Some Beatles fans might be surprised to know that John Lennon’s mother, Julia Lennon, did not raise him. Instead, he was raised by his aunt, Mimi Smith. John had some major issues with his parents and he worked them into his music.
John Lennon never adulated his mother
The book All We Are Saying: The Last Major Interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono features an interview from 1980. During the interview, the “Imagine” singer had quite a lot to say about parents. “Some people cannot see that their parents are still torturing them, even when they are in their forties and fifties — they still have that stranglehold over them and their thoughts and their minds,” he said.
“I never had that fear of and adulation for parents,” he added. “Well, that’s the gift of being a so-called orphan — which I never was at all. My mother was alive...
John Lennon never adulated his mother
The book All We Are Saying: The Last Major Interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono features an interview from 1980. During the interview, the “Imagine” singer had quite a lot to say about parents. “Some people cannot see that their parents are still torturing them, even when they are in their forties and fifties — they still have that stranglehold over them and their thoughts and their minds,” he said.
“I never had that fear of and adulation for parents,” he added. “Well, that’s the gift of being a so-called orphan — which I never was at all. My mother was alive...
- 3/17/2024
- by Matthew Trzcinski
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
Five years after John Lennon’s death, his family members could hardly believe a television program about his life. While some of his family members had problems with him in his life, they all agreed that the program John Lennon: A Journey in the Life did not capture him well. Here are the problems they had with the film.
John Lennon’s family was not happy about a program about his life
In 1985, the documentary John Lennon: A Journey in the Life aired. Per TV Guide, the film relied on interviews and documentary footage as well as dramatizations.
“In December 1985, in its Everyman series, BBC Television transmitted John Lennon: A Journey in the Life,” Ray Coleman wrote in his book Lennon: The Definitive Biography. “The role of John was taken by Bernard Hill, to whom Lennon had sent a good luck telegram when Hill had starred in an excellent London stage production called John,...
John Lennon’s family was not happy about a program about his life
In 1985, the documentary John Lennon: A Journey in the Life aired. Per TV Guide, the film relied on interviews and documentary footage as well as dramatizations.
“In December 1985, in its Everyman series, BBC Television transmitted John Lennon: A Journey in the Life,” Ray Coleman wrote in his book Lennon: The Definitive Biography. “The role of John was taken by Bernard Hill, to whom Lennon had sent a good luck telegram when Hill had starred in an excellent London stage production called John,...
- 10/10/2023
- by Emma McKee
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
All four members contributed to making The Beatles the successful band they were, but it took John Lennon to gather the parts. Adding Paul McCartney was a shrewd move. The pair effortlessly wrote songs together, tunes that changed popular music forever. That didn’t matter to the woman who raised John. Lennon’s rigid aunt Mimi had a snobby nickname for McCartney that she used in front of him.
Paul McCartney said John Lennon’s aunt Mimi had a belittling nickname for him though she secretly liked him
Future wife Cynthia kept John from going off the rails in the early days. Still, Lennon’s stern aunt Mimi might have given him the sharp edge needed to navigate the music industry.
Aunt Mimi frequently criticized John. His clothes, accent, the music he played, and his friends were some of the targets. Lennon’s aunt, who raised him for much of his life,...
Paul McCartney said John Lennon’s aunt Mimi had a belittling nickname for him though she secretly liked him
Future wife Cynthia kept John from going off the rails in the early days. Still, Lennon’s stern aunt Mimi might have given him the sharp edge needed to navigate the music industry.
Aunt Mimi frequently criticized John. His clothes, accent, the music he played, and his friends were some of the targets. Lennon’s aunt, who raised him for much of his life,...
- 7/19/2023
- by Jason Rossi
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
The Beatles were still together as a band when John Lennon released his Two Virgins album with Yoko Ono. The album was experimental, so it was a tough sell to even the most dedicated Beatles fans. It didn’t help that Lennon and Ono posed fully nude on the cover. While Paul McCartney wrote album notes for Two Virgins, he reportedly was not a fan of the cover photo. Neither were George Harrison and Ringo Starr. Here’s why the band was so concerned about the controversial album cover.
The Beatles did not like John Lennon’s album cover for ‘Two Virgins’
In 1968, Lennon and Ono released Two Virgins, the first of three experimental albums. While many listeners didn’t like the album’s contents, the bigger source of controversy, by far, was the cover. It features full frontal nudity from both Lennon and Ono. Many record stores refused to sell it altogether,...
The Beatles did not like John Lennon’s album cover for ‘Two Virgins’
In 1968, Lennon and Ono released Two Virgins, the first of three experimental albums. While many listeners didn’t like the album’s contents, the bigger source of controversy, by far, was the cover. It features full frontal nudity from both Lennon and Ono. Many record stores refused to sell it altogether,...
- 7/13/2023
- by Emma McKee
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
John Lennon met his lifelong muse when he met Yoko Ono. His songwriting partnership with Paul McCartney dissolved as his relationship with Yoko deepened. Lennon and Ono developed into a controversial couple since they never compromised their art. That included their naked pose on the Two Virgins album cover that John’s aunt Mimi hated because she said the couple were too ugly naked.
John Lennon’s aunt Mimi hated the ‘Two Virgins’ cover because he and Yoko were ‘so ugly’ naked
Lennon jumped fully into Ono’s avant-garde art world when their relationship started. The Beatles’ founder started recording sound experiments, tape loops, and comedy bits on his own time. Sometimes, such as “Revolution 9,” John’s artistic outlets overlapped, but he mostly kept them separate.
His first recording project with Yoko, the 1968 album Two Virgins, was made separately from the Fab Four. Ono criticized Lennon’s effort on the album,...
John Lennon’s aunt Mimi hated the ‘Two Virgins’ cover because he and Yoko were ‘so ugly’ naked
Lennon jumped fully into Ono’s avant-garde art world when their relationship started. The Beatles’ founder started recording sound experiments, tape loops, and comedy bits on his own time. Sometimes, such as “Revolution 9,” John’s artistic outlets overlapped, but he mostly kept them separate.
His first recording project with Yoko, the 1968 album Two Virgins, was made separately from the Fab Four. Ono criticized Lennon’s effort on the album,...
- 7/8/2023
- by Jason Rossi
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
John Lennon knew how to write memorable music. Even his lousy songs became Beatles hits. Yet he never really knew how to make his aunt, Mimi Smith, happy. She cut him down to size throughout his life. Still, her complaints toward him were nothing compared to her brutal message for Lennon’s dad.
John Lennon’s aunt told off his dad: ‘You have made an absolute shambles of your life’
Lennon’s life story well before he died tragically young.
His mother, Julia, got hit by a car and died. Her partner had little interest in helping a young John grieve. Even worse, his dad was virtually absent for his entire childhood. Paul McCartney said his friend never got over his father’s absence. Maybe Lennon’s dad was too scared of aunt Mimi to attempt to get close to his son.
After spending years at sea working as a ship’s steward,...
John Lennon’s aunt told off his dad: ‘You have made an absolute shambles of your life’
Lennon’s life story well before he died tragically young.
His mother, Julia, got hit by a car and died. Her partner had little interest in helping a young John grieve. Even worse, his dad was virtually absent for his entire childhood. Paul McCartney said his friend never got over his father’s absence. Maybe Lennon’s dad was too scared of aunt Mimi to attempt to get close to his son.
After spending years at sea working as a ship’s steward,...
- 7/4/2023
- by Jason Rossi
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
Paul McCartney is certainly used to receiving VIP treatment now. But he actually popped out of the womb in a room that was better than all the others at Walton General Hospital. Here’s the story of McCartney’s birth as well as a look at who his parents were.
Paul McCartney with his wife Linda, father James, and stepmother Angela | Michael Fresco/Evening Standard/Getty Images Who were Paul McCartney’s parents?
Paul’s father was James McCartney, a musician and ladies man until he decided to settle down at the age of 39. During the day, Jim was a salesman at the Cotton Exchange. But at night and on weekends, he was the leader of a well-known Liverpool swing band called the Jim Mac Jazz Band.
McCartney’s mother was Mary Patricia Mohin, who was “a good Irish Catholic girl who was a trained nurse and midwife,” according to...
Paul McCartney with his wife Linda, father James, and stepmother Angela | Michael Fresco/Evening Standard/Getty Images Who were Paul McCartney’s parents?
Paul’s father was James McCartney, a musician and ladies man until he decided to settle down at the age of 39. During the day, Jim was a salesman at the Cotton Exchange. But at night and on weekends, he was the leader of a well-known Liverpool swing band called the Jim Mac Jazz Band.
McCartney’s mother was Mary Patricia Mohin, who was “a good Irish Catholic girl who was a trained nurse and midwife,” according to...
- 5/7/2023
- by Kelsey Goeres
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
When John Lennon was a child, he went to live with his aunt and uncle after his parents separated. While his mother remained in his life, particularly as he grew older, he went nearly two decades without seeing his father. When he still lived with his parents, though, Lennon said he did not feel they wanted a child. He described why he saw this as both a blessing and a curse.
John Lennon | Harry Benson/Express/Getty Images John Lennon said he didn’t feel wanted as a child
When Lennon was a child, his parents separated, and he stopped seeing his father. He saw his mother now and again, though with enough infrequency that he didn’t realize how close she lived to him. He said that this led to him feeling unwanted.
“The worst pain is that of not being wanted, of realizing your parents do not need...
John Lennon | Harry Benson/Express/Getty Images John Lennon said he didn’t feel wanted as a child
When Lennon was a child, his parents separated, and he stopped seeing his father. He saw his mother now and again, though with enough infrequency that he didn’t realize how close she lived to him. He said that this led to him feeling unwanted.
“The worst pain is that of not being wanted, of realizing your parents do not need...
- 4/27/2023
- by Emma McKee
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
John Lennon reconnected with one of his closest childhood friends while he was in The Beatles. Though they hadn’t seen each other in years, he made his friend a promise. Not long after, Lennon followed through on his promise, completely changing the course of his friend’s life. Here’s what he did to support his friend, who admitted he was going down the wrong path.
John Lennon | Michael Putland/Getty Images John Lennon met a close friend while growing up
In 1983, Pete Shotton wrote a book about his friendship with Lennon in which he admitted that he couldn’t remember a time when he didn’t know the musician. They met as children and quickly grew close.
“My memories of the two of us go back so far that I barely remember a time when there was no John Lennon in my life,” he wrote, per Billboard.
Pete Shotton,...
John Lennon | Michael Putland/Getty Images John Lennon met a close friend while growing up
In 1983, Pete Shotton wrote a book about his friendship with Lennon in which he admitted that he couldn’t remember a time when he didn’t know the musician. They met as children and quickly grew close.
“My memories of the two of us go back so far that I barely remember a time when there was no John Lennon in my life,” he wrote, per Billboard.
Pete Shotton,...
- 4/2/2023
- by Emma McKee
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
In the 1960s, The Beatles were the biggest band in the world, and their fans were willing to do anything to feel closer to them. This included breaking into their homes. While this seems like an extreme action to take, it happened more than once. Here are three times Beatles fans broke into their homes and stole things.
Beatles fans | Gab Archive/Redferns Beatles fans broke into George Harrison’s house more than once
Before George Harrison and his first wife Pattie Boyd married, she had moved a number of items into his home. His property had a high fence, but fans still managed to make their way onto the grounds.
“The gate was operated manually, though, and it wasn’t long before the marauding fans discovered where George lived,” she wrote in her book Wonderful Tonight. “Hordes of girls used to hang about outside, waiting for me to go out.
Beatles fans | Gab Archive/Redferns Beatles fans broke into George Harrison’s house more than once
Before George Harrison and his first wife Pattie Boyd married, she had moved a number of items into his home. His property had a high fence, but fans still managed to make their way onto the grounds.
“The gate was operated manually, though, and it wasn’t long before the marauding fans discovered where George lived,” she wrote in her book Wonderful Tonight. “Hordes of girls used to hang about outside, waiting for me to go out.
- 3/28/2023
- by Emma McKee
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
When The Beatles rose to fame in the early 1960s, their parents’ lives changed forever. Not only were their sons suddenly able to provide for them but they were also thrust into the spotlight. Here’s how they handled the sudden and dramatic change in their lives.
The Beatles | Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images Fred Lennon
John Lennon and his father, Fred Lennon, went nearly 20 years without any contact with one another after his parents separated. In 1964, Fred was working at a hotel when a coworker introduced him to The Beatles.
“One day the washing-up woman said to me, ‘If that’s not your son, Freddy, then I don’t know what.’ She said there was a boy in this group with the same name as me and the same sort of voice, though he didn’t sing as well as me,” Fred said, per the book The Beatles: The Authorized Biography by Hunter Davies.
The Beatles | Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images Fred Lennon
John Lennon and his father, Fred Lennon, went nearly 20 years without any contact with one another after his parents separated. In 1964, Fred was working at a hotel when a coworker introduced him to The Beatles.
“One day the washing-up woman said to me, ‘If that’s not your son, Freddy, then I don’t know what.’ She said there was a boy in this group with the same name as me and the same sort of voice, though he didn’t sing as well as me,” Fred said, per the book The Beatles: The Authorized Biography by Hunter Davies.
- 3/16/2023
- by Emma McKee
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
When biographer Hunter Davies spoke to the parents of The Beatles, he noticed that John Lennon’s aunt, who raised him, was the only one to criticize her child. Lennon and his aunt, Mimi Smith, had a complicated relationship throughout his youth, and that didn’t change when he got older. She consistently criticized him for four reasons.
John Lennon | Harry Benson/Express/Getty Images 1. John Lennon’s aunt once threw a fit when he spent money on a coat
Smith had a problem with Lennon’s spending habits. He once bought his future wife, Cynthia, a new coat, and when Smith saw it, she flew into a rage.
“When she saw the coat and heard that John had bought it for me she hit the roof,” Cynthia wrote in her book John. “She screamed at John that he’d spent his money on a ‘gangster’s moll’ (even with...
John Lennon | Harry Benson/Express/Getty Images 1. John Lennon’s aunt once threw a fit when he spent money on a coat
Smith had a problem with Lennon’s spending habits. He once bought his future wife, Cynthia, a new coat, and when Smith saw it, she flew into a rage.
“When she saw the coat and heard that John had bought it for me she hit the roof,” Cynthia wrote in her book John. “She screamed at John that he’d spent his money on a ‘gangster’s moll’ (even with...
- 3/12/2023
- by Emma McKee
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
John Lennon, like the rest of The Beatles, grew up in Liverpool, England. He got his start playing shows throughout the city, and he lived there with his family until The Beatles found widespread success. The band was incredibly successful, and whenever The Beatles returned, they were treated as hometown heroes. Lennon found this embarrassing and did not like going home.
John Lennon | Harry Benson/Express/Getty Images John Lennon grew up in Liverpool
Lennon was born in Liverpool in 1940. While he initially lived with his mother, Julia, and his father, Alfred, his parents separated when he was a toddler. His aunt, Mimi Smith, took custody of Lennon after reporting Julia to Social Services. According to Paul McCartney, Lennon’s life with Smith was posh.
John's Aunt Mimi was born #onthisday 24 April 1906. Here's John with Mimi, Uncle George and Sally the dog in the back garden of their Liverpool home...
John Lennon | Harry Benson/Express/Getty Images John Lennon grew up in Liverpool
Lennon was born in Liverpool in 1940. While he initially lived with his mother, Julia, and his father, Alfred, his parents separated when he was a toddler. His aunt, Mimi Smith, took custody of Lennon after reporting Julia to Social Services. According to Paul McCartney, Lennon’s life with Smith was posh.
John's Aunt Mimi was born #onthisday 24 April 1906. Here's John with Mimi, Uncle George and Sally the dog in the back garden of their Liverpool home...
- 1/29/2023
- by Emma McKee
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
Nowhere Boy, the 2009 biopic that starred Aaron Taylor-Johnson as the young John Lennon, is being developed for the stage.
Producers Brian Lee and Dayna Bloom of Af Creative Media and Robyn Goodman and Josh Fielder of Aged in Wood announced the project on Monday.
The musical play is inspired by the film about Lennon's adolescence in Liverpool and his complex relationships with his aunt, Mimi Smith, who raised him, and his mother, Julia Lennon, who was forced to give him up as a child. The story traces his initial steps into the music world and the creation in 1956 ...
Producers Brian Lee and Dayna Bloom of Af Creative Media and Robyn Goodman and Josh Fielder of Aged in Wood announced the project on Monday.
The musical play is inspired by the film about Lennon's adolescence in Liverpool and his complex relationships with his aunt, Mimi Smith, who raised him, and his mother, Julia Lennon, who was forced to give him up as a child. The story traces his initial steps into the music world and the creation in 1956 ...
- 4/22/2019
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Nowhere Boy, the 2009 biopic that starred Aaron Taylor-Johnson as the young John Lennon, is being developed for the stage.
Producers Brian Lee and Dayna Bloom of Af Creative Media and Robyn Goodman and Josh Fielder of Aged in Wood announced the project on Monday.
The musical play is inspired by the film about Lennon's adolescence in Liverpool and his complex relationships with his aunt, Mimi Smith, who raised him, and his mother, Julia Lennon, who was forced to give him up as a child. The story traces his initial steps into the music world and the creation in 1956 ...
Producers Brian Lee and Dayna Bloom of Af Creative Media and Robyn Goodman and Josh Fielder of Aged in Wood announced the project on Monday.
The musical play is inspired by the film about Lennon's adolescence in Liverpool and his complex relationships with his aunt, Mimi Smith, who raised him, and his mother, Julia Lennon, who was forced to give him up as a child. The story traces his initial steps into the music world and the creation in 1956 ...
- 4/22/2019
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
Exclusive: Nowhere Boy, the 2009 John Lennon biopic about the teenage years of the future Beatle, is being developed as a stage musical, Deadline has learned. Producers Brian and Dayna Lee of Af Creative Media, and Robyn Goodman and Josh Fiedler of Aged in Wood, have acquired stage rights to the Ecosse Films biopic that starred Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Lennon, Kristen Scott Thomas as Lennon’s aunt Mimi Smith and Anne-Marie Duff as Lennon’s mother Julia.
As with the film, the musical – currently in the very early development stage – will focus on the Quarrymen-era Lennon and the two women who played pivotal roles in his life: Julia Lennon, who abandoned her son but had re-entered his life shortly before she was struck and killed by a car, and Julia’s older sister Mimi Smith, who raised Lennon and remained close to him until the icon’s assassination in 1980.
The Lees...
As with the film, the musical – currently in the very early development stage – will focus on the Quarrymen-era Lennon and the two women who played pivotal roles in his life: Julia Lennon, who abandoned her son but had re-entered his life shortly before she was struck and killed by a car, and Julia’s older sister Mimi Smith, who raised Lennon and remained close to him until the icon’s assassination in 1980.
The Lees...
- 4/22/2019
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
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