When John Lennnon attended grade school, his best friend was Pete Shotton. Pete wrote a book about John after John died. It was called John Lennon in My Life. In the book he relates something John allegedly told him.
John spent about a week with Brian Epstein in Spain. They were sitting in a cafe, watching people go by. No one knew them. Neither one of them were famous and they could do what they liked. John began to ask Brian which type of men he found attractive and which he didn't.
One night, John and Brian returned to their hotel. Back in that day, did the hotel concierge or whoever think they were homosexuals? Did it matter? Maybe not at a resort. Brian would have made all the details before they left for Spain. When John married Cynthia he felt embarassment, like walking across the street with your fly open. Now he was hanging out with a wealthy British Jewish man. One who dressed so superbly that, when returning home one night in the military, he was charged with impersonating an officer.
I would think it probable that Epstein bought gifts for Lennon. Shotton said that one night (probably the last) Lennon offered himself to Brian. Brian went down on him I guess is the best way to describe it. Most likely the 2 were drunk.
When they got back to Liverpool, a local disk jockey, chided John about his rendezvous with Epstein. Lennon beat up the guy so badly, I think they had to take him to the hospital. Epstein, learning this, paid the guy to keep quiet about the incident though there were witnesses.
When John went to Art College, he met a kid who painted well and was serious about being an artist. Stu Sutcliffe was physically slight. He didn't play any instuments. He couldn't sing. But John thought the world of him.
One day he saw Stu dancing with Cynthia, Lennon's girlfriend, during lunch. She noticed a grim stare aimed at her from John. The next morning she made her way to the bathroom. When she came out Lennon was standing there glowering. He took her by the hair and bashed her head into some pipes where they stood. That marked the end of their romance...
A few months passed and John asked her if she wanted to go out with him. She said yes.
Even though Stu wasn't musical, Lennon said to McCartney, either Stu is in the band or I'm not. They gave him a bass guitar. He faked it all the way. He went to Germany with the others. In Germany, he met a photographer, Astrid Kirchherr, who took great photos of them -- they looked like Teddy Boys. But she made an unusual suggestion: Why not wear their hair down with bangs, as the Mods were doing then? They accepted her idea and this led way to the Beatle cut, which we still see today -- modified and feminized. (As worn by Tom Cruise or Rodger Berman, stylist Rachel Zoe's husband.)
Stu fell in love with Astrid. They married and Lennon became nasty towards Astrid. Astrid comprehended. But did Lennon? They were heading back to England without Stu. Shortly afterwards, Stu died of a cerebral hemorrhage. When Lennon was told this, he cracked up laughing and continued hysterically. People do react odd when someone they admire dies.
This came from several books on John Lennon. It's curious. I would like to read others' opinions. Debunk the above.
No comments:
Post a Comment