Celebrating John Lennon's 75th Birthday

1940-1980

Seventy-five years ago, a little baby boy was born in Liverpool who, unbeknown to his mother, was to grow up to be one of the most influential figures in popular culture. What can I tell you about the life of John Lennon that you don’t already know? I’m sure you know that in 1957, at their second performance, Lennon met fellow musician Paul McCartney, and asked him to join his band The Quarrymen. I’m sure you know that, four years later, The Beatles debuted at the Cavern Club. You may know about his first wife, Cynthia, and mother to his first child Julian, and you’ll certainly know of his second wife, Yoko Ono, and son Sean. You’ll know that after The Beatles split in 1970, he carried on his political activism through both his song-writing and his public life. And you’ll know that on the 8th December 1980, Lennon was assassinated outside his home in New York.

If he were still alive today, who knows what the music scene would be like? Just imagine… Even after death, his influence lives on, so I thought it would be appropriate to hand over to some famous names, to hear their thoughts on the late, great, John Lennon.

 John Lennon was definitely my favorite Beatle, hands down. - Kurt Cobain

If one could have a wish, or an alternative life, I would've liked to have been John Lennon. - Gary Oldman

Lennon was a most talented man and above all, a gentle soul. John and his colleagues set a high standard by which contemporary music continues to be measured. - Frank Sinatra

He was an artist who was, in his own way, committed to wholeness and authenticity in a not dissimilar way that I am years later. - Alanis Morissette

 It's a cliche, but he is my hero. He was so rebellious, so outspoken and so publicly opinionated, and I'm someone who's so private. I suppose you admire people who have the qualities you wish you had. - Emun Elliott

There were the Beatles, and there was John. As a band, they were a great unit. But John, he was his own man. - Keith Richards

What happens when people like him die is that the landscape changes. You know, a mountain disappears; a river is gone. And I think his death was probably as significant as that. We all miss him, and I think about him every time I walk by that building. - Sting

He knew who he was, and he knew what he represented to a worldwide public. John knew he had the floor; he knew he had to parlay that into something. I think he incited and inspired a whole group of youth to speak out and say what they felt. - John Travolta


He made enemies, but he was fantastic. He was a warm man who cared a lot and with the record Give Peace A Chance helped stop the Vietnam War. He made a lot of sense. - Paul McCartney


My husband John Lennon was a very special man. A man of humble origin, he brought light and hope to the whole world with his words and music. - Yoko Ono

The Beatles at Shea Stadium, 50 Years Ago Today

Shea Stadium, 15th August 1965

If music is in your heart then surely, The Beatles must run through your veins. I’ve heard the odd idiot (yes, I said it) try and impress with the bold statement “I don’t like the Beatles”, and every time, I can’t help but shudder. I guess it’s forgivable for someone of my generation to, say, not be that acquainted with their discography, or call Hey Jude their best track, but to say you don’t like The Beatles is comparable to saying you don’t like… eating. You may not like eating spicy food, or you might prefer eating beans on toast to champagne and caviar, but no one could say they don’t like eating.  

The Beatles and Beatlemania not only changed the music industry but all of popular culture from 1960 onwards. On this day, we celebrate a very important anniversary in Beatles history. The stadium tour is a norm in today’s music scene; in London alone venues like Wembley and Twickenham play host to some of the world’s biggest stars when out of the sports season. But, it was fifty years ago today (see what I did there?) on 15^th August 1965, that the Beatles drew a record-breaking crowd of 55,600 fans to Shea Stadium in New York City, and hosted the first concert held in a venue of this size.

The following year a documentary of the concert, produced by Ed Sullivan, was released, which showcased extraordinary scenes unlike any that had been seen before. There are looks of astonishment across the Fab Four’s faces as Sullivan announces them onto the grass. Although perfectly clear in the film, in reality their playing was completely drowned out by the sound of screaming and crying, and the on-site security were fully occupied throughout the concert with the removal of fainting teenage girls, or those attempting to run out onto the stage. Cousin Brucie, the announcer on the night, put it quite simply in a recent interview. He said:

“This was a sociological experience. This was an amazing event, more than just the music. The music played almost a secondary role to what was going to happen at that particular moment in time.”

Here are some fun facts about the Shea Stadium show:

1. Seats in the upper deck cost $5.10 – that’s about $40/£25 in today’s money

2. In the audience that night were a young Meryl Streep as well as Linda Eastman and Barbara Bach (the future Mrs McCartney and Mrs Starr)

3. 25%-30% of the crowd that evening were male!

4. The concert made $304,000 in box office takings, of which the Beatles got $160,000

As with every concert on this tour, the set list was comprised of 12 songs. But which track should I choose to cover as tribute to the anniversary? One in particular stood out to me, a favourite of mine which, I can’t believe, only made it to No. 42 in Rolling Stone’s top 100 Beatles songs.

I Feel Fine was released in November 1964 and appears on the album Beatles ’65. Its opening note is the first example of feedback being used on a record, made by McCartney pressing his bass up to the amp. Just think how a single note, who knows, maybe even a mistake initially, paved the way for acts of the future to coin the technique (Townshend, Hendrix and Cobain, to name just a few…)

Lennon wrote the majority of the song, and came up with the riff whilst recording Eight Days A Week at Abbey Road. This riff is very close to Bobby Parker’s Watch Your Step, and although it has been suggested that Lennon may have stolen it, the inclusion of Parker’s track on the 2004 John Lennon’s Jukebox compilation ironically made Watch Your Step a hit in the UK. Bobby Parker isn’t the only influence on I Feel Fine. Lennon admitted that the inspiration for the drum piece came from Ray Charles’ What I’d Say, and you can hear this coming through on the vocals too. 

But all these factors aside, I Feel Fine still has all the elements to make a perfect Beatles' classic: Sweet, catchy rhymes, a poppy, toe-tapping rhythm and a simple, effective harmony. The trinity!