The Times Of London Publishes Fascinating Article About The Reaction Of The Beatles’ Circle To John Lennon’s Death

On Thursday, September 10th, The Times of London ran an excerpt from You Never Give Me Your Money, an upcoming book by Peter Doggett, which detailed the reactions of those in The Beatles’ inner circle to the murder of John Lennon (pictured above in a Bob Gruen photo) on December 8, 1980. Included are the details of how Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, and Lennon’s former wife Cynthia Lennon found out about Lennon’s death. It is a riveting read, and it left me feeling totally empty about what a great loss that was. The article includes a tidbit that I’d never known: just prior to Lennon’s death, New York City officials had been asked to undertake a feasibility study concerning a possible reunion concert by The Beatles in Central Park. Reading that hit me like a fist. How amazing would that have been if the concert had actually happened? And how sad that it never came to pass.

To read the article, click here.

Reading the article made me recall my own reaction to Lennon’s murder. I had gone to bed early that night with a bad headache. My parents heard the news when it came on TV that night, but decided not to wake me as I wasn’t feeling well. The next morning, I awoke early as usual to do my paper route. I delivered the New York Daily News in the morning before heading off to school. (I was a high-school freshman at the time.) I brought the bundle of newspapers in from the steps outside, where they had been dropped off. They were bound with a plastic band and had a protective piece of paper on top so that the band wouldn’t cut through the newspapers. I cut the band with a pair of scissors and removed the piece of paper. When I read the headline on the front page, you could’ve knocked me over with a feather. It read, “JOHN LENNON SLAIN HERE,” and had a photo of John and Yoko under the headline.

I remember just slumping over and staring at the headline for what seemed like an eternity. It was such a shock to find out about it in that fashion. Lennon had been a hero of mine. I was into The Beatles in a big way at the time (this was only 10 years after the band’s breakup), and I also admired Lennon for his stance on peace issues. Also, Lennon had just come back into the spotlight after spending the previous few years away from the limelight and raising his son Sean in New York City. All kinds of thoughts raced through my mind, from Sean having to grow up without a dad to the possibility of a Beatles reunion now being ended forever.

I did my paper route in a daze and then headed to school. Everyone in school that day was in shock. There was anger and tears. Even some of the faculty were visibly shaken. It was awful.

I hope that Mark David Chapman rots in prison for the rest of his life, the bastard.

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