Sean Ono Lennon has recently opened up about John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s relationship, and how it continues to impact his mother today.

Lennon sat down for an interview with BBC Radio 6 Music recently to discuss the release of Mind Games: The Ultimate Collection. Lennon produced the special edition box set release of his late father’s album Mind Games. The collection also includes a wealth of additional material, from footage to a book to reproductions of advertisements for the album from the 1970s.

During the interview, the subject of his parents’ relationship was brought up, as it naturally would. Chris Hawkins asked Lennon if he learned any new information about his parents while putting together this very intimate project.

“Well one thing I noticed was that my mum was on some of the tapes, you could tell she was in the control room,” said Lennon. “So a lot of people said like, ‘Yoko wasn’t around for this record, why are they featuring her in the booklet’ or something. And I think there’s a lot of history. There’s a lot of assumptions made about that time period because they were sort of on their way towards that famous separation.” Sean Ono Lennon Says Yoko Was A Big Part of ‘Mind Games’ Despite Not Being Physically Present.

The period Lennon spoke about occurred from 1973 to 1974. Yoko Ono and John Lennon separated for a number of months during this time. The period is often referred to as “The Lost Weekend”. Ono and Lennon rekindled their relationship in 1974. Sean Lennon was born the following year.

Lennon went on to say that “even when they were apart they were always talking.” He was also told that all of his father’s belongings were still at his mother’s apartment during the separation. And one can’t deny that it was very obvious that John Lennon was thinking about Ono while working on Mind Games.

Source: Em Casalena/americansongwriter.com

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John Lennon wasn’t known as a religious man during much of his life. He even pondered what the world would be like without religion in one of his most famous songs, “Imagine.” His apparent lack of enthusiasm about Christianity didn’t stop him from producing one of the biggest Christmas hits of all time.

“Happy Xmas (War is Over)” is a classic by this point, one that returns to prominence every December. The tune reappears on several charts in the United Kingdom as the big day nears.

Lennon is back on both the Official Streaming chart and the main ranking of the most-consumed songs in the U.K. with his tune. “Happy Xmas (War is Over)” blasts back onto the streaming roster at No. 67. It comes in much lower–at No. 92–on the general songs tally.

“Happy Xmas (War is Over)” has now spent at least one year on both of those charts throughout its lifetime. The tune reaches that milestone on the streaming ranking, as it’s now lived on the list for 52 turns–though not all in a row. The cut is up to 61 stints on the songs chart.

Lennon fronts “Happy Xmas (War is Over),” but the tune isn’t credited to the former Beatle alone. He’s joined on the cut by his then-wife, Yoko Ono. Their backing group, the Plastic Ono Band, is also named, so all three acts are back on the charts.

“Happy Xmas (War is Over)” is likely just beginning its jolly return, as Christmas cuts are on the way up. Throughout December, famous tracks, such as Lennon’s, enjoy huge gains in streams and sales, as well as radio airplay, as the world celebrates the happiest time of the year for so many. In the coming weeks, it’s likely that Lennon and company will ascend even higher.

Source: Hugh McIntyre/forbes.com

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Beatles '64 promises a fan-pleasing look at the titular band's maiden trip to American shores, but the Disney+ documentary doesn't quite come together. Produced by Martin Scorsese and directed by David Tedeschi, Beatles '64 follows John, Paul, Ringo, and George from their United States touchdown in early 1964 to their triumphant return back home in Britain. Like great music documentaries of yore, Beatles '64 combines an awesome soundtrack with behind-the-scenes footage, all manner of live performances, talking head interviews, and unquestionably fascinating views of the legendary "British Invasion."

Reactions to Beatles '64 have been largely positive, albeit with some division. At the time of writing, the Disney+ documentary holds a 94% Tomatometer rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and plenty of reviews have been effusive in their praise. The Guardian hails the film as a "sublime snapshot," while Rolling Stone calls it a "a tribute to the fans as well as the band." On the other end of the spectrum, The Telegraph accuses Beatles '64 of achieving the impossible by making The Beatles "boring," whereas The Glass Onion takes the slightly more nuanced view of "compelling but slightly confused." Certainly, it is easy to see why opinion is conflicted.
Beatles '64 Is A Hyper-Specific Look Into A Short Period Of The Beatles' Timeline

The strangest aspect of Beatles '64 is how zoomed-in upon one specific point of the band's career the documentary really is, to the point where it really should have been called "Beatles February 7-22 '64." Any Beatles newcomer would be forgiven for thinking "She Loves You" and "I Want To Hold Your Hand" were the Fab Four's only two hits of note. The documentary, of course, made no secret of its missive to focus on The Beatles' debut U.S. visit, and covering the group's existence in its entirety would be far too big a job for any single sub-two-hour film.

Source: Craig Elvy/screenrant.com

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I realize that what I’m about to say could have very easily been a trending story in 1965 (if they’d had blogs or, indeed, embraced the concept of “trending” back then), but I soldier on regardless: Amid all the commotion about the casting for Sam Mendes’s upcoming Beatles biopic, I worry that the most serious and least vapid issue of all—which Beatle was the hottest?—is getting lost. Yes, this is definitely something Mad Men’s Sally Draper and her friends could have argued about six decades ago, but what can I say? Crush-worthiness is eternal.

Of course, there’s a valid case to be made for each individual Beatle. George Harrison was probably the most empirically handsome (and arguably the best dressed); John Lennon was ephemerally sexy in a way I can’t really define (although I did recently learn he was kind of ripped, albeit in a skinny-Englishman way? Maybe that’s how he pulled Yoko Ono…); and Paul McCartney had that sweet moon face and big doe eyes. But there’s really only one Beatle that makes my tragic bisexual heart skip a beat, and it’s Ringo Starr. Was he traditionally attractive? No. Was he as symmetrically featured as his bandmates? No. But was he in possession of what the kids today might call undeniable, inexplicable rizz? Absolutely.

Source: Emma Specter/avogue.com

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Long-lost notes relating to the acrimonious break-up of The Beatles will go under the hammer next week.

More than 300 pages of typed documents, compiled by the Fab Four's various advisors and legal representatives, were found in a cupboard where they had lain untouched since the 1970s.

Denise Kelly, from auctioneers Dawsons, said the "fascinating" papers were used by lawyers during an acrimonious High Court legal battle which resulted in the band's official split in 1974.

The papers will be auctioned on 12 December in Maidenhead and are expected to fetch between £5,000 and £8,000. Online bidders will be able to participate.  Dawsons did not reveal where the notes had been found, only that they had been discovered within the last year.

"I just couldn’t put them down until I had read every page," said Ms Kelly.  "As I read the minutes of meetings - notes which included discussions between the legal teams and accountants - I wondered how on earth they were going to sort everything out, and at times I could sense panic in the room as more and more complexities came to light.

"One of the lawyers even suggested during one meeting when they had gone round and round and round in circles: ‘Would it be easier if The Beatles just retired?’"  She added: "It has crossed my mind that if I were a script writer, these documents would be all I'd need to tell the real story of what led to one of the best-selling bands in history splitting up and going their separate ways."

'We had to pretend'  In 2021, Sir Paul McCartney told the BBC why he had felt compelled to "sue my mates".

Despite stepping away from The Beatles in early 1970, the band's final legal separation was not confirmed until December 1974.

McCartney said confusion over the break-up had festered because the band's new manager Allen Klein - with whom he refused to align - said he had needed time to tie up some financial loose ends.

Source: Paul Burnell/bbc.com

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George Harrison was always known as the “quiet Beatle,” as he was the least gregarious and outgoing of the bunch. That nickname stuck even after the band broke up and all four men pursued solo careers. While he may have been fairly soft-spoken, his music did a lot of the talking for him, and it was plenty loud enough.

One of Harrison’s most famous albums, Living in the Material World, returns to the Billboard charts this week. The decades-old collection was recently re-released as a collectible vinyl, and fans of the late rocker and former Beatle musician bought the title in large numbers—ones that become especially impressive when compared to how the title was performing before it was reissued.

In the past tracking week, Living in the Material World sold another 6,800 copies throughout the U.S., according to Luminate. That’s up massively from the period before, when there were very few people in America who wanted to buy the classic.

Before it was re-released, Living in the Material World sold a little more than 50 copies in the United States in the prior tracking week. From one frame to the next, the title soared 12,550% in pure purchases.

Several versions of Living in the Material World were made available to celebrate the title’s fiftieth anniversary, and they were offered in limited quantities, which likely spurred the buying frenzy. All editions included the original full-length, as well as various other extras, like a book, a seven-inch vinyl of one single, and even previously unreleased tracks—the kind that would surely intrigue longtime lovers of Harrison’s work.

All those purchases help Living in the Material World debut on two Billboard charts. While the project was a quick top 10 smash on the Billboard 200 when it was first released in the ‘70s, it now lands on a pair of tallies that weren’t around at the time.

Source: Hugh McIntyre/forbes.com

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