The Spirit of John Lennon
Words by Sophie Eggleton
The invite to White Feather: The spirit of Lennon arrives in my inbox. Black and white images, like any other family recording of their innocent doe eyed infant alongside doting parents. But these visuals have one significant difference, the father is an icon to millions of people who grew up loving his music and ideals, thus the image connotes and conjures immeasurable facts, opinions and emotions. Knowledge of the Beatles’ changing styles means that from detection of John’s haircut in the images we can equate a time in his career, the early teddy boy stage or bearded and shaggy haired, the latter signifying a time of hedonistic drug-fueled chaos. But momentarily masked or put aside, overriding the image is a touching capture of a loving father and his first son.
Yesterday I was amongst 20 journalists invited to the pre-exhibition opening press conference with John’s first wife (and first love) Cynthia ,69, and their son Julian, 46. Explaining the title of the exhibition Julian described, ‘The white feather has always represented peace to me. My dad said being presented with a white feather would always be a way of letting us know that we would be okay. Ten years ago when I was on my last tour I was in Australia and an Aboriginal elder presented me with a white feather, it definitely took my breath away.’ He went on to on to make a TV documentary about the tribe and in the process decided to set-up the White Feather Foundation which had aided aboriginals and other struggling people directly, but predominantly by supporting other existing charities that are already doing the work he would wish to do.
Any music fan will have a certain amount of knowledge about John Lennon, a rare legend in his lifetime. whether it be extracted from his poignant and occasionally mind-altered imaginations drawn in his lyrics, the iconic images that appear frequently on posters or on VH1, or from tales of fanatic stalking and autograph hunting by parents, in my case. To a degree the Beatles fame and legacy filters into our consciousness involuntary, and I imagine it will continue to do so for many generations to come. But as Julian explained,’we wanted to show a different aspect of dad’s life with us on his way to fame’, with Cynthia adding that it ‘has so much to do with compassion.’
At that start of the display are touching but honest words by Cynthia and Julian. His first wife’s words set the tone for what will be an emotional, humorous, but most importantly an honest journey through their life together. ‘John was an extraordinary man, infuriating, lovable, sometimes cruel, witty, talented and needy. I never stopped loving him and never stopped grieving for him.’
Throughout the press conference the bond between Cynthia and Julian is apparent and endearing, and despite their extraordinary life and experiences, their interaction is just one of a mother and son bonded by tragedy and recovery. “We have always had the feeling of a brotherhood/sisterhood. If there hadn’t been we’d have walked away from everything years ago. We work through issues and problems.”
A large percentage of the show draws attention to loss - inparticular John’s loss at as a youngster which undeniably affected his personality and choices during his own life, and the loss felt due to John’s all too frequent absence in his young son Julian’s life. Artifacts such as the Honda mini-monkey bike given to him by his father, and an electric guitar inscribed with the message ‘To Julian from Daddy, Christmas 1973’, were particularly poignant. Much like his father, his childhood also had some adverse affect. “Growing up as John Lennon’s sons has been a rocky path. He was a great talent, a remarkable man who stood for love and peace in the world, but to me he was the father I loved and longed for in his many absences. I had a lot of anger as a teenager I definitely changed. I realized anger and hatred waste a lot of time and energy that I’d rather redirect for positive use.”
The centerpiece of the exhibition are the pencil-scribbled original notes for the lyrics of “Hey Jude”.The 1968 hit, which is perhaps their most well known was composed by McCartney in a car as he headed to a meeting with Cynthia and Julia at their home. Originally titled ‘Hey Jules’ McCartney later changed the words to Hey Jude, because it sounded better, according to Julian.
As a sucker for romance, the sections about Cynthia and John’s budding relationship were some of the most interesting reads, as were Cynthia’s amusing illustrations depicting one of their dates, their wedding day on the 23rd august 1962 - which was apparently a hysterical day and featured a very miserable minister, and Julian’s birth ( the facial expressions truly depicting the emotion and pain of such a day). At the conference Cynthia spoke unknowingly but amusingly about of her initial thoughts of John on first meeting; ‘disturbed, I didn’t understand who, or what he was, he was a teddy boy, I was in my twinset, and puritanical at the time. I thought he’s dangerous, really dangerous, and I was right!’
Although appearances might suggest that they were from different worlds or mindsets, they shared interests and family tragedies. Meeting at Liverpool College of art in 1958, where John focused on writing music rather than passing his exams, she would impress him my dressing like his ideal women, Brigitte Bardot. They both faced hard times at teenagers. Cynthia’s father was diagnosed with lung cancer when she was just 17, a year later he sadly died. John faced similar heartache when his mother Julia was hit by a car and killed in 1958 when John was also 17. He has said he felt he lost her twice (he had been forced to move in with his Aunt due to intense family problems), which left him bitter with a chip on his shoulder.
Not wanting to deflect too much, Julians responded briefly to a question regarding his own musical career. He told of how he fell out with the industry, despite a love writing and performing. Two/Three years ago he started writing again, clearly inheriting his father’s innate talent, ‘cos it’s in me, you know.’ He predicts that we should hear his new music February/March 2010.
On putting this collection together, Julian expressed that he “enjoyed it very much, we’ve been working on it for a while overseeing it from a afar, its a proud moment for Mum and I. Lots of things we hadn’t seen, not for years or ever. It’s brought back fond memories.’ They have ‘great hopes of expanding the collection in the future and bringing more light to the early days together.’
Heartbreakingly and somewhat unfairly nothing was passed down to Julian so he actually had to buy them himself. ‘I started collecting these personal pieces because I felt the belonged back in our family. This collection represents something of great importance to me as it is all of our history. I wanted my family to have a part of their heritage.’ In their situation I would have been tempted to edit what made the exhibition, wanting to keep something for private for myself, but unselfishly, for the sake of the loyal fans, truth and perhaps for cathartic affect, they both said there was nothing they weren’t prepared to show, nothing was held back - but possible additions may be made in the future.
For those interested in music history/memorabilia - this is the exhibition for you, and for those rare breeds that don’t hold John Lennon or the Beatles in high esteem, this exhibition is just as relevant in looking at the human condition, relationships and the joys and sadness of life, thus making for a moving experience - a must see.
White Feather: The Spirit of Lennon runs from 17th June - 31st December at the new Mersey Ferries Terminal building at the Pier Head, Liverpool.
Posted Sat, June 27, 2009