental projects
Following this first critical and commercial failure and his meeting with Yoko Ono 41 , John Lennon tries to venture outside of the Beatles and participates in late 1968, the Rock and Roll Circus , a music program organized by the Rolling Stones 16 . Previously, he should get involved with the group, in the animated film Yellow Submarine , directed hot tub cover by George Dunning . But the Beatles, lost interest in the project, there is not even lend their voices and work exclusively to provide a handful of songs, gathered later on the album of the same name 42 .
John’s latest film with the Beatles is the testimony of the separation of the group. In early 1969, the group must make a final film to meet its contract with United Artists , while he no longer has any desire to play a new comedy 18 hours . It was therefore decided to film them in rehearsal for a final concert on the roof of the offices of Apple 43 . However, tensions are evident during the shoot and they are reflected in the film 44 . The Beatles wait a year before they let him out, as they are dissatisfied with the outcome. Let It Be , directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg , published in 1970, shortly before the self-titled album . When it was released, the group has already separated 19 hours .
In 1968, shortly before the Beatles split up, Yoko Ono Lennon introduces the realization of short experimental films . The couple produces more than thirty until 1972. Most consist of excerpts from filmed concerts and clips , while others have a well defined concept, for example, Self-Portrait , which shows John’s penis in the process of erection, and erection , which has, in advance rapid construction of the International Hotel in London s 60 .
Posterity

Legacy
Heritage

Imagine , the most popular song of Lennon, was composed in the room reconstructed in this photograph.
Since the death of Lennon’s Yoko Ono that manages its assets. It thus produces a large number of posthumous albums of the musician, from unreleased recordings. When in the late 1990s, Paul McCartney asked that Yesterday is credited “McCartney / Lennon” rather than “  Lennon / McCartney  “on the compilation 1 , Ono refused f 60 . It also involved with the Beatles still alive and married to George Harrison , in the production of the game The Beatles: Rock Band and, in general, in the future interests of the group s 61 . Ono also maintains the image of her husband, causing, in 2010, a controversy when Lennon appears in an advertisement for Citroën s 62 , s 63 .
Objects belonging to the singer also played at auction. In 2000, the piano on which he composed Imagine was bought by George Michael for more than two million pounds sterling s 64 . Similarly, in 2007, a British collector bought a pair of glasses belonging to Lennon, kept secret for $ s 65 . In 2010, the manuscript of lyrics A Day in the Life is sold for $ 1.2 million s 66 .
In 2006, the magazine Forbes announced that Lennon was the fourth of the richest catalogues deceased personalities s 67 .
Posthumous honors

Several songs written by Lennon – Beatles for as for himself – were taken , including Imagine . Scarab , from the album M & J by Vanessa Paradis celebrates the life of the artist s 68 . The song of the Cranberries I Just Shot John Lennon is also an example. Similarly, the song Kids on the run from Patrick Bruel recalls the shock that followed the announcement of the death of Lennon. Liam Gallagher , the lead singer of Oasis , for its part considers Lennon a hero, and appointed his eldest son Lennon Gallagher, a tribute to the singer 45 .
The songs of John Lennon are also experiencing great success after his death, and in Cell Phone Accessories 1999, a survey by BBC revealed that Imagine is the favorite song of the British 46 . In 2002, another survey of the BBC even among the “top 100 British heroes’ s 69 . U.S. magazine Rolling Stone ranked fifth on “best singer of all time” 70 s and 38 th “greatest artist of all time”, while the Beatles first arrived s 71 . According to the same magazine, two of his solo albums Imagine and John Lennon / Plastic Ono Band , are among the 500 greatest albums of all time 72 s . Finally, Lennon figure since 1987 Songwriters Hall of Fame 73 s and, since 1994, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame s 74 .
Tributes and memorials
Main article: Tributes and memorials .
In film
Several films were made ​​on Lennon after his death. Thus, a TV movie, Two of Us , a romantic encounter between Lennon and McCartney in New York , after the Beatles broke s 75 . Several films also describe the murder of John Lennon  : The Killing of John Lennon and Chapter 27 , both released in December 2007 s 76 , s 77 . In the latter film, Lennon is played by Mark Lindsay Chapman , namesake of his assassin s 78 . In 2009, the beginning of Lennon in the Quarrymen are recounted in the film Nowhere Boy , the U.S. release is scheduled to celebrate the 70 th anniversary of the singer, in October 2010 s 79 . Documentaries have also been made ​​on the singer, such as Imagine: John Lennon in 1988, consisting of archival Plastic Bins footage and excerpts from interviews 80 s and The United States against John Lennon in 2006, which recounts the attempts expulsion conducted by Richard Nixon in the 1970 s 81 .
Memorials

The Lennon Wall in Prague.
In 1985, the memorial Strawberry Fields was opened in Central Park New York, near the Dakota Building . It is the scene of regular gatherings to commemorate the birthday of the artist chiropractic marketing s 82 .
In 2002, the airport of Liverpool , renovated, was renamed Liverpool John Lennon Airport . A statue of John, in bronze, is installed in the lobby while recording the motto “  Above us only sky  “(derived from the words of Imagine ) is painted on the ceiling. Outside, a Yellow Submarine Giant welcomes motorists s 83 .
Since the mid-1980s, a wall of the city of Prague continues to be covered in graffiti in his honor and became the Lennon wall s 84 .
The John Lennon Park or Parque John Lennon is a public park in the Vedado district of Havana in Cuba . hcg diet drops On one of the benches of the park is a statue of John Lennon, it was inaugurated December 8, 2000 by President Fidel Castro . An inscription near the foot of the bed says, “will say that a soy sonador pero no soy el unico” John Lennon, which is a translation of the lyrics of the song Imagine “You can say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not alone. ”
In 2007, near the Icelandic capital Reykjavik , was inaugurated the Imagine Peace Tower , a tower that projects a beam of light into the sky each year between October 9 and December 8, s 85 .
Exhibitions have also been devoted to him, including John Lennon Unfinished Music , October 20 to 25 June 2006 at the Cité de la Musique 86 s and Imagine The Peace Ballad of John & Yoko , a temporary exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts in Montreal , from April 2 to June 21, 2009 s 87 .