Episode 4: John Lennon
With the Beatles no longer touring, John Lennon begins to move beyond the identity that made him famous. This episode explores the changing relationship between Lennon and Yoko Ono, the development of his independent artistic and political identity, and the increasingly complicated process of separating his own ambitions from the legacy of the Beatles.
We examine the end of the Beatles, Lennon’s relationship with the press, his political activism and the scrutiny he attracted from the American authorities during the Nixon administration. The story then moves through his early solo career, including the music and public statements that established him as an artist in his own right.
The episode also follows the period commonly known as the “Lost Weekend”, when Lennon lived apart from Yoko Ono in Los Angeles and became involved in a turbulent period of drinking, relationships and music-making. We explore the recording of Walls and Bridges, the success of Whatever Gets You Thru the Night, and his unexpected onstage reunion with Elton John at Madison Square Garden in 1974.
By 1975, Lennon and Ono have reunited, and the birth of their son Sean prompts a profound change in Lennon’s priorities. He withdraws from public musical life, turning his attention towards family and fatherhood.
This is the story of a man who had spent years moving between performance, rebellion, love and public scrutiny, and who now begins to seek something quieter.
The episode draws on Lennon’s own interviews and retrospective accounts, contemporary reporting, documentation of his solo recording career, and historical material concerning his political activities and the American government’s scrutiny of him.
Lennon’s recollections of the Beatles’ breakup and his relationship with McCartney and Ono are treated as retrospective testimony rather than unquestionable objective accounts. The script avoids attributing the breakup to a single individual, particularly Yoko Ono, and recognises the complicated mixture of personal, professional, financial and artistic pressures involved.
The discussion of the FBI, the Nixon administration and Lennon’s immigration difficulties is grounded in documented surveillance, political scrutiny and legal proceedings, rather than unsupported conspiracy claims.
The “Lost Weekend” is described as a period lasting approximately eighteen months, rather than a literal weekend. Lennon’s later comments about the separation from Ono and his return to family life are used to explore how he subsequently understood that period, without treating his reflections as a clinical explanation of his behaviour.
The episode’s account of fatherhood also avoids presenting Lennon as suddenly transformed into a perfect parent. It acknowledges the complicated history of his relationship with Julian while examining his conscious decision to be more present in Sean’s early life.
Researched, written and read by Paul Carmichael.
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