Cynthia Lennon on Yoko Ono and Losing John Lennon

John had taken acid once more and enthused, 'Cyn, it was great. Christ Cyn, we've got to have lots more children. We've got to have a big family around us.' At this point, I burst into tears . . . All I could blurt out was that, in no way, could I see us as he did. I was so disturbed by John's outburst, that I even suggested that Yoko Ono was the woman for him. John protested at my crazy suggestion and suggested that I was being ridiculous. Although life went on as usual, my fears grew and I felt nervous and depressed. John was unaware of my depression and suggested that, as he had to work for long hours in the recording studios for a few weeks, I should accompany Jenny, Donovan, Gypsy and Alexis on a holiday to Greece. The very thought of sun and sea really brightened my outlook.

The two weeks in Greece were wonderful, a total change. Our arrival home, it seemed, was unexpected. It was four o'clock in the afternoon. The porch light was on and the curtains were still drawn. There were no signs of life . . . just an ominous silence. The front door was not locked, and so we all trooped into the house, shouting, 'Hello, where are you? Is anyone home?' There was no response, until we walked into the morning room, where we heard quiet murmurings of a conversation. When I opened the door a scene that took my breath and voice away confronted me. Dirty breakfast dishes were cluttering the table, the curtains were closed and the room was dimly lit. Facing me was John, sitting relaxed in his dressing gown. With her back to me and equally relaxed and at home, was Yoko. The only response I received was 'Oh, hi,' from both parties. They looked so right together. I was a stranger in my own home. Desperately trying to cover up the shock, all I could think to say was, 'We were all thinking of going out to dinner tonight. We had lunch in Rome and we thought it would be lovely to have dinner in London. Are you coming?' It sounded so stupid in the light of the changed circumstances. The only reply I received was, 'No, thanks.' And that was it. I wanted to disappear and, in fact, that is just what I did. I rushed out of the room upstairs, gathering random personal belongings together. All I knew was that I had to get out. As I ran along the landing, I noticed a pair of Japanese slippers, neatly placed outside the guest bedroom door. Jenny and Alexis were equally shocked and embarrassed by the situation, so when I asked if I could stay with them for a few days, they agreed readily.

John Lennon on "Revolution 1"

"When George and Paul and all them were on holiday, I made 'Revolution,' which is on the LP, and 'Revolution 9.' I wanted to put it out as a single, but they said it wasn't good enough. They came home, I had it all prepared and they came back and said it wasn't good enough and we put out, what, 'Hello Goodbye' or some shit. No, we put--'Hey Jude,' sorry, which was worthy. But we could have had both. I wanted to put out what I felt about revolution, I thought it was about time we fuckin' spoke about it, the same as I thought it was about time we stopped not answering about the Vietnamese war, on tour with Brian. We had to tell him, 'We're going to talk about the war this time, we're not going to just waffle.' And I wanted to say what I thought about revolution. I'd been thinking about it up in the hills in India. And I still had this 'God will save us' feeling about it. 'It's going to be alright.' But even now I'm saying, 'Hold on, John, it's going to be alright.' Otherwise, I won't hold on. But that's why I did it, I wanted to say my piece about revolution. I wanted to tell you or whoever listens and communicate and say, 'What do you say? This is what I say.' And that's why I say on one version, about violence, 'in or out?' because I wasn't sure. But the version we put out said, 'Count me out,' I think. Because I don't fancy a violent revolution happening all over. I don't want to die. But I'm beginning to think that what else can happen. It seems inevitable."

John Lennon on "Happiness Is a Warm Gun"

"Oh, I like that, one of my best. I had forgotten about that. Oh, I love it. I think it's a beautiful song. I like all the different things that are happening in it. Like 'God,' I had put together some three sections of different songs, it was meant to be -- it seemed to run through all the different kinds of rock music."

"It wasn't [about heroin]. It was never--like all the ones that really--like LSD, the 'Lucy in the Sky,' which I swear to God or swear to Mao, or anybody you like, I'd no intention. 'Happiness Is a Warm Gun' is the same. George Martin had a fuckin' book on guns, or he told me about it--I can't remember--I think he showed me a cover of a magazine that said, 'Happiness Is a Warm Gun.' It was a gun magazine. I just thought it was a fantastic, insane thing to say. A warm gun means you just shot something."

Beatles Covers: Marmalade - Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da

Beatles News

• Classic Hollywood Movie Spotlight: 1964's 'A Hard Day's Night' (Hollywood.com)
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• The 2010 Fab Faux Sweepstakes (MSG.com)
• Lennon's killer denied parole again (Toronto Sun)
• The Beatles on 'Ed Sullivan': New DVD set lands (Los Angeles Times)
• Oprah and Paul McCartney Among 2010 Kennedy Center Honorees (Buzzle)
  

Paul McCartney on His Marijuana Drug Bust and Imprisonment in Japan

"I can take it or leave it. It's silly to say it's wicked. I think we should decriminalise it. I wasn't badly treated [in jail] but it was an experience I never want to repeat. It was incredibly dumb, really stupid of me to try to take the hash into Japan. I just wasn't thinking logically. I didn't really try to hide the stuff. It was just sitting on top of the suitcase."
-1984

A Letter from Early Beatles Fans, 1963

Dear Johnny,

We are some of the very first Beatles fans, and we thought you might like to hear something about their early days at The Cavern.

When they first appeared there, we could go down about half-an-hour before the session began and get a seat at the front, and The Beatles mainly used to play numbers for which they'd had requests from the audience. You could always go and talk to them in the band-room by the stage, and at the snack-bar at the back. They were always fooling around on stage, and playing such pieces as "Bill and Ben" and "Torchy," and how we were thrilled when we heard that "Love Me Do" had got to Number 27 in the Charts!

Then they became more famous, and we used to queue all day for front row seats at an evening session, and often from the night before. Everyone going past The Cavern could see us all huddled in jeans, rugs and blankets in the doorway!

Yes, we have many early memories of Our Boys, but they've probably forgotten all about us now. We can't really complain, because we know them better than anyone else, but honestly, we don't half miss them!

from the original Beatlettes.
LIVERPOOL--of course!

The Beatles write:
Course we haven't forgotten the early days and everyone who helped to start us going. We wish sometimes that we could go back to The Cavern and play around just like we used to do just for a few days.