John Lennon's tragedies he faced growing up changed how Paul McCartney saw him
John Lennon had a tough time growing up and faced many ‘tragedies’, which in turn changed how his bandmate Paul McCartney saw him.
It’s been more than four decades since The Beatles star was shot dead near his home in New York City. The legend, who helped carve a new era of music with the group, was brutally killed by Mark Chapman. Chapman, who had been a fan of the band, became angry over Lennon’s celebrity lifestyle and public statements, The born-again Christian was angry over Lennon’s claim The Beatles were “more popular than Jesus” almost 15 years before. But it was John Lennon’s generosity with fans that also made his death even more of a tragedy.
‘I’m a fan of people, too, you know’
On the day of his death, John Lennon conducted a radio interview with San Francisco DJ Dave Sholin. It was at his home in the Dakota building opposite Central Park.
At the end of their chat, he signed an autograph for the DJ before saying: “I’m a fan of people, too, you know? I like people to sign their books when they give ’em to me and all that…”
But it turns out, the ever-growing group of fans that would wait for him outside, would be where his killer lurked.
John Lennon and Yoko Ono travelled to the Hit Factory for a recording session in the early evening. They walked past the adoring listeners, with Lennon signing a copy of an album for one particular man – who was Mark David Chapman.
He had spent most of the day outside his home, but had missed the songwriter in the morning. When he appeared later and signed his album sleeve, he was in good spirits. But that changed by 11pm.
When the couple returned and walked through the archway that led into their building, Mark took his chance. He fired five ‘hollow-point’ bullets into his back, fatal firings that would explode into shrapnel once they made contact.
Doctors spent almost 20 minutes trying to revive the singer when he arrived at the hospital, but he sadly died.
John Lennon didn’t have a funeral
There was no funeral, instead, a private cremation. A vigil was held by Yoko and Sean, his young son, on December 14, 1980, where there was a ten-minute silence.
His ashes were scattered in Central Park, opposite to where he lived. Now, a memorial has been in place in his name, called Strawberry Fields. The circle mosaic artwork on the floor has the word Imagine in the middle.
Chapman plead guilty to murder and was sentenced to 20 years to life. Last year, he was up for parole for the twelfth time, but it wasn’t granted. He will be 69 years old in 2024 when he’s next eligible for parole.
Songs Lennon had recorded before he died were released in the album Milk and Honey four years later.
New unseen photos released
His tragic death followed a tragic early life, his bandmate said earlier this year.
Speaking on the Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend podcast, he spoke of his new memoir and memories of John. They were looking through unpublished photos of The Beatles during their early days and noticed a habit from John. He would often sit with his hand by his mouth, which Paul picked up on.
Paul said: “He’s got this little habit, he’s not biting his nails… he does this all the time. It’s so long ago, I’d forgotten that that was a John thing. Particularly, because he’s not here, it’s so lovely for me to see these memories and just remind me of where we were, what we did in those days.”
Paul McCartney on John Lennon’s tragedy-filled childhood
Conan then asked if John’s vulnerable side was seen in another picture.
“Vulnerability is very true,” Paul replied. “And at this time, I wouldn’t really know that. Later, when I thought, as an adult, about John’s upbringing, he had a really tragic life really.
“As a kid, his mother was decreed to not be good enough to bring him up. Julia his mum, who we would visit, and he loved – he wrote a beautiful song about her – but she had to give him up.”
He added: “The father, Alf, had left the home when John was three, so that’s not too wonderful. And so John grew up with these minor tragedies throughout his life. He was taken in by his Aunt Mimi and was brought up by her.
“One night, Mum, Julia, was visiting them and had come to see her son, and on the way home she got run over, she got killed, by apparently an off-duty cop who maybe was a bit inebriated… it made me realize why he had that vulnerability.”
But he admitted: “I always admired the way he dealt with it because I’m not sure I would have dealt with it well with the stuff he went through.”
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