John Lennon News Page

Book: Instamatic Karma: Photographs of John Lennon by May Pang Read our interview with May Pang DVD: The Concise John Lennon's New York: A Magical History Tour (featuring NY Walking Tour ONLY) Also available is the 2-disc Collector's Edition of John Lennon's New York featuring interviews with Bob Gruen, photographer; Allan Tannenbaum, photographer; David Peel, musician signed to Apple Records; Mark St. Germain, playwright "Ears on a Beatle"; and EXCLUSIVE NEVER BEFORE INTERVIEWED: Tamiko Steinberg, Lennon's Japanese Instructor, Berlitz Language Center To watch an excerpt and read Daytrippin's review of John Lennon's New York, click here CD: Instant Karma: The Campaign to Save Darfur Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur, a collection of iconic songs by former Beatle and peace activist John Lennon recorded by an array of best-selling artists including U2, Green Day, R.E.M., Avril Lavigne, Big & Rich, and Snow Patrol, among others. For more information: http://www.instantkarma.org Songs can be downloaded from www.amnesty.org/noise "Imagine", the Deluxe DVD version : the biographical movie produced by Andrew Solt released in 1988 (newly released on Dec. 6, 2005) Lennon Revealed by Larry Kane Click here to Read our Review of this book and other Lennon books coming out this Fall Take the FAB 4 NYC Walking Tour of Beatles' sites in New York City! Buy an exclusive "Imagine" souvenir from Daytrippin's Online Store DVD: The Dick Cavett Show: John Lennon and Yoko Ono   John Lennon : The New York Years by Bob Gruen (Photographer) Book: Lennon Legend Children's Book: John's Secret Dreams: The Life of John Lennon Book: John Lennon Imagined: Cultural History of a Rock Star (Music/Meanings, V. 4) by Janne Makela CD: Rock and Roll by John Lennon CD: Acoustic by John Lennon Daytrippin' Back Issues on sale! Purchase with a credit card either in print or PDF format.  Free Beatles Giveaway! Enter to WIN Daytrippin' has been giving away free Beatles-related merchandise every month for FIVE years now since February 2000. Don't miss out on your chance to win a FABulous prize!!

Click here for IMAGINE PEACE TOWER and website launched (October 2007) A Serious Discussion about John Lennon's Afterlife Daytrippin's Essay-Dec. 8, 2005 Lennon exhibit in Paris CD Releases (2005) Cynthia Lennon book signing John Lennon Tour Bus For info on Lennon Stage Productions, visit our Beatles On Stage Page.   October 9, 2007 - Unveiling of Yoko Ono's Imagine Peace Tower on Videy Island off Reykjavík, Iceland The Imagine Peace Tower is a powerful beacon of light representing people's wishes for peace, set to shine every year between October 9, Lennon's birthday, and December 8, the anniversary of his death. Yoko Ono told NYPost.com: "I wanted the tower to stay forever, but 24 hours a day, 365 days a year is heavy maintenance and electricity. With 24-hour daylight in summer, keeping it visible becomes an expensive undertaking, which scared the administration. So for now, it starts from John's birthday until his death - Oct. 9 to Dec. 8. Creating it wasn't that expensive. The government helped since this becomes a tourist attraction. I realized that, with contrasting the two symbolic dates, it gives an understanding of the shortness of life, and eternity of the spirit. It reminds one how brief life can be and is significant even for those not into John Lennon's life. "Actually, this is answered prayer because my first time in John's house he talked about building a lighthouse. I never knew how to conceptualize that. I never believed this could be reality. Someday this tower will be lit 365 days for 24 hours, but for now I'm not pushing it. Forever is a long time." http://www.imaginepeace.com/tower.html ----- YOKO unveils new "IMAGINE PEACE" website and calls on everyone to send in their wishes for peace www.IMAGINEPEACE.com Join the biggest online peace demonstration. Dear Friends, Make sure you visit www.IMAGINEPEACE.com on October 9th, John Lennon's birthday, for the unveiling of the incredible IMAGINE PEACE TOWER on the isle of Videy, Reykjavik, Iceland. Please visit the site, have a look around, IMAGINE PEACE and send your wishes to join over 495,000 others buried in capsules around the IMAGINE PEACE TOWER, dedicated to my late husband: musician, poet, artist and peace activist, John Lennon. Please join us on October 9th at www.IMAGINEPEACE.com Wherever you are, we will all be together that day. With the deepest love, Yoko Ono --- Yoko's Message: If one billion people in the world think peace, we'll get peace. You may think: "Well, how are we going to get one billion people in the world to think PEACE?" Remember, each one of us has the power to change the world. Power works in mysterious ways. You don't have to do much. Visualise the domino effect and just start thinking PEACE. Thoughts are infectious. Send it out. The message will circulate faster than you think. It's time for action. The action is PEACE. Spread the WORD. Spread PEACE. Remember: A dream we dream together is reality. So stand up, speak out, and come together. Imagine all the people living life in peace.   love Yoko   Do You Believe? A Serious Discussion about John Lennon's Afterlife By Shelley Germeaux, Daytrippin' West Coast Correspondent May 1, 2006 Now that the pay-per-view show entitled The Spirit of John Lennon has made its television debut, grossing over $8 million in one night, my in-box has been full of emails dismissing the show outright for it‚Äôs sensationalist production. The show claims to have contacted John's spirit during seances, psychic readings, EVP's (electronic voice phenomena) and through channeled music by an Indian guru. The manner in which this show was produced, through scary background music and a narrator who sounds like the guy from the Twilight Zone, shot down any chance of the show being taken seriously. The best part of the show was the Indian guru who channeled a beautiful song from John on a sitar. When translated into an American style, it did sound like something John might have written. But most of the show reminded me of an over-produced magic show. This tells me it is a good time to talk about the serious side of John's spirit communications, for those having a penchant for the "other side."  To be honest, I'm a closet spiritualist myself and am definitely a believer in the paranormal because of my own experiences. Many years ago I began having profound dreams, strange coincidences and paranormal occurrences about John Lennon and I couldn‚Äôt deny his presence in my personal life. I haven't really talked about it openly as of yet.  But one thing I can say for sure is that the feeling of his presence with me caused me to do the writing and research I have done about his life and the Beatles, which led me to Daytrippin' Magazine. So to that end, if I've done something positive for his memory, then perhaps I'm fulfilling a worthwhile purpose on his behalf. There are other people braver than I, who have published their experiences with John Lennon's spirit, and this is the subject of this article. A couple of weeks ago I received an email from a friend of mine, Linda Keen, asking if Daytrippin' readers would be interested in a review of her book, Across the Universe With John Lennon. First published in 1994, I had loved the book, and the similarity in my experiences inspired me to write to Linda and form a friendship that has lasted over 10 years.  I remember reading it at that time with rapt interest, shocked into realizing that I had not been imagining John's presence after all. There was a lot more going on here than any of us understood. It changed my life and helped me to accept the profound spiritual guidance that John seemed to be offering. But would fans take the information seriously? The same week that Linda wrote me, I had, coincidentally, just finished reading  Jewelle St. James' book called All You Need Is Love, about her discovery of a past life with John in England in the 1700s. I had assumed that this book would simply be a discussion of her dreams, past life regressions, and things like that, that wouldn't necessarily prove anything. Imagine my surprise when I could not put the book down, reading into the wee hours of the morning until I had reached the very last word. She had actually backed up her dreams and psychic readings with genealogical type research, including traveling to England, finally uncovering documents that proved the existence of the lifetime in question.  It provided an element of proof of reincarnation that was stunning. Later that week, the advertisement for the John Lennon seance on TV appeared, and I thought, well it's time to separate the wheat from the chaff. Here is a discussion of the books that have already been out there, hiding on bookshelves and on Amazon all these years, without too much excitement or publicity. These authors have really compelling, truthful and loving stories to tell, without giving a hoot about their own fame. They just want to get their stories out there, and have had to go to considerable personal expense to do it. The courage to do this, as I have myself discovered, is hard to come by. One has to go beyond the fear of ridicule from others, but also their own doubts. Here are the books that are available should you want to pursue this subject: Peace At Last; the after-death experiences of John Lennon, as revealed to Jason Leen by Jason Leen, (Illumination Arts Publishing Company, 1982, 1989) This was the first book that was published, from all I can tell, about John's afterlife. Jason is a clairaudient who wrote The Death of the Prophet in 1979, the channeled works of Kahlil Gibran, who died in 1931. John came to Jason three nights after he died, only to say he was being kept strongly on the earth plane because of all the people who were grieving for him. He says he has a lot of adjustments to make to his new form, and that he needs to heal, but that he would be in contact. Throughout 1981, John related what he experienced when he died, and what he was seeing and feeling. Jason describes John's reaction at seeing his mother Julia waiting for him, and all she tells him. After explaining the seven different heavenly realms, she explains that since John was such a powerful spokesman for the world, he is being asked to continue his work with humanity. She assures him that the world will listen. He learns that the earth is about to awaken, but that first, humanity must awaken and arise. He will be one of the spirit beings to interact with people on earth to get this message across. He describes the various dimensions he is introduced to, and the realization that his thought alone can take him to a different place. He learns that Heaven is what you imagine it to be, and is as good as you can allow it. He talks about his wish to stay on the earth plane to help humanity. That he will be here as the planet goes through immense shifts and changes in the coming years. The transmissions include many metaphysical terms about frequency changes, heightened awareness, and electromagnetic changes within our DNA that must occur in order to successfully accommodate the required growth. More information about Jason is at www.kahlil.org, and www.kryon.com/inspiritmag/   Across the Universe with John Lennon by Linda Keen (Hampton Roads, 1999) First self-published under the name John Lennon in Heaven in 1994, it was reissued in 1999 under the new title, along with her 2nd book, Intuition Magic. Linda and her husband owned and operated an Intuition school in Holland, and before John came along, Linda was teaching many techniques to help people develop their psychic and intuition skills to better their own lives. When John suddenly appeared in a profound dream in 1986, her life began to change. Quoting from the introduction, where Linda describes the dream, she says, "I am visiting a woman who is planning to write a book entitled John Lennon in Heaven. She is going to converse with John about what it is like to exist after death, and apparently, he is very eager to participate--in fact, he has organized the whole thing himself . . .as I awaken, the quality of it lingers in my whole body and mind, leaving me inspired yet perplexed." Despite her efforts to dismiss the dream, John began popping up in her mind regularly; laughing at something she said, or giving her some advice. She couldn't get him out of her mind, and she began searching for anything having to do with John Lennon and the Beatles. She became a Beatle fan all over again. The dreams began to increase. One night she dreamt that she was lifting John out of a grave, whereupon he got up on his feet and put her jeans on. In March of 1987 she made the decision to try and contact him directly. From there on, the book describes her conversations with him, the spiritual lessons he taught her, the realizations about God, and the lessons he learned about his life. She helped him through his own grief, and he helped her through her doubts. He finally convinces her to get a computer (remember it was the early 90‚Äôs!) and begin writing a book, so she could communicate what he was teaching her to the world. It was a friendship based on spiritual guidance that grew and continues to this day. It is a fantastic journey through the soul‚Äôs growth and through spiritual teachings. As John always believed during his lifetime, he teaches her that reality extends way beyond what we can see. There‚Äôs much more to the ultimate truth. Since the publication of her book in 1994, many people have contacted Linda to tell her about their own connection to John. Linda has a website at www.keenintuition.com .   All You Need is Love by Jewelle St. James (St. James Publishing, 2003) Published in 1995 as Imagine: A Past Life with John Lennon, this edition continues the story and adds photos. Jewelle was a Canadian housewife and begins her story with the morning after John was murdered, December 9, 1980. She had not been a Beatle fan at all. She hadn't even listened to the album, Imagine. But for some reason unknown to her, news on the television of his death caused a tidal wave of grief she could not recover from or explain. Over the coming weeks, her embarrassment at the torrent of sadness and uncontrollable tears caused her to employ extreme efforts to get over it, to save face in front of her concerned family and friends, but it was futile. She would get in the car with the kids only to hear Starting Over on the radio, and suddenly burst into sobs. No one understood why she was obsessing over a dead rock star that she had never really cared for while he was alive. Neither did she. And now she was becoming a Beatle fan, collecting everything she could on John's life. She had the luck of being born into a psychic family, and after about three years of struggling emotionally, she approached her mother and sister, at separate times, with her problem.  She wanted an explanation that perhaps transcended current day reality. They told her such specific information about a lifetime that her and John shared, down to the names, that she began a search to discover whether any of it was true. From there Jewelle discovers that her grief in this lifetime was a result of unhealed grief from the prior lifetime. John, in a prior life as the love of her life, John Baron, had died suddenly of illness, and she herself had died of a broken heart soon after. She travels to England, where she eventually discovers records that actually document the existence of the two people she and John were. Soon she understands the unhealed emotions that needed to now be allowed expression. This is a story of karmic healing that is inspiring and fascinating, especially when it is realized that healing a prior lifetime also heals the current lifetime, and the soul for the rest of eternity. Jewelle has a website at www.pastlifewithjohnlennon.com Crossing Over: The Stories Behind the Stories By John Edward (Princess Books, 2002) John Edward is internationally acclaimed as a psychic medium. He has hosted his own television show Crossing Over with John Edward, been a frequent guest on Larry King Live and many other shows. He also was featured in the HBO documentary Life After Life. When John Edward was in Seattle a few years ago, tickets to his show were selling like hotcakes so I decided to go see what he was all about. Coincidentally, the day I bought the tickets, I happened to see this book prominently displayed as I was walking through a discount bookstore. I immediately bought the book, and as I read through it I discovered a chapter called "Legends of Rock". I turned to it instantly and began to read about how Carl Perkins' daughter had wanted to have a reading with John Edward in 1998 after her dad died. A friend set the reading up, only saying what the daughter's first name was. The reading was significant because John did not know who her father was, until, befuddled, he said "Elvis is with your dad..who was your dad?" Amazed, the daughter then admitted that Carl Perkins was her father and that he was the one who wrote Blue Suede Shoes. Following the full description of this reading, which is fully outlined in the book, to my surprise Mr. Edward then recounts a story about John Lennon that I had been familiar with in part, from the 1998 video (VHS) called Paul McCartney and Carl Perkins: My Old Friend. I had no idea the story was in the book, and I learned some details that had not been on the video. In 1981, just after John Lennon died, Paul and Linda invited Carl to stay with them in Montserrat. Paul wanted Carl's help recording a song called Get It for his new album, Tug Of War. Carl spent eight days with them, and George and Ringo had been there to help out as well. It was a great time between old friends who had shared such a legendary musical past. The night before he left, a song came to Carl that summed up his warm feelings about the visit, and he couldn't get it out of his mind. It was so strong that Carl didn't even write it down, which was strange for him.  He usually always wrote his songs down immediately. In the morning, Carl Perkins sang the song, which he named My Old Friend, for Linda and Paul, saying it was his gift for having him as a guest. Half way through the song, after singing "if we never meet again this side of life, in a little while, over yonder, where there's peace and quiet, my old friend, won't you think about me every now and then?" tears streamed down Paul's face and he stood up and stepped outside. Not knowing what the matter was, Carl stopped and Linda put her arms around him, thanking him for helping Paul to connect with his grief over John Lennon's death. Now this next part was not in the video, but according to the book, Linda explained that the last time Paul talked to John, he had said the same line to Paul, "think of me every now and then, my old friend." Carl had no doubt that the song was from John Lennon, as a gift to Paul. The story doesn't end there. The only reason this story is known publicly is because Carl told the story while being filmed in 1997 for what would later become part of the video I mentioned above. When he got done telling the story on camera, sitting in his studio, and sang the refrain, his wife buzzed in on the intercom, and said, "Carl, Paul McCartney just called." Carl was so stunned at the coincidence he turned to the camera, speechless, and said "you tell me this boy has not got a connection to the spirit world!" Carl Perkins coincidentally died exactly one year to the day later, after suffering two strokes. If he had not been inspired to do a video in 1997 on his musical career, and recounted this experience, we would never have known the story.   Daytrippin's Special Essay: Remembering John Lennon (Dec. 8, 2005) I was in junior high school and had been a Beatles fan for only a year when John Lennon was killed. However, I had been a fan long enough to wonder what the world would be like if any one of the Beatles died. It was a horrible thought and I hoped that day would never come. When I heard the news that John Lennon was murdered, I was in shock. Being very young, I couldn't fully grasp the depth of the tragedy at the time. However, over the years, as I have learned more about John Lennon and The Beatles, the tragedy of his death is so much more devastating to me. To see all the personal and musical growth he went through, and that he was finally at peace with himself at the age of 40, it is so unfair that his life was cut short in the worst possible way. It still seems so unfair and heartwrenching to every Beatles fan. Now, every week when I conduct the FAB 4 Walking Tour of Beatles Sights in New York City, we stop at Strawberry Fields and the Dakota. On the tour, I describe the scenario in which John Lennon was killed. I try to remain as objective as possible in giving the facts but it still is hard to talk about every time. You can't help but think about the day John was killed every time you walk past the Dakota entrance. Over the last 25 years, I have observed the Beatles legacy and especially John Lennon's legacy increasing more and more every year. I believe people are starting to realize how rare John Lennon was. Of course, his music was magical and inspirational, but it goes further than that. We are realizing how rare John Lennon was in terms of his honesty in expressing his personal and political beliefs and his courage to take a stand in what he believed in. Very few entertainers or politicians are willing to take a stand these days. We not only miss John Lennon's words and music, we miss his courage. The best tribute you can give John Lennon is to follow in his footsteps--search for and demand the truth, and give peace a chance. "War is over, if you want it" ---Trina Yannicos, Daytrippin' Editor and Publisher In addition to all of his solo music releases, to understand and appreciate what John Lennon stood for, Daytrippin' recommends: DVDs/VHS of John and Yoko as guests on the old '70s talk shows, like the Dick Cavett Show from 1971 (just released) and the Mike Douglas Show from 1973. Also, the DVD of "John and Yoko's Year of Peace" which chronicles their 1969 Peace Bed-Ins and Protests. It is fascinating to see what happened in the late '60s and early '70s when John became political. I suspect even people who were alive at the time would learn a lot from watching John and Yoko's campaign for peace and they would realize how ahead of their time they were. Also, two movies that are exceptional are "Imagine", the biographical movie produced by Andrew Solt released in 1988 (the Deluxe DVD version was newly released on Dec. 6, 2005), and "Backbeat", the movie about the Beatles days in Hamburg, Germany which focused a lot on John. In terms of books, the in-depth interviews with John such as the Rolling Stone interview in 1970 with Jann Wenner ("Lennon Remembers" published 2000) and the Playboy Interviews in 1980 by David Scheff ("All We Are Saying" published 2000) are essential in understanding and appreciating John Lennon. Rolling Stone offers John Lennon PODCAST: Hear the famous 1970 Rolling Stone interview conducted by Jann Wenner (later published in the book "Lennon Remembers") and read other special articles in a special section: Lennon Lives Forever Hear a podcast interview with Bono discussing how influential John Lennon was to him growing up   John Lennon exhibit in Paris (photos by Lesley Williamson from the Liverpool Culture Company) (special thanks to Steve Barnes) posted Oct. 27, 2005 Cite' de la Musique in Paris, France says Ono lent about 90 percent of the artifacts for the exhibit "John Lennon, Unfinished Music.'' Curator Emma Lavigne says Ono has "holes in her apartment.'' Yoko Ono has torn apart her own home for the sake of a John Lennon exhibit now running in Paris. The show includes the 1966 Andy Warhol portrait of Lennon that Lavigne says normally hangs over Ono's fireplace in New York. The show features collages Lennon made for George Harrison and Paul McCartney, the original handwritten lyrics to the song "Imagine'' and the piano upon which Lennon composed most of the "Double Fantasy'' album. It also includes Beatlemania trinkets like Beatle dolls, watches, rulers, official hair pomade and Beatles panties. It also has Lennon's school report issued by the headmaster at Christmas in 1953, in which he describes Lennon as "shocking'' and notes, "There will be serious trouble ahead unless he learns to behave himself.'' The exhibit runs through June 25th. http://www.cite-musique.fr/francais/accueil.html CD RELEASES CAPITOL RECORDS TO REISSUE JOHN LENNON'S SOMETIME IN NEW YORK CITY AND WALLS AND BRIDGES ON NOVEMBER 22 LENNON CATALOGUE REISSUES FEATURE REMIXED AND/OR REMASTERED TRACKS (Thanks to Susan Ryan and Shelley Germeaux) WWW.JOHNLENNON.COM LAUNCHED! (New York, NY) -- Following the release of the Working Class Hero, the Definitive Lennon retrospective 2CD, earlier this month, Capitol Records will reissue two Lennon catalogue solo albums on November 22. And www.johnlennon.com, the first official John Lennon website, has been launched through a joint effort between Yoko Ono and Capitol/EMI. Fans can browse an extensive collection of Lennon photos, drawings and videos, as well as a comprehensive historical timeline of his life. Sometime in New York City and Walls and Bridges are the latest releases in a campaign of reissues featuring remixed and/or remastered tracks. Sometime in New York City now appears as a single CD, condensed from the original double. Sometime in New York City was originally released in 1972. Tackling a range of issues including feminism, black activism and unrest in Northern Ireland, the album reflected the fact that John and Yoko had settled in New York and were part of a radical, highly politicized arts scene centered around their Greenwich Village apartment. It also reflected John‚s newfound love for New York, a city he fondly called „a big Liverpool.‰ Sometime in New York City was recorded with the group Elephant‚s Memory, featured several Yoko compositions, and originally featured a bonus disc, "Live Jam," culled from two sources. The first was a December 1969 gig by the Plastic Ono Band at London‚s Lyceum. Billed as a "peace for Christmas" event, the night saw John and Yoko joined onstage by guests including George Harrison, Eric Clapton and Keith Moon. The remaining tracks on the original double album were taken from a surprise appearance at Frank Zappa‚s Fillmore East show in June 1971. Yoko has now edited these tracks for the reissued album, making the new version of the album a concise single CD. For this new single CD, „Listen, The Snow is Falling‰ and „Happy Xmas (War Is Over)‰ have been added. "Happy Xmas" did not feature on the original album, although it preceded its release when it was released as a single, backed with "Listen, The Snow is Falling" in the U.S. in 1971 and in the U.K. a year later. "Happy Xmas" has gone on to become one of the most popular Christmas songs of all time and was the fulcrum around which John and Yoko built their highly visible billboard peace campaigns, which would dominate the most populated areas of major cities with the slogan "War is over! If you want it. Happy Christmas from John and Yoko". Yoko continues this idea to this day, often using billboards and newspaper ads to spread the peace message. SOMETIME IN NEW YORK CITY TRACK LISTING: WOMAN IS THE NIGGER OF THE WORLD SISTERS O SISTERS ATTICA STATE BORN IN A PRISON NEW YORK CITY SUNDAY BLOODY SUNDAY THE LUCK OF THE IRISH JOHN SINCLAIR ANGELA WE‚RE ALL WATER COLD TURKEY (LIVE AT THE LYCEUM BALLROOM, 1969) DON‚T WORRY KYOKO (LIVE AT THE LYCEUM, 1969) WELL (BABY PLEASE DON‚T GO) (LIVE AT THE FILLMORE EAST, 1971) LISTEN, THE SNOW IS FALLING HAPPY XMAS (WAR IS OVER) All tracks have been remixed except "John Sinclair" and "Attica State" which have been remastered. Walls and Bridges was first released in 1974 and features contributions from Elton John, Klaus Voormann, Jesse Ed Davis, Jim Keltner and Nicky Hopkins. It gave John his first solo #1 hit single with „Whatever Gets You Thru The Night‰ and, perhaps because of the turmoil he was going through at the time, proved to be a great album overall. This new edition features three bonus tracks including a live version of „Whatever Gets You Through The Night‰ recorded live at Madison Square Garden on November 28, 1974. This was the legendary show where Lennon made a surprise appearance with Elton, having lost a bet that the song would top the chart. Elton challenged that John should repay the favor by appearing onstage with him in a show that would go on to attain legendary status for two reasons ˆ it led to the reconciliation of John and Yoko after John‚s Œlost weekend‚, and it would turn out to be the last time John ever appeared on a public stage. Two further bonus tracks are „Nobody Loves You (When You‚re Down and Out),‰ a previously unreleased acoustic outtake, and an interview recorded in L.A. from the b-side of a special pressing of ŒWhatever Gets You Thru The Night‚. WALLS AND BRIDGES TRACK LISTING: GOING DOWN ON LOVE WHATEVER GETS YOU THRU THE NIGHT OLD DIRT ROAD * WHAT YOU GOT BLESS YOU * SCARED * #9 DREAM SURPRISE SURPRISE STEEL AND GLASS BEEF JERKY NOBODY LOVES YOU (WHEN YOU‚RE DOWN AND OUT) * YA YA All tracks have been remixed except * which have been re-mastered. --------- WORKING CLASS HERO - THE DEFINITIVE LENNON TO BE RELEASED OCTOBER 4 MOST COMPREHENSIVE LENNON COLLECTION TO DATE 2 CD SET COMMEMORATES THE 65TH ANNIVERSARY OF HIS BIRTH Capitol Records will commemorate the 65th anniversary of John Lennon's birth with the October 4th release of Working Class Hero - The Definitive Lennon. The double CD set, Executive Produced by Yoko Ono, will offer the most comprehensive collection of Lennon's hit singles and key album tracks to date - 38 songs in all, with a combined playing time of over two and one-half hours. Born in Liverpool, England on October 9, 1940 and assassinated in New York City just over forty years later (December 8, 1980), Lennon rendered a vision of life that was simultaneously reflective, utopian and poignantly realistic. Reflecting his social activism ("Give Peace A Chance," "Power To The People," "Gimme Some Truth," "Woman Is The Nigger Of The World"), idealism ("Imagine," "Mind Games," "Instant Karma!"), his hedonistic "lost weekend," as he called the 18 months he spent separated from Yoko Ono in the early 1970's ("Nobody Loves You When You're Down And Out," "Whatever Gets You Thru The Night," the rollicking duet with Elton John that gave him his first #1 single as a solo artist), and the happiness he found in later years as a self-described "househusband," ("(Just Like) Starting Over," "Watching The Wheels," "Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)"), Working Class Hero - The Definitive Lennon captures him in all his complexity. Mastered from the most up-to-date sources, the collection includes material from John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band (1970), Imagine (1971), Sometime In New York City (1972), Mind Games (1973), Walls and Bridges (1974), Rock 'N' Roll (1975), Double Fantasy (1980), Live In New York City (recorded in 1972, but not released until 1986) as well as numerous singles and tracks from Milk and Honey (1984) and Anthology (1998), the posthumous collections of Lennon's unreleased recordings. Working Class Hero - The Definitive Lennon Disc One Song Source 1. (Just Like) Starting Over Double Fantasy 2. Imagine Imagine 3. Watching The Wheels Double Fantasy 4. Jealous Guy Imagine 5. Instant Karma! Single 6. Stand By Me Rock 'N' Roll 7. Working Class Hero John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band 8. Power To The People Single (but included on John Lennon) 9. Oh My Love Imagine 10. Oh Yoko Imagine 11. Nobody Loves You When You're Down And Out Walls And Bridges 12. Nobody Told Me Milk And Honey 13. Bless You Walls And Bridges 14. Come Together (Live) Live In New York City 15. New York City Sometime In New York City 16. I'm Stepping Out Milk And Honey 17. You Are Here Mind Games 18. Borrowed Time Milk And Honey 19. Happy Xmas (War Is Over) Single (DVD Mix)   Disc Two 1. Woman Double Fantasy 2. Mind Games Mind Games 3. Out Of The Blue Mind Games 4. Whatever Gets You Thru The Night Walls And Bridges 5. Love John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band 6. Mother John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band 7. Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy) Double Fantasy 8. Woman Is The Nigger Of The World Sometime In New York City 9. God John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band 10. Scared Walls And Bridges 11. #9 Dream Walls And Bridges 12. I'm Losing You (Anthology Version) Anthology 13. Isolation John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band 14. Cold Turkey Single 15. Intuition Mind Games 16. Gimme Some Truth Imagine 17. Give Peace A Chance Single 18. Real Love Anthology 19. Grow Old With Me Anthology   From Yoko Ono: "Everyone has been asking me recently if this year will be extra special for me since it's John's 65th birthday year and the 25th anniversary of that awful day. There isn't a day that goes by when I don't think about John. But still, it is very special for me too to think of John at 65, and to think what he would be doing if he was here now. I can immediately see that he would be very, very angry at what's going on in the world today. Oh, yes. Violence, accelerated corporate manipulations and lies. He wanted the world to be a beautiful place for all of us. But it seems we have a long way to go yet for that. Once he was honored as "The Man Of The Decade". That was 35 years ago. Now he is a man of the century and the future. His work inspires all people, and his voice reaches the whole planet. I miss him a lot. We all miss him. His songs are now our songs, our love, and our life. John made some great songs with beautiful music and daring words. He laid his life on the line to speak out the truth for all of us. Enjoy this incredible selection of songs of wisdom and power, and know that John is now in the heart of each of us, helping to heal ourselves and our planet. I love you, John. You are the one and only. Yoko"   Cynthia Lennon appeared at a book signing (Sept. 29, 2005) at Waterstones bookstore in Liverpool to promote her new book JOHN. (photo by Steve Barnes) Cynthia appeared at the Barnes and Noble in Union Square, NYC on October 4, 2005. (Photos copyright Daytrippin') She made a few remarks, read the introduction from her book and then took some questions from the audience. Needless to say, there were a variety of questions (some quite strange) but she handled every question with grace. One older man said he was 63 and he had been told in the past that he looked like John and he said, "so will you go on a date with me?" She said, "If I wasn't married, I would say yes immediately" and everyone laughed. Someone asked if she ever asked Julian if he would give her grandchildren and she said she's never discussed it but he has a fiancee now. She said she felt she needed to have the final word on her part in John's life and she felt if she didn't do it now, it would never be done. She said she wrote the book for Julian to show him that his father did love him. She said the book represents John's British family, his roots. She is retired now and says she will go back to working on her art.       Daytrippin' Rock and Roll Tours On-location Travel Exclusive: Go inside the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus!

Daytrippin' is an independent fan club and is not officially associated with The Beatles, Apple Records or Capitol Records.