As I write this sentence, it’s currently snowing, and the weather forecasts say it’ll rain throughout the rest of the week. It’s the perfect storm to read British Invasion — the column that dives into the music history of that wet little island in Europe.
This is the second edition of this exploration into the four Beatles’ solo careers. Today we’re diving into John Lennon’s short, provocative and tragic solo career.
Much like how the Beatles were a vessel for the creative relationship between Lennon and his bandmate Paul McCartney, Lennon’s post-Beatles career was arguably a foundation for his creative partnership with his second wife, Yoko Ono.
Having first met at Ono’s art exhibit in 1966, they married three years later in Gibraltar — after Lennon had finally divorced his first wife Cynthia. An avant-garde performance artist, Ono introduced Lennon to this world of experimental art and helped Lennon dip his first toes into this space. This culminated in the Unfinished Music duology and the “Wedding Album,” released across 1968 and 1969.
Released under the moniker John Lennon & Yoko Ono, these are certainly some of the albums of the 1960s. “Unfinished Music No. 1 : Two Virgins” is better known for its cover than its music, the second album contains Ono screaming over a drone for 26 minutes and their wedding album consists of Lennon and Yoko screaming each other’s names as if they’re Pokémon. Fascinating stuff indeed.
Apart from making unique experimental music, Lennon and Ono were also fairly big political activists. Knowing that their wedding and forthcoming honeymoon would be a highly publicized affair, they staged a “bed-in” at two hotels in Amsterdam and Montreal to protest the Vietnam War. During the Montreal bed-in, they recorded the protest song “Give Peace a Chance,” which became an anthem for the growing anti-Vietnam and countercultural movement.
It also got Lennon into hot water with the Nixon administration, who snared him in a years-long deportation process until he got his green card in 1976. At the time Nixon believed Lennon’s anti-war advocacy could harm his reelection campaign, but spying on the opposition seemingly wouldn’t.
In 1970, Lennon released his first album post-Beatles breakup, “John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band.” The backing band consists of Lennon on guitar, Ringo Starr on drums and Klaus Voorman on bass. In present-day, it’srecognized as one of Lennon’s best solo efforts, but at the time both critics and fans had trouble dealing with Lennon’s deeply personal lyrics and raw production, a product of Lennon’s recent experiences with primal therapy.
The album also includes the song “Working Class Hero,” a political commentary on the difference between social classes.
The album’s personal spin put off potential buyers and limited its commercial performance, which made Lennon go back to the drawing board for “Imagine” a year later. Right out of the gate, it saw much better reception from fans and critics alike and its title track became another anthem for anti-war movements. The song called for listeners to envision a world of peace, without religion, nation states or materialism. It was also one of Ono’s few songwriting credits on a Lennon song; a credit she finally received back in 2017.
There’s also the song “How Do You Sleep,” a diss-track of sorts on McCartney in response to lyrics on “Ram” that Lennon felt was directed at him, and McCartney later confirmed; his hatred can extend beyond wars and class divide, it seems.
Lennon and Ono also moved to New York shortly before the release of “Imagine.” But just as Lennon was about to record his fourth solo project in 1973, he and Ono separated and Lennon got into a relationship with Ono’s personal assistant, May Pang.
Hopping between New York City and Los Angeles, he engaged in an 18-month bender of drugs and booze — a time period Lennon called his “lost weekend.”
In the middle of this debauchery, Lennon nabbed three No. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1974 and 1975. He got his first solo chart-topper with “Whatever Gets You thru The Night,” featuring Elton John on backing vocals. Lennon returned the favor and provided vocals to John’s cover of “Lucy in Sky with Diamonds.” Finally, Lennon helped David Bowie crack the U.S. market by co-writing his first chart-topper, “Fame.” There ain’tno rest for the wicked.
Lennon also resumed his relationship with Ono early in 1975. Following one final stage appearance in a TV special and the birth of his second son, Sean, in October, Lennon took a step back from the spotlight to become a househusband.
He wouldn’t return to the music industry until 1980, when he released “Double Fantasy,” his fifth collaborative effort with Ono and his first release in five years, reflecting the duo’s happiness in reaching domestic bliss.
Unfortunately, the domestic bliss didn’t last long after the release of “Double Fantasy.” On Dec. 8, 1980, Lennon was murdered by Mark David Chapman outside of his apartment. He was pronounced dead on arrival at Roosevelt Hospital.
It’s poetic irony that Lennon’s last single while he was alive was “(Just Like) Starting Over,” a song about beginning a new chapter of his life, only for it to be cut short.