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Who Killed John Lennon?

The lives, loves and deaths of the greatest rock star

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Who Killed John Lennon?

By: Lesley-Ann Jones
Narrated by: Lesley-Ann Jones, Rebecca Gethings
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Late on 8 December 1980, the planet stopped spinning for millions when news broke that the world's best-loved rock star had been gunned down in cold blood in New York City. In this enthralling exploration, acclaimed music biographer and journalist Lesley-Ann Jones unravels the enigma to present a complete portrait of the man, his life, his relationships, his untimely death and his eternal musical legacy as never before.

Peeling back the layers, Jones tracks the highs and lows of both his professional and personal life that led Lennon to relocate to New York, where he was shot dead on the street outside his apartment building that fateful winter night. But who, or what, really killed him? And when did the 'real' John Lennon die?

Using fresh first-hand research, unseen images and exclusive interviews with those who knew Lennon best, the author's search for answers offers a gripping, 360-degree view of one of our most iconic music legends, four decades on from his tragic death.Having interviewed many people over the years who had been connected to Lennon, including his first wife Cynthia, his firstborn son Julian, fellow Beatle Sir Paul McCartney, John's former girlfriend May Pang and Andy Peebles - the last British broadcaster to interview him, a couple of days before he was murdered - Jones draws on an astonishing personal archive. There have been countless books about the Beatles and John Lennon. There has never been one quite like this. Entertainment & Celebrities Music Celebrity New York
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I found this book focused on the disturbing aspects of his life. John Lennon was always viewed as hugsme influence on manys lives and while this book acknowledges that I still feel it focuses a bit much on that aspect. I wish I delved more into the assassination a bit more seeing as the book was called who killed John Lennon.

I liked how it described John Lennons life and his difficulties.

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This is a great book if you want to go beyond the usual factual story telling of the life of John Lennon. The book tells the story of how complex a person John really was. He was not a working-class hero. He was raised in the middle-class neighbourhood of Woolton by his Aunt Mimi and Uncle George, he went to grammar school, and then art college. He would holiday in Scotland with his posh relatives in the summer. He was very different in so many ways to his fellow Beatles. Yet, he was a rebel. That's what we liked about him. He could never fit in. He found his voice in rock 'n' roll music. But that changed with the onset of stardom. Brian Epstein put him in a suit and wanted him to bow after each song. Yet, John, forever the rebel, would find a way of breaking out of the chains of conservatism with his unique blend of non-conformity. The book tells us for instance, John would undo his shirt collar and loosen his tie, as an act of defiance. This was his way of saying no to conventionality. The book tells us how the trappings of success, and life in the leafy suburbs of Weybridge, sent John into a world of 'I'm only sleeping'. Forever, the experimenter, John took refuge in the world of the alternative arts and spirituality. He embraced yoga and meditation when he went to India, which stayed with him throughout his life. The book pinpoints big changes in the life of John Lennon. One such change was the influence of Dylan. In Dylan, John found that he didn't have to write teenage, love songs; that he could write songs such as 'I'm a loser' and 'Help'. Another big change in John's life was the arrival of Yoko Ono. John went headfirst into the underground movement, and the world of alternative arts, under her influence. He found a new voice in the peace movement and radical politics. However, his activism wasn't to last, as his brush with the Nixon administration, and his fight against deportation, led him to take a break. John had had enough. For years he felt under contract to do things for others, and now he just wanted some sort of normality and found it with Yoko and baby Sean. However, mythology would have it that he succumbed to a life of domesticity, which wasn't the case. The book tells us that John never hung up his guitar, but continued to make music. After several years at home, and travelling abroad, he stepped out with a new album and plans for a world tour. Sadly, we were robbed of what was to come, and we will never know what John would have gone on to do. This is a great read if you want to get behind the facts and to explore the complex person that John was, and how he changed over the years. One thing that didn't change however was his rebellious nature. We can only imagine what John would be doing or saying today. The book speculates that he would have been very active on social media, championing good causes and giving voice to the voiceless.

Revelatory

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so interesting..well read and took you along into the life of John Lennon ...great

eye opening ..brilliant

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This book has the feel of an investigative journalism piece and tells the story of the subject’s complexities through the lens of various perspectives. It’s very easy to make the subject of a biography two dimensional - but this doesn’t. Approaching the 43rd anniversary of John’s death, this book is an examination of an adored but deeply complex man.
The only element that let it down for me was the narrator’s mispronunciation of places and names key to the narrative, e.g. Gateacre, a suburb of Liverpool, and the surname of the Radio 1 DJ Andy Peebles. Wouldn’t these errors have been picked up by the production team?

A Complex Man Explored

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The title is very misleading. There isn’t anything in this ‘book’ that you haven’t already heard etc.

Don’t waste your time, money or ears with it. We all know who killed John Lennon.

Save your money and ears

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