John Lennon was born on this day, October 9, back in 1940. The founding member of The Beatles endured a tough life, in some respects. He saw his mother killed in a hit-and-run, he was involved in a messy divorce, he split from his band, and he was ultimately assassinated over his music. But perhaps one of the most difficult parts of his life was having his friends disapprove of his second wife, Yoko Ono.
Lennon met Ono in London in 1966. They started a relationship soon thereafter and were eventually married in 1969.
Rumours swelled surrounding the split of The Beatles that Ono was, somehow, to blame for the band’s breakup. But both she and Lennon denied this, saying the problems were present in the group long before she arrived.
The other members of the band were often frustrated by the couple’s unwillingness to separate, however. Ono would attend writing and recording sessions, sitting in the corner of the room and silently watching.
Lennon recalled in 1971 that his lifelong friend, George Harrison, even insulted her right to her face during one of their first meetings. A sin he could not forgive for the rest of his days.
Lennon remembered: “George, s**t, insulted her right to her face in the Apple office at the beginning, [he was] just being ‘straight-forward.’ You know that game of: ‘I’m going to be upfront.’”
During this contentious meeting, Harrison noted that “Bob Dylan and a few other people” said Ono had “a lousy reputation” in New York. He also pointed out that she “gave off bad vibes”.
Lennon was left utterly furious. He said: “That’s what George said to her! And we both sat through it.”
The Imagine singer was so angry, in fact, that he wanted to physically attack Harrison.
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The comments Harrison and McCartney made about Lennon’s wife stayed with the singer.
Lennon fiercely spat: “I’ll never forgive them. I don’t care what f****ng s**t about [Harrison’s religion] Hare Krishna and God and Paul with his ‘Well, I’ve changed me mind.’ I can’t forgive ’em for that, really.”
He added: “I was always hoping that they would come around,” Lennon confessed. “I couldn’t believe it, and they all sat there with their wives, like a f*****g jury and judged us.”
With that said, he did begrudgingly add: “Although I can’t help still loving them either.”
Lennon did reveal that not every member of the band was against his new wife, however.
He explained that his bandmate Ringo Starr was very supportive of his new relationship and marriage.
He said: “Ringo was all right, so was [his wife] Maureen [Cox], but the other two really gave it to us.”
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