This organic stool by Marina Home Interiors is a fun, fuss-free form of seating for outside entertaining. The Yukon Stool is made from treated and polished acacia wood and features black metal legs. Both kids and adults will delight in taking turns to sit on this quirky seat.
ALL THINGS SUPERHERO! Witness the magic of Pakistan’s first ever comicbook store    Â
Superman. Batman. Wonder Woman. The Flash. Spiderman. Hulk. Iron Man. Marvel Comics and much much more is available at Pakistan’s first ever dedicated comic book store ALL THINGS SUPERHERO at Shop LG-10-A, Union Gold Plaza, F7 Markaz, Islamabad. You can also order online at https://atsuperhero.com, or by phone @ 051 8443441.
Mandarin KitchenÂ
Fancy flavourful Chinese food? Who doesn’t? Try the spicy Dragon Noodles and General Tao’s Chicken at Mandarin Kitchen in Z-Block DHA Phase III, Lahore. Yummy!
Happy Feet
Summer is here and we’ve got you covered with the comfiest and trendiest shoes at Shoe Planet. Chic and on-trend with pearl and rhinestone embellishments, slip on a pair. You will wonder why it took you so long.
Milk is life. Without milk we humans will not have proper nourishment.
In a recent book titled Drops of the Divine, the entire journey of milk has been portrayed beautifully in photographs shot by two remarkable photographers, Amna Zuberi and Kohi Marri. The journey begins with how to look after the animals in clean and sanitized conditions, provide clean and healthy fodder and nutrients, and ensure proper medical care, so that ultimately the animal is able to deliver best quality milk. The photographers have shot stunning visuals of the animals showing how they are being looked after and conclude with shots of families and children enjoying drinking the delicious milk produced.
The book displays great photographs of natural surroundings of the outdoors; children drinking milk, of cows and buffaloes grazing, healthy animals with hides glowing in the sun, a traditional gowala carrying his stash of milk to his point of delivery on a motorbike to children enjoying a glass of milk at school.
The visuals shot inside some of the dairy production plants are similarly a treat. The industrial shoots always pose a challenge but the young photographers have gone the extra mile in creating visual treats of the spaces inside factories, which look squeaky clean.
Finally, the book is rounded off with some delicious recipes of sweets & desserts and even delicious namkeen lassi.
Pakistan is blessed because we are the fourth largest producer of milk in the world.
Unfortunately, a lot of the milk is wasted and goes bad because those small farmers are not able to provide refrigeration at the source of where milk is produced. Pakistan should try and establish a maximum number of refrigerated collection points of milk, which can be transported in hygienic conditions to milk factories for packaging to be distributed across the length and breadth of the country.
Mubashir Khan, one of the long standing, acclaimed hairstylists in our industry, has now opened up his own training academy. When Sana Zehra goes to interview the hair maestro, she observes that his salon is not only tastefully decorated, but also as serene and calm as he is
What made you enter the industry of hairstyling and makeup?
From the very beginning I knew exactly what I wanted to do in life. I wanted to start my career with hair and makeup and take it from there. I hadn’t even had formal training; I slowly started doing makeup first. When Tariq Amin saw me, he suggested I start cutting hair. Then I went for my formal training.
What kind of shampoo and conditioner should we be using?
The job of a shampoo is to cleanse your hair. The moment you start focusing on making your hair silky you start using a stronger product. If your target is softer silkier hair, invest in a good conditioner or a masque. I like Kerastase masques for that. Because the masque is not touching your scalp, that is the right protocol to follow. Use a plain, light weight shampoo and then you use a masque.
What about colour safe shampoo?
That’s a completely different area. Colour safe shampoo is basically sulfate free, meaning it’s free of salt. Salt breaks the colour or the keratin that you may have in your hair. When you use a colour safe shampoo, it prolongs the life of your hair colour.
How often should we wash our hair?
I know people who wash their hair once in 3 weeks and believe me they have the most stunning hair. They only rinse it out in between. I also know people who don’t put anything on their skin, no cleanser no face wash and they have the most beautiful skin. Theory says that washing is essential but practicality wise I’ve seen otherwise. Now, that does not mean you stop washing your hair all of a sudden. Keep your scalp clean that’s my advice.
Are there any treatments that can bring lifeless hair back to life?
Of course! We have Mayo and Mayo plus. When you go to a salon and ask for a protein treatment, they put a masque on and put you under the dryer. That’s not very good for your hair because it affects your hair colour. Your hair will look nice and soft for a day or two max. Our hair mayo is pure protein made from five to six natural ingredients, such as cultured oils, honey and eggs; it’s extremely good for hair fall and dry hair. The results are amazing!
Women have a tendency of oiling their hair and leaving it on for days. Thoughts?
That’s not very good for your hair. Leaving it on for couple of hours is okay but nothing more than that or your pores will get clogged.
There is a huge cry of hair fall in Karachi. What is going on?
You know it’s interesting everyone thinks that change of water causes hair fall. In fact, hair fall is caused by change of climate. It takes about six months for your hair to settle. Some people will lose hair during winter; some will lose it in summer. Nourish your scalp. I might sound like I’m trying to sell my product but Mayo treatments do work.
What’s the best hair style for any face shape?
A ponytail! It’s simple, practical, looks neat and suits everyone unless you are unlucky.
How can you maintain a colour at home?
It is actually a colourist’s job to give you a colour that improves further at home. The nature of colour is such that it will always change no matter what you do. So most people when they pick a colour just think about what will look right at the moment than what it will look like three to four weeks in the future.
Having worked with many famous faces, ex-model Aaminah Haq to this day still remains MubashAr’s favourite
Whose hair you would have loved to work on?
I would have loved to work on Marilyn Monroe’s head of hair. We did a shoot with Aaminah Haq inspired by Marilyn. I think Marilyn had such presence and personality, it would have been awesome.
You’ve worked with so many celebrities, who is your favourite?
I have shot with a lot of celebs and, in my experience; I loved working with Barbara Sharif. She just transforms. Film star Reema has always been naturally beautiful with a lovely personality. But in terms of talent and skills I’ve yet to be impressed by someone like Aaminah Haq. She was the most talented and the most hardworking model I’ve known.
What are the biggest hair care dos and don’ts?
Women abuse their hair when they wash it and then squeeze it after. I can’t even begin to tell you how damaging that is to the hair. Hair is elastic and if you stretch it to its limit then you are damaging it. Back in the day, women used to even beat their hair with a towel after washing it. Women also unravel tangles starting near the scalp instead of the ends.
To get a better understanding of your hair, don’t try to make it listen to you but the other way round.
Beauty trend you think that suits everyone…
Lip gloss
Three products one women should never leave home without.
Lip Colour
Tissue
Sunglasses
Weirdest request ever made by a client?
Having dead straight hair, she wanted to look like Julia Roberts but wouldn’t let me touch a hairdryer.
Our hair mayo is pure protein made from cultured oils, honey and eggs; It’s extremely good for hair fall and dry hair
Worst beauty and hair products?
Waxes are really bad for your hair and I’m not a fan of fake bases.
Lamest beauty trend?
Those long fingernails. Can’t understand.
If you weren’t in this business you would be…
An architect
Three qualities that got you where you are today?
Focus
Hard work
Passion
Movie with the greatest ending?
The trilogy: Before Sunrise, After Sunset and Before Midnight
“I have been subjected, on more than one occasion, to sexual harassment of a physical nature at the hands of a colleague from my industry Ali Zafarâ€
He said:
“I categorically deny any and all claims of harassment lodged against me by Ms Shafi. I intend to take this through the courts of law and to address this professionally and seriously rather than to lodge any allegationsâ€
Story so far
The story was quickly picked up by international media with Hollywood actress and #MeToo campaigner Rose McGowan (one of the actresses who helped bring down Miramax former head Harvey Weinstein) lending support to Meesha Shafi and tweeting, “A heroine for our times. I stand with Meesha Shafi.â€
More women also came out, including blogger Humna Raza who tweeted “…I stood next to him and felt his hand go up the side of my waist…I knew what just happened.â€
Leena Ghani, makeup artist and sister of Maheen Taseer, also gained the courage to speak up on the matter, writing, “In the many years I have known Ali, he has, on many occasions, crossed boundaries of what is appropriate behaviour between friends.â€
LUMS alumna and journalist Maham Javaid took to Twitter to recount an incident where Ali Zafar had tried to force himself on her cousin and pull her “into a restroom with him.†She added that they considered reporting him but since he is a celebrity, no one would have believed them.
Artists who have lent support to Meesha Shafi include Urwa Hocane, Momina Sibtain and Osman Khalid Butt.
Meanwhile, others rose up to defend Ali Zafar. Lahore-based singer Kanza Munir refuted Meesha Shafi’s allegations of sexual harassment against the star on Instagram, “I stand witness to this particular ‘jam’ late last year that Meesha mentions….The whole house band along with myself and another fellow female vocalist (Aqsa Ali) were present during this session (on 21st December 2017) and whatever interaction took place between the two was in front of at least 10 other people.â€
Aqsa Ali too vociferously seconded Kanza stating on Facebook,†I was at this jam session becoz I sing in Ali’s band and so was her manager and our entire band. I am astonished that she would take a lie to this level which so many of us can prove wrong.â€
Fahad Rehman, former manager of Meesha Shafi , described her“terrible temper†and added, “Now I don’t know what happened between Ali and her (Meesha) but I do know that she has the capability to blackmail and malign one’s reputation. Without hard evidence, I would take everything she says with a ton of salt.â€
India Today quoted a source, “Meesha Shafi performed with Ali Zafar on stage on her own free will. She was hired to perform (in a concert in Islamabad on 23rd December 2017) independently of Ali as both did their separate performances first and only came together at the end to do a few songs. Her income or hiring for this show would have in no way been affected had she said she would not like to perform next to Aliâ€.
The latest till the time GT went to press
Team Ali Zafar has filed a defamation suit of Rs. 100 million against Meesha if she fails to issue an apology to Ali Zafar on electronic media within two weeks. Advocate Ali Sibtain Fazli, who is the legal counsel of Ali Zafar (as well as his father in law), said the media will be informed of further proceedings in the case.
Meesha Shafi has also hired the services of two lawyers to defend her case in court.
Rumour has it there’s trouble in Imran Khan-Bushra Maneka’s paradise not over another woman but a dog, or five. “My Motu (pet dog) is in Bani Gala and I have four more dogs,†said the great Khan of his favourite pets.
Pinky Pirni it turns out is not so fond of dogs and resents that Imran shares/d a bedroom with Motu. She has asked for the dogs be kenneled at a distance from the main house, but Imran is not budging. Let’s see who wins this battle.
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Rumour has it that Areeba Habib is in hot water now a days after posting the video mocking Zara Noor Abbas’s ramp walk. The video might be just girls having fun but a lot of people were disgusted how Areeba thought that rape jokes are funny. Tsk, tsk! Rape isn’t a verb you can just throw around.
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Rumour has it that we will be seeing Sana Bucha pretty soon on our TV screens. Do we see Laykan in the fore future? Only time will tell!
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Rumour has it Ayesha Omer is also coming forth about being sexually harassed, but is still finding the courage to speak up about it.
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Rumour has it that Lahore Se Agey producer Fizza Ali Meerza is in trouble for booing Ahad Raza Mir publicly for winning the award for Best Actor. This and more was all caught on tape at this year’s Lux Style Awards. While the fans and other media personalities demand an apology, we haven’t heard from Fizza as of yet and we are still waiting, tick tock…
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Rumour has it after Diplo, Eminem is all set to perform in Pakistan and we can’t wait!
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Rumour has it Jemima Khan is all ready to turn into a film mogul. Her new project is apparently a 4 part documentary focusing on the hit podcast serial exploring the murder of Hae Min and conviction of Adnan Syed.
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Rumour has it our favourite couple Sania Mirza and Shoaib Malik have announced the pregnancy in the cutest way possible!
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Rumour has it that Kanye West is under fire for reportedly saying “He Loves Donald Trump.†Our lips are sealed on that one.
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On the other hand
After tabloids printed that Jennifer Lopez took out a $27 million policy on her famous rearside, she had to go on late-night television to deny that rumor. Though some appraisers would give it a similar or higher value 🙂
Rumour has it Karachi actor Bilal Ashraf is seeing Lahore model Alyzeh Gabol
Disclaimer: The information, view or opinion expressed in this article/post has not been verified by us and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of GT magazine.
Actress/TV host/model/painter Ayesha Toor is a multi-talented woman who gives off mysterious vibes when she walks into a room. Sana Zehra gets to know Ayesha
Have you ever two timed in a relationship?
NO!
Kill or marry?
Adnan Siddiqui:
Kill
Nauman Ijaz:
Adopt
Rahat Kazmi:
Eternal love
Which TV personality badly needs a stylist?
TBH I do.
Really Ayesha?
(Laughs) No, really. I haven’t had cable in my house for the past four years so I have no idea who needs it on the telly.
Who needs a nutritionist?
Everybody
Psychologist?
Most morning show hosts
Which TV character would you like to go out with and why?
Hannibal Lecter played by Mads Mikkelsen in Hannibal. He is the sexiest man alive given the fact that the man can cook, kill and still look good.
If you were to write a biography what would the title be?
Leave Her Alone
Best thing about doing what you are doing right now?
Hosting is great. I get to meet and talk to a lot of people. There are a lot of great interesting people in Pakistan who are camera shy. It’s fun to engage them and draw them out on my show.
Favourite romcom of all time?
Forgetting Sarah Marshall
Movie or series that made you laugh the hardest?
Little Britain
Movie that made you cry?
Right after 9/11, I watched Road to Guantanamo and wept.
Who is your favourite living musician?
Trent Reznor
Look good or feel good?
I think if you look good, you will feel good.
Task oriented or people oriented?
Task oriented
One fear you would like to overcome?
Fear of public spaces
Your idea of a good time in a song?
I’d rather die than sing a song.
Three great things about living in Karachi.
Food
My house
The beach
Best pinch me moment?
I think when I got into college.
Would you ever shave your head for a role?
(Laughs) Not again!
What do you mean, You’ve done it? What was it for?
Yes, it was for a music video directed by Saqib Malik directing for the band Rushk that was shot in 2003.
How was the experience?
I felt a sense of liberation. I always had long hair and shaving it made me feel like I could do anything.
Who is your style icon?
Tilda Swinton and Sunrise Coigney
Other than your family, who would you call for advice?
I recently mastered the art of asking my friends, especially my friends Zhalay, Noor and Uns.
What did you learn from your previous relationships?
I learned that I am fantastic, I am awesome and that I should stay that way forever. Perhaps I can be a little kinder.
Most used emoji?
The pondering emoji
Which sports are you good at?
I went to a coed school and played sports with boys. I played everything: Hockey, football and basketball.
Best late night spot in Karachi?
My house
Describe yourself in 3 words?
That’s a tough one. Why don’t you describe me?
Early bird or night owl?
Early bird
One thing that amazes you?
Stupidity
One thing that insults your intelligence?
People who think I’m stupid
Pleasing people or speaking the truth?
Somewhere in the middle
One person whose survival skills you’d like to depend upon?
I would choose Noor Hassan for his survival skills because he is good at fixing things and Zhalay for entertainment.
How do you get your amazing skin?
I keep it clean and tan regularly. Sun if used the right way is good for your skin. It exfoliates and gives you a good colour.
You seem to be impervious to ageing. What’s going on?
I’m a vampire! (Editor’s comment: A vampire who likes the sun? Perhaps a good dermatologist is also responsible.)
What does your tattoo say?
Every time I turn a number I do something. I’ve gotten piercings and this tattoo I got when I turned 25; it was a long time ago.
A lot is changing for women in Pakistan these days. Which women still struggle to have a voice?
Urban women have a voice, especially the women around me. I think they know they are privileged.
Women look at you and see an empowered woman who is strong and has a voice. Have you ever got into trouble for being yourself?
I don’t think so. I’ve been extremely lucky to be surrounded by intelligent and kind people who have encouraged me to be myself. I’ve had it very easy and a very comfortable life so, yes, I’ve been very lucky.
What does GT mean to you?
In 2003, GT first interviewed me so I’ve always kept an eye out for GT. The magazine has been around for so long and I am so glad it has survived.
The song Remember is the gist of John Winston Lennon’s childhood. He was born in 1940, at a time when World War II raged on in full force, to an Irish merchant seaman named Alfred who was away at sea for his duties much of the time, including at the birth of his son to his Liverpudlian wife Julia. Both of John’s parents were naturally musical though none of them took it up as a profession. Alf supported his wife and child by regularly sending them his steward’s salary while Julia lived at her father’s house. Things went awry when Alf deserted his post towards the end of the war and became absent without leave for six months.
“Just remember when you were small
How people seemed so tall
Always had their way
Do you remember, your ma and pa
Just wishing for movie stardom
Always, always playing a part
If you ever feel so sad
And the whole world is driving you mad
Remember, remember today”
—John Lennon
John Lennon As A Child
Lennon’s high school reports stated bleakly: “Certainly on the road to failure … hopeless … rather a clown in class … wasting other pupils’ time”
Giving up on him, Julia started to have an affair with a Welsh soldier and got pregnant by him. Her childless older sister Mimi repeatedly complained to Social Services about Julia “living in sin†and she and her dairyman husband George Smith were awarded custody of John. When Alf got back home, he offered to take his wife Julia back but she refused. She gave up her baby girl for adoption and took up with John Bobby Dykins. The Lennons never divorced and Julia became Bobby’s common law wife, having two daughters with him. Meanwhile, Alf tried to whisk off five year old John to New Zealand but Julia and Bobby followed them to Blackpool. The Lennons fought over their little boy and Alf asked his son to choose between his father and mother. Conflicted John chose his father twice, but also started crying when his mother walked away and started to follow her. Imagine the little boy’s anguish!
Singer, songwriter and musician John Lennon of the Beatles as a child, with his mother Julia Lennon (1914 – 1958), 1949. To date, this is the only known photograph of John with his mother. It was taken by John’s cousin, Stanley Parkes. (Photo by Mark and Colleen Hayward/Getty Images)
According to Mark Lewisohn, one of the world’s leading authorities on the Beatles, who has penned many books on the band, Alf decided to leave John with Julia and took himself off. Father and son were not to meet again for 20 years. But it was Aunty Mimi and Uncle George who took John in when Julia handed him over to them after only a few weeks. The poor little boy ended up blaming himself saying later, “My mother … couldn’t cope with me.â€
The strict childless couple was kind to John, and Mimi was determined to give him a “proper upbringing.†John attended Dovedale Primary School and then Quarry Bank High School (renamed Calderstones School) and was described by his cousin Leila Harvey as a “happy-go-lucky, good-humoured, easy going, lively lad.†His aunt would buy him books of short stories, while his uncle got him a mouth organ and solved crossword puzzles with him. Both instilled the love of words and storytelling in him, which would later help him in his songwriting. Herself musical, Julia taught her son to play the banjo, ukulele and piano accordion. Because Mimi didn’t allow records in her house, so 11 year old John would go over to his mother’s house where they would listen to Elvis Presley records together. Naturally creative and with a sense of humour, he also drew cartoons for his magazine The Daily Howl. However, his school reports stated bleakly: “Certainly on the road to failure … hopeless … rather a clown in class … wasting other pupils’ time.â€
Insecure, being a child of a broken home, John would become violently jealousy, slapping, hitting and pushing Cynthia around
At 15, John got into skiffle music (a genre combing jazz, blues and folk music linking it to American popular music). After being pestered by son, Julia bought him his first guitar, an inexpensive Gallotone Champion acoustic on the condition that he keep it in her house, knowing well that her sister would disapprove. When John bragged that he would one day become a famous musician, Aunt Mimi would reply: “The guitar’s all very well, John, but you’ll never make a living out of it.â€
The determined teenager formed his own skiffle band called the Quarrymen, named after his high school. By the summer of 1957, the Quarrymen were playing gigs singing “a spirited set of songs†made up of half skiffle and half rock and roll.†John met Paul McCartney at the Quarrymen’s second performance at a Church garden fête and asked the younger lad to join the band.
Tragedy struck the following year when Julia was killed when a car hit her while she was walking home after visiting John. Devastated by the loss of his mother, John failed all his O-level examinations.
Harrison, McCartney, Lennon & Pete Best As The Drummer
Looking back in 1980 John observed about his family life and his rebelliousness: “Part of me would like to be accepted by all facets of society and not be this loudmouthed lunatic poet/musician. But I cannot be what I am not … I was the one who all the other boys’ parents—including Paul’s father—would say, ‘Keep away from him’… The parents instinctively recognised I was a troublemaker, meaning I did not conform and I would influence their children, which I did. I did my best to disrupt every friend’s home … Partly out of envy that I didn’t have this so-called home … but I did… There were five women that were my family. Five strong, intelligent, beautiful women, five sisters. One happened to be my mother. (She) just couldn’t deal with life. She was the youngest and she had a husband who ran away to sea and the war was on and she couldn’t cope with me, and I ended up living with her elder sister. Now those women were fantastic … And that was my first feminist education … I would infiltrate the other boys’ minds. I could say, “Parents are not gods because I don’t live with mine and, therefore, I know.’â€
McCartney later said bemused that Aunt Mimi “was very aware that John’s friends were lower classâ€, and would patronise him when he visited John at home. According to Paul’s brother Mike, their father was also disapproving, predicting that John would get his son “into trouble,†although he later allowed the fledgling band to rehearse in the McCartney family home. During this time, 18-year-old Lennon wrote his first song, Hello Little Girl that was to become UK top 10 hit five years later.
Meanwhile, his aunt’s and headmaster’s intervention stating his case led` to his acceptance to the Liverpool College of Art. He joined the popular youth culture of the 50s, wearing Teddy Boy clothes (tight trousers, long jackets, fancy waistcoats and suede loafers) partly inspired by the styles worn by dandies in the Edwardian period, and became a disruptive influence in the class, often ridiculing teachers. After a college party to celebrate the end of a term, John asked “Cyn†as he called her to “go out†with him. She replied that she was already engaged. Nonplussed, he deadpanned, “I didn’t ask you to marry me, did I?†They went to Ye Cracke pub for their first date.
Insecure, being a child of a broken home, John would become violently jealousy, slapping, hitting and pushing her around. They would break up then get back together. John said later, “I was in sort of a blind rage for two years. I was either drunk or fighting. It had been the same with other girlfriends I’d had. There was something the matter with me.â€
John’s friend Tony Bramwell recalled, “Cynthia was beautiful, physically, and on the inside. Although she knew he was apt to find love on the road, she was totally dedicated to his success… and extremely influential. He was insecure and Cynthia was there to pump him up and to buttress, his weak side.â€
Mandatory Credit: Photo by Stilling/Evening News/REX (889633a)
With His Son Julian, 1963McCartney recommended that his friend 14 year old George Harrison become the lead guitarist with his audition taking place rock ‘n roll style on the upper deck of a Liverpool bus. Though Lennon thought Harrison was way too young, he was impressed enough with his guitar playing skills to induct him into the group. Stuart Sutcliffe, Lennon’s friend from art school, joined as bassist. The four became The Beatles in early 1960 and by August they were engaged for a 48-night residency in Hamburg, Germany. Quickly taking on Pete Best as drummer, the band left for Germany much to conservative Aunt Mimi’s horror.
The Beatles ended up accepting three Hamburg residencies over the next couple of years. To keep up their energy during their long, overnight performances playing at clubs, the group started taking the amphetamine Preludin. Meanwhile, Cyn also failed to get her diploma; she rented Lennon’s old room in the Smith house, supported herself by working at a Woolworths store and waited patiently for her boyfriend’s return from Germany. Lennon loved writing many passionate letters to her and on one trip home brought her a suede coat. Aunt Mimi threw a hand-mirror at him for spending so much money on that “gangster’s moll,†perhaps disappointed that her adopted son didn’t bring the expensive gift for her.
In a 1987 interview, McCartney said that the other Beatles idolised John: “He was like our own little Elvis … We all looked up to John. He was older and he was very much the leader; he was the quickest wit and the smartest.â€
The upcoming band’s fortunes changed when one day in end ‘61, local record store owner and music columnist, Brian Epstein caught their lunch time performance at The Cavern Club, an underground jazz and rock ‘n roll nightclub in Liverpool. Epstein said, “I immediately liked what I heard. They were fresh, and they were honest, and they had what I thought was a sort of presence … a star quality.†However, he felt, “They were a scruffy crowd in leather and jeans, and they were not very tidy and not very clean. They smoked as they played and they ate and talked and pretended to hit each other.â€
The Beatles Invade America
Yoko Ono belonged to a noble Japanese family, one of the wealthiest in the country. She was class mates with Prince Akihito, the future Emperor of Japan. But they lost their fortune and begged for food after the Tokyo bombings
Though Epstein had no prior experience of artist management, he had a vision for the band. The Beatles in their turn were impressed that Epstein had the inherent Jewish business savvy, wore expensive suits, and owned a large car. They soon sign with him as their manager though McCartney, Harrison, and Best all under 21, needed the signed consent of their parents first. Epstein had them clean up their act by putting on sharp suits and ties, insisted that they stop swearing, smoking, drinking, or eating on stage, and had them bow at the end of their performances.
Epstein described the process of their style evolution, “I encouraged them, at first, to get out of the leather jackets and jeans, and I wouldn’t allow them to appear in jeans after a short time, and then, after that step, I got them to wear sweaters on stage, and then, very reluctantly, eventually, suits.†Epstein found a suit design he thought would work on the young band mates, “I thought it was an excellent design at the time.â€
McCartney was the first to agree with Epstein’s suggestions thinking that they reflected his RADA (Royal Academy of Dramatic Art) training and believing that the changes made the group look more professional. He said, “We all went quite happily over the water to Wirral, to Beno Dorn, a little tailor who made mohair suits. That started to change the image.â€
Lennon initially resisted wearing suits and ties, but then gave in saying, “I’ll wear a suit; I’ll wear a bloody balloon if somebody’s going to pay me.â€
Master Dorn was awarded two Provincial Shields, awarded for excellence in the art of tailoring, due to his fine work for the Beatles. His sharp tailoring became a part of their image.
Cyn told John she was pregnant. “There’s only one thing for it Cyn, we’ll have to get married,†he replied prosaically. He was 21, she was 22. The Lennons were married in the summer of ‘62 at a Marriage Registery office with McCartney and Harrison in attendance. Epstein was the best man and none of the parents were invited. It was a simple ceremony and very hush hush with no photographs or flowers as Epstein wanted Lennon to appear to be single for the benefit of his growing legion of female fans. The wedding was celebrated afterwards in the same restaurant where John’s parents had celebrated their marriage in 1938—thoughtful Epstein had taken care of it all. The newlyweds had no honeymoon, as Lennon had to play a gig the same night. During her pregnancy, Epstein lent his flat for the couple to live in. On one occasion, when news of the wedding leaked out, the group denied it pointblank. Cynthia was content to keep a low profile, and let her husband bask in the spotlight, loath to endanger his fledgling career.
On The Ed Sullivan Show
The band’s first single, Love Me Do was released at this time. Their debut album Please Please Me, was recorded in less than 10 hours. Lennon recalled how effortless it was, “We were just writing songs … pop songs with no more thought of them than that—to create a sound. And the words were almost irrelevant.†By early next year, Beatlemania had started with the band’s mainstream success in the U.K. They were the boy band pop sensation not only of their time but of all time.
Lennon was on tour when his first son, John Charles Julian Lennon, was born. The baby boy had been named after John’s deceased mother Julia. John did not see his son until three days later, remarking, “He’s bloody marvelous, Cyn! … Who’s gonna be a famous rocker like his Dad then?â€
Yoko was briefly admitted to a Japanese mental institution after her first marriage collapsed. She was suffering from acute depression
“He called me a queer so I battered his bloody ribs in,†Lennon justified.
At the end of ’63, the Beatles were invited to the Prince of Wales Theatre in London for the Royal Command Performance in the presence of the Queen Mother, Princess Margaret and Lord Snowdon. (Queen Elizabeth was heavily pregnant with her youngest Prince Edward at the time.) Reporters looking for a story goaded the band mates that they had sold out their young fans by choosing to play at such an “establishment†event. They even asked cheekily if they would lose their Liverpool accents that evening. “No, we don’t all speak like BBC,†McCartney volleyed back. The Beatles were greeted by countless screaming fans, while the royals were greeted decorously and the other celebrities were virtually ignored.
Lennon recalled his feelings, “I was fantastically nervous but I wanted to say something to rebel a bit.†So he deadpanned, “For our next song, I’d like to ask for your help. For the people in the cheaper seats, clap your hands … and the rest of you, if you’ll just rattle your jewellery. We’d like to sing a song called Twist And Shout.
The Beatles’ appearance was a triumph. But they declined all subsequent invitations to reappear on the show. Lennon explained why in his 1970 Anthology: “We managed to refuse all sorts of things that people don’t know about. We did the Royal Variety Show, and we were asked discreetly to do it every year after that, but we always said, ‘Stuff it.’ So every year there was a story in the newspapers: ‘Why no Beatles for the Queen?’ which was pretty funny, because they didn’t know we’d refused. That show’s a bad gig, anyway. Everybody’s very nervous and uptight and nobody performs well.â€
The “lost
weekendâ€
Their next triumph came across the pond. After a year of Beatlemania in the UK, the group made their US debut appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show in ’64. The band’s mega stardom reached the stratosphere. For the next two years, the Beatles incessantly toured, made movies and wrote songs for their upcoming albums. Lennon also managed to write two books: In His Own Write and A Spaniard in the Works that had his cartoons in it. In ‘65 The Beatles were appointed Members of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 1965 Queen’s Birthday Honours for their achievements and for being ambassadors for British culture.
The same year they were honoured, they were also introduced to LSD. A dentist hosting a dinner party attended by Lennon and Harrison accompanied by their wives secretly spiked the guests’ coffee with the drug. When they wanted to leave, their host confessed to what he had done and told them they’d better stay put till the effect wore off. Later that night, in an elevator at a nightclub, they all believed it was on fire: “We were all screaming … hot and hysterical,†Lennon recalled. This was the beginning of their LSD addiction. Lennon spent 1967 almost constantly under its influence. As his dependence on the drug increased, he drifted further and further away from Cynthia.
One incident that occurred at this time during an interview with Evening Standard reporter Maureen Cleave was to seal his fate. Lennon told her offhand, “Christianity will go. It will vanish and shrink … We’re more popular than Jesus now—I don’t know which will go first, rock and roll or Christianity.†Their Brit fans didn’t bat an eyelid at the comment, but Americans in the super conservative Bible Belt and Deep South are a different breed.  Pandemonium broke out over there with the Ku Klux Klan organising mass burning of Beatles records, and posting death threats against Lennon. Things got so bad that for a while, the Beatles suspended all Stateside tour plans.
Lennon had resumed songwriting prior to his assassination
With his cutting wit, Lennon regularly mocked Epstein calling him a “Queer Jew!†When he heard that Epstein was naming his autobiography, A Cellarful of Noise, Lennon cracked, “More like A Cellarful of Boys.†During the recording of “Baby, You’re a Rich Man (1967), he sang “Baby, you’re a rich fag Jew†just to upset Epstein. None of the other Beatles were as aggressive against their manager who had succeeded in bringing them the promised riches. Was Lennon homophobic perhaps? But then why did he go away on holiday alone with Epstein?
One day, John Lennon met the Japanese-American conceptual artist Yoko Ono, seven years his senior.
Yoko (Ocean Child) was born in Tokyo to wealthy banker Isoko and Eisuke, formerly a classical pianist. Eisuke came from a long line of samurai warrior-scholars and was the daughter of Yasuda Zenjiro who owned the country’s largest financial conglomerate in Japan till it was dissolved at the end of World War II. Belonging to such an upper class family, Yoko was enrolled at Tokyo’s elite Gakushuin (Peers School) founded in 1847 by Emperor Nink? in Kyoto to educate the children of the Imperial nobility and led a blessed life.
Ono was controlling and interfering, and caused friction between the band mates
But following the devastating Tokyo bombings that brought Japan to its knees, even the rich couldn’t stave off starvation. The Ono family too scrounged for food while pushing a wheelchair laden with what was left of their worldly belongings. Ono said this period in her life gave her her “aggressive†attitude.  Her mother managed to bring some of their possessions with them to the countryside,where they were bartered for food, for example Eisuke wisely traded her German-made sewing machine for 60 kilograms of rice with which to feed the family. Isoko had been in Hanoi all this time and was now believed to be a prisoner of war in China. Yoko said in an interview, “He was in French Indochina, which is Vietnam actually…. in Saigon. He was in a concentration camp.â€
By April 1946, conditions in the country started slowly improving. The family moved back to Tokyo. Yoko’s school Gakushuin located near the Tokyo Imperial Palace had miraculously remained unscathed and had reopened and she re-enrolled there. Ono became the classmate of Prince Akihito, the future Emperor of Japan, and they graduated in 1951. Yoko was the first woman to enroll into the philosophy program of Gakushuin University but she didn’t graduate from there as she joined her family in the U.S.
Lennon, a hand-on dad, was on his way home from the recording studio when he was shot
After the war ended in 1945, Ono’s family had immigrated to the U.S. and settled in the affluent town of Scarsdale, New York, half an hour from the City. Ono transferred to Sarah Lawrence College to be with her parents, but she had been living away from them for nine years and had become independent of thought and lifestyle. Ono liked the Bohemian life, meeting artists, poets, and other freethinkers, much to her parent’s shock and disapproval. Inspired by visits to art galleries and seeing avant garde artistes put up installations and do performance art, she dropped out of college, set up a performance art studio in Tribeca, NYC and eloped with Japanese avant garde composer Toshi Ichiyanagi in 1956. The same age as her, Toshi was the experimental fusion music star in Japan, combing Western instruments with those of his country. But the marriage was a mistake and, after living apart for several years, they filed for divorce in 1962.
Suffering from acute depression, Ono returned home to live with her parents and was briefly admitted to a mental institution in Japan. Upon her return Stateside, the impulsive young woman married Anthony Cox, an American jazz musician, film producer, and art promoter and they had a daughter Kyoko Chan Cox. Yoko left their daughter in Anthony’s full time care while she pursued her art career single-mindedly. Not surprisingly, the marriage disintegrated but the couple stayed together for the sake of their joint careers as conceptual artists, while Cox also managed Yoko’s publicity.
To cut a long story short, according to Lennon and Ono, in 1966, he went to the Indica Gallery in London, where she was putting up her conceptual art exhibit. They were introduced by gallery owner John Dunbar. Ono’s Hammer A Nail exhibit called from viewers to hammer a nail into a wooden board. The exhibition had not yet begun, but Lennon wanted to hammer a nail in. When Ono stopped him, Dunbar said to her in disbelief, “Don’t you know who this is? He’s a millionaire! He might buy it.†Ono had supposedly not heard of the Beatles, but said he could if he paid her five shillings. Lennon replied, “I’ll give you an imaginary five shillings and hammer an imaginary nail in.â€
Chapman was a born-again Christian who believed Lennon had committed blasphemy
According to McCartney, the year before Ono had been in London compiling original musical scores for John Cage’s book Notations. She asked McCartney first to give her his own manuscripts for the book but he declined and suggesting that Lennon might oblige. When she approached him, he readily gave her the original handwritten lyrics to “The Word.â€
Perhaps as the first made a better story as well as promoted Ono’s art, the couple agreed to put out their own version of their first meeting to make better copy.
Julian
In a 2002 interview, Ono admitted, “I was very attracted to him. It was a really strange situation.â€
In ’66, the Beatles lost their manager Norman Epstein to a lethal combination of sleeping pills and alcohol. He died in his bed wearing his pajamas and was discovered by his butler. The rock ‘n roll lifestyle had caught up with him. The Beatles were meditating with the Indian guru, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in the countryside, in Bagnor, Berkshire. Things would never be the same for the band again. Epstein had seemingly effortlessly managed to turn the promising band into one of the biggest acts of the day and left them free to focus on their creative output while he dealt with the business end. He also advised them in their personal lives and provided the balance for their ego-driven rock star personalities. The band mates had no idea how quickly they would drift apart without him.
Meanwhile, Ono was aggressively pursuing her wealthy and world famous would be patron—Lennon. She sent him a slew of letters asking Lennon to sponsor her art show. He too enjoyed corresponding, earlier writing long letters to Cynthia. She even started calling his house. Suspicious, Cyn asked her husband for an explanation but he dismissed it saying she was an artist asking money for her “avant-garde bullshit.†In ‘67, Ono convinced him to sponsor her solo show at Lisson Gallery in London. Till the spring of 1968, the two remained platonic. When the Beatles made their meditation ashram trip to India, Lennon wrote the song Julia that had the lyrics, “Ocean child calls me.â€
Julian Was Named After John’s Later Mother JuliaThe Queen Mother Greeting The Beatles At The Royal Variety Command Performance In Nov, ’63
While his wife was on holiday in Greece that summer, Lennon invited Ono over to his Kenwood home one night to record the Two Virgins album after which he said, they “made love at dawn.†When Lennon’s wife returned home she found Ono wearing her bathrobe and drinking tea with Lennon. He looked nonchalantly at Cyn and said, “Oh, hi.†Cynthia walked out of the house to stay with friends. To exact revenge and to apply salve on her bruised ego, Cynthia slept with Alexis Mardas, the Greek electronics engineer who worked with the band.
When Lennon found out, he asked for a divorce on the grounds that she had committed adultery, a clear case of the pot calling the kettle black. He also wanted custody of Julian, even though he didn’t feel especially close to him. Ono had become pregnant and he wanted to be with her. After negotiations, Lennon capitulated and agreed to let Julia divorce him on the same grounds. The case was settled out of court by the end of the year soon after Ono suffered a miscarriage losing her male baby. Lennon was directed by the judge to give Cynthia a lump sum of £100,000, a small annual payment and custody of Julian.
Lennon said that at the time of Julian’s birth, which was unplanned, he was very young and focused on his career. He was never actively involved in bringing up Julian who felt closer to McCartney than to his own father. On a car journey to visit Cynthia and Julian during Lennon’s divorce, McCartney composed the song, Hey Jules, to comfort him that became the Beatles song Hey Jude. Lennon commented, “That’s his (McCartney’s) best song. It started off as a song about my son Julian … he turned it into Hey Jude.†Lennon too wrote the songs, Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds and Good Night for Julian so he did have feelings for his son.
Without Epstein to keep them together, the band mates started pursuing interests independently of each other. Lennon appeared in the anti-war, black comedy How I Won the War (1967). McCartney took it upon himself to give the band mates a point of focus while coming to terms with Epstein’s untimely death so he made himself in charge of their television special, Magical Mystery Tour . The Beatles immersed themselves in making this psychedelic TV film, which did better with American rather than British audiences.
With Epstein no longer around to take care of the business end, the band members took it upon themselves to handle their financial matters. With that in mind in ‘68 they formed Apple Corps, a multimedia corporation. Lennon described it as “artistic freedom within a business structure.†But they were inexperienced in business matters and the company was soon plagued by problems and sorely in need of professional management. A young receptionist at the company May Pang became Lennon and Ono’s personal assistant.
Lennon spent more and more time with Ono and less with the other Beatles. Knowing that their wedding in 1969 would become a huge global press event, John and Yoko decided to use the publicity to promote world peace. A week long bed-in served as their honeymoon. The couple essentially remained in bed wearing their pajamas and invited the press to the Presidential Suite (Room 702) at the Amsterdam Hilton Hotel every day between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. Signs reading “Hair Peace†and “Bed Peace†were pasted above their headboard. The novel event garnered headlines the world over and they repeated their bed-in in Montreal. John stated to the press, “It’s part of our policy not to be taken seriously. Our opposition, whoever they may be, in all manifest forms, doesn’t know how to handle humour. You know, and we are humorous, we are, what are they, Laurel and Hardy. That’s John and Yoko, and we stand a better chance under that guise, because all the serious people, like Martin Luther King, and Kennedy, and Gandhi, got shot.†How prophetic!
But what the world did not find humorous was the breakup of the Beatles, for which they blamed Ono. She maintained that the Beatles broke up themselves without any direct involvement from her and said, “I don’t think I could have tried even to break them up.â€
When the group recorded Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band in ‘66, there was still a fraternal spirit between them and they wanted to collaborate together as musicians. It was after that trouble started. The break-up of the Beatles was a not due to a single event or factor but a cumulative process throughout the period 1968 to 1970.
Some of the factors leading to the breakup were the cessation of touring in 1966, the death of Epstein and differences in artistic vision with each of the member pursuing his own musical tastes. McCartney was more into pop, Harrison was interested in Indian music, and Lennon’s compositions became more introspective and experiential. To make matters worse, unlike the other wives, Yoko did not leave John’s side for a minute, they were always together even when he was working with the rest of the band in the studio. The band mates had made a tacit agreement not to let the women in their lives into their inner sanctum, their studio. Not only that, but Lennon insisted that she should also have a say and input into the band’s recordings. She would make her opinion known without being asked. Harrison especially found her presence and interference increasingly irritating. After all they had achieved their massive success without her help. Harrison was evolving fast as an artist and wanted more space to write songs and sing lead vocals, but Lennon and McCartney dominated the band.
Disregarding the friction she was causing, Ono became so controlling that when she and Lennon were injured in a car accident in the summer of ‘69, partway through recording Abbey Road, and she was laid up in bed, she had a microphone installed in the studio so she could make artistic comments about the album during their recordings.
Journalist Barry Miles wrote that Ono’s continual presence in the studio put a considerable strain on Lennon’s relationship with the other band members. Harrison was so fed up that when she took one of his chocolate digestive biscuits without asking that he exploded and told her off in a rage. As all these stories leaked to the press, she was called “the woman who broke up the Beatles†and became extremely unpopular with fans.
Ono influenced Lennon to produce more “autobiographical†output and, after recording Beatles single, The Ballad of John and Yoko they formed their own band, the Plastic Ono Band. They came out with their first album Live Peace in Toronto 1969, which was recorded during the Toronto Rock and Roll Revival festival and for which guitarist Eric Clapton, bass player Klaus Voormann, and drummer Alan White collaborated with them. After the rock first half, Ono performed an avant-garde set screaming on the microphone. Lennon’s heroin use inspired him to record the song Cold Turkey with the Plastic Ono Band. The Beatles had rejected the song for release as a single even though all the band mates had their own personal drug issues.
His fans greeting his independent musical output with ready enthusiasm greatly cemented Lennon’s decision to quit the Beatles in ‘69 on the flight back to London from Toronto after playing at the Rock and Roll Festival. Back in England, at the next band meeting at Apple, he informed McCartney and Starr of his decision (Harrison was not present at the meeting). He said he wanted a “divorce.†But that day the band also signed a lucrative renegotiated recording contract with Capitol Records, guaranteeing them a higher royalty rate, so Lennon was asked to keep his decision private until the release of the Beatles’ Let It Be album and film the following year. Since it was a mutually beneficial contract that they had negotiated together, and the band mates still trusted each other, they kept this crucial information to themselves.
By 1970, knowing which way the wind was blowing, all four band members had begun working on solo projects. At the end of the year, McCartney filed a lawsuit against the other three Beatles Let It Be album and film the following year. Since it was a mutually beneficial contract that they had negotiated together, and the band mates still trusted each other, they kept this crucial information to themselves.
By 1970, knowing which way the wind was blowing, all four band members had begun working on solo projects. At the end of the year, McCartney filed a lawsuit against the other three Beatles in London’s High Court for dissolution of the Beatles’ contractual partnership. The legal process and negotiations were so lengthy and complicated that it took five years for formal dissolution of the partnership to finalise.
Rock stars have groupies throwing themselves at them daily. There is so much temptation and opportunity to stray. Every couple faces eventual boredom in the bedroom no matter how strong their marriage may be. Being intelligent, Ono was faced with a choice, either she orchestrate a set up and give her blessing to Lennon straying or worse he would end up doing to her what he did to his first wife. In mid ‘73, Ono confided her dilemma to their personal assistant May Pang who had been working for them for three years by now. The 22 year old Chinese-American assistant was neither glamorous nor come from a lofty background. Best of all, Ono felt she could control her and the situation. She told May, “He likes you a lot†and gave her blessing for them to start a physical relationship.
Despite her reservations about how the sexual relationship would pan out, May Pang started sleeping with Lennon and the two moved to L.A. There he started working on an album with record producer Phil Spector, a frequent collaborator with the Beatles. Their drunken recording sessions became legendary and it is said that every musician in L.A. was desperate for an invite to join in their jam sessions. Lennon soon became out of control and later called this 18 month period his “Lost Weekend.†Pang was just too young and inexperienced to be able to control Lennon who was in his early thirties. Ono had been more of an older mother figure who could stabilize him. Not knowing what to do, after a series of calamitous incidents where he publicly behaved self-destructively , Pang encouraged Lennon to reach out to old band mates, friends and even develop regular contact with Julian, whom he had not seen for two years. Ono had always discouraged his contact with his son since she felt threatened by it. Starr, McCartney, Beatles roadie Mal Evans, and American musician Harry Nilsson all came and spent time with Lennon under his roof in L.A. and things improved for Lennon.
Julian began to see his father more regularly. Christmas of ’73, Lennon bought Julian a Gibson Les Paul guitar and a drum machine, and he himself taught his son some chords. “Dad and I got on a great deal better then. We had a lot of fun, laughed a lot and had a great time in general when he was with May Pang. My memories of that time with Dad and May are very clear—they were the happiest time I can remember with them,†recalled Julian wistfully.
But Lennon’s old violence also resurfaced at this time and one night after a heavy night of drinking he tried to throttle Pang. So summer of ‘74, a sober Lennon and Pang returned to live in NYC so he could concentrate on recording and adopted two cats which they named Major and Minor. They also had a spare room for Julian when he visited. Lennon was rewarded for his good behavior with the success of his album Walls and Bridges topping the album charts, and his solo single “Whatever Gets You Thru the Night†becoming the number-one US single, the only one in his lifetime.
While visiting Mick Jagger at Andy Warhol’s compound in Montauk, New York, in early ’75, Lennon and Pang saw a Scottish-style cottage they really liked and Lennon told a real estate broker to put in an offer for it. This was too much for Ono. She was still his wife and had no intention of letting him go so easily. Her understanding with Pang didn’t include buying a house together as a couple that meant a commitment.
Yoko With Her Japanese Upperclass Parents Isoko & Eisuke Ono
Ono started her old formula of calling Lennon nonstop. If it worked once, she figured, it would work again. He refused to take her calls as he knew what she was after. She had also sent him a message via McCartney. Lennon and Pang were planning to visit Paul and Linda McCartney in New Orleans that February where they were recording their Venus and Mars album, but the day before Ono finally reeled Lennon in saying she had a miraculous cure for his smoking habit. After their meeting, Lennon neither returned home nor called Pang. When Pang telephoned the next day, Ono told her that Lennon was unavailable. The married couple’s separation was over, although Ono would allow him to continue seeing Pang as his mistress to give him the illusion of choice.
Privately Lennon kept quiet to maintain peace at home but publicly he was generous enough to give Pang respect telling biographer Larry Kane, “You know Larry, I may have been the happiest I’ve ever been… I loved this woman (Pang), I made some beautiful music and I got so fucked up with booze and shit and whatever.â€
Ono knew she had to cement her relationship with a child. She had suffered three miscarriages already in her attempt to have a child with Lennon. When the couple reunited, she became pregnant for the fourth time. Not being the mothering sort, she told Lennon that unless he was willing to be a househusband and take care of the baby like her previous husband had done she would abort. He agreed readily. Sean Taro Ono Lennon was born on Lennon’s 35th birthday and was a heaven sent gift for him. Elton John stood in as the baby’s godfather. True to his word, Lennon took five years off from the music industry to take care of his second son.
Lennon was a dedicated, hands on dad. He declared proudly, “He (Sean) didn’t come out of my belly but, by God, I made his bones, because I’ve attended to every meal, and to how he sleeps, and to the fact that he swims like a fish.†He even hired a photographer take pictures of Sean every day of his first year and himself made drawings for him, who were posthumously published as Real Love: The Drawings for Sean.
All this devotion to his second son did not help relations with his first son. In a Playboy interview shortly before his death, Lennon said honestly, “I’m not going to lie to Julian. Ninety percent of the people on this planet, especially in the West, were born out of a bottle of whiskey on a Saturday night, and there was no intent to have children. So 90 percent of us… that includes everybody… were accidents. I don’t know anybody who was a planned child. All of us were Saturday-night specials. Julian is in the majority, along with me and everybody else. Sean is a planned child, and therein lies the difference. I don’t love Julian any less as a child. He’s still my son, whether he came from a bottle of whiskey or because they didn’t have pills in those days. He’s here, he belongs to me and he always will.†Lennon added he was trying to re-establish a connection with then 17-year-old Julian saying “Julian and I will have a relationship in the future.â€
Surprise, surprise, after his death it was revealed that he had left Julian very little in his will. His entire estate after taxes was left to Ono, and Sean will inherit the £220 million fortune after her death as per Lennon’s will.
Even now, the two brothers are not close, though they are cordial. Julian said that he doesn’t feel resentment towards his younger half-brother, “I love Sean to death. He’s a very smart kid. But I do think there are things done without his knowledge. Someone in the camp could be manipulating events,†referring to Ono’s manipulative influence in an interview.
It wasn’t till shortly before his December 1980 murder that Lennon resumed his musical career. There was always a healthy competitiveness between Lennon and McCartney who had both dominated the Beatles with their songwriting and vocal talents. As long as McCartney was producing what Lennon considered mediocre material, Lennon was relaxed enough to enjoy his musical hiatus, the minute McCartney released Coming Up in 1980, Lennon sat up and took notice. “It’s driving me crackers!†He remarked that he couldn’t get the tune out of his head and so competitively Lennon started writing songs again.
Yoko Ono, Daughter Kyoko Cox & Second Husband Anthony Cox Who Brought Up Their Daughter Without Yoko’s Help
Remember the offhand remark that Lennon had made thoughtlessly how the Beatles were “more popular than Jesus†way back in 1966? Well, there was a deranged Beatles fan from Texas named Mark David Chapman who had gotten obsessed with it. A big Beatles fan, he had idolized Lennon and himself played the guitar trying to be like Lennon. But after he became a born-again Christian, he turned against his idol. Jan Reeves, the sister of Chapman’s best friend Mark, said he “seemed really angry toward John Lennon and he kept saying he could not understand why John Lennon had said it (that the Beatles were more popular than Jesus). There should be nobody more popular than the Lord Jesus Christ. He said it was blasphemy.†When members of his prayer group made a joke in reference to Lennon’s song Imagine chanting “Imagine, imagine if John Lennon were dead,†the idea of the assassination was born, Chapman’s childhood friend Miles McManushe told interviewers after the event.
Chapman had also been influenced by reading John Lennon: One Day at a Time by Anthony Fawcett detailing Lennon’s rock ‘n roll lifestyle in NYC. Chapman’s wife Gloria stated, “He was angry that Lennon would preach love and peace but yet have millions of dollars.†She quoted him saying, “â€I would listen to this music and I would get angry at him, for saying that he didn’t believe in God… and that he didn’t believe in the Beatles….He told us to imagine no possessions and there he was, with millions of dollars and yachts and farms and country estates, laughing at people like me who had believed the lies and bought the records and built a big part of their lives around his music. I just wanted to scream out loud, ‘Who does he think he is, saying these things about God and heaven and the Beatles?’â€
So three months prior to the murder, Chapman started planning to kill Lennon. He admitted he had a whole hit list of people in mind, including David Bowie, Johnny Carson, Marlon Brando, Walter Cronkite, Elizabeth Taylor, George C. Scott and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, but John Lennon was the easiest to find. He was also particularly infatuated by Lennon.
Ono recalled the events of the fateful evening of December 8, 1980 with precision. The couple was thinking about going out for dinner after spending several hours in a recording studio, but decided to return to their apartment first so Lennon could see Sean before he went to bed. Right at the entrance of their Dakota apartment building, Chapman was waiting for them. He fired five times at Lennon at close range, hitting him four times in the back. Lennon died on the spot in Ono’s arms. Chapman calmly sat down to read The Catcher in the Rye until the police arrived and arrested him. He kept repeating to them that the novel was his statement.
Chapman’s legal team wanted to plead not guilty due to insanity in Chapman’s defense. Not only had he killed Lennon who was such vocal proponent of peace and brotherly love, but he had shot him in the back, a cowardly act, and then had waited calmly to be arrested. He had to be insane. His lawyers had expert testimony that he was a paranoid schizophrenic who believed the devil made him kill Lennon. But Chapman insisted that he wanted to plead guilty because he was carrying out the will of God, and denied hearing voices prompting the act; he also said God had visited him in his jail cell and told him to confess. Justice Dennis Edwards allowed the plea change without further psychiatric assessment. Dr. Daniel Schwartz, director of forensic psychiatric services at Kings County Hospital, told the judge in court that he said Chapman actually became John Lennon in his own mind, and decided to destroy the real John Lennon because Lennon was “evil†and “a phony.â€
Chapman was sentenced to a prison term of 20-years-to life with psychiatric treatment during his incarceration; he has been imprisoned ever since, having been denied parole nine times since he became eligible in 2000. Each time there is a parole hearing, mandated by law to be every two years, Ono is there in person to lead the campaign against his parole.
Following the murder, a distraught Ono went into complete seclusion for an extended period.
The Bed In At The Amsterdam Hilton Served As The Couple’s Honeymoon In ’69
In the coming years she continued to honour Lennon’s memory. She funded the construction and maintenance of the Strawberry Fields memorial in remembrance of Lennon in Manhattan’s Central Park, directly across from the Dakota Apartments, where she still lives to this day. The memorial was officially opened on Lennon’s 45th birth anniversary. In 1990, Ono collaborated with music consultant Jeff Pollack to honor Lennon’s 50th birth anniversary with 1,000 stations in over 50 countries participating in the simultaneous broadcast of his ’71 peace song Imagine. In 1997, Ono and the BMI Foundation established an annual music competition program for songwriters in honor of John Lennon’s memory. In 2000, she founded the John Lennon Museum in Saitama, Japan. Ono was present as U.K. First Lady Cherie Blair’s unveiling of a 7-foot statue of Lennon in 2002 to mark the renaming of Liverpool airport to Liverpool John Lennon Airport. (Incidentally, Julian and Cynthia Lennon were present at the unveiling of the John Lennon Peace Monument next to ACC Liverpool eight years later.) Ono dedicated a new memorial called the Imagine Peace Tower located on an island near the ReykjavÃk harbour, Iceland, in 2007 that projects a vertical beam of light high into the sky. And, in 2009, Ono created an exhibit called John Lennon: The New York City Years for the NYC Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Annex, using music, photographs, and personal items.
John Lennon Vintage Signed Apple Records PublicityAt Sean’s Birth
But toward Lennon’s first born son Julian Ono remained intractable. Because he was completely left out of his own father’s will in favour of his stepmother, Julian had no choice but to take the matter to court. After a legal battle that lasted for years, the matter was finally settled with Julian reportedly getting £20 million, which he denied.
Yoko One hasn’t remarried.
Before his death, Lennon declared, “I still love those guys. The Beatles are over, but John, Paul, George and Ringo go on.â€
While as free people it’s our inalienable right to freely express our opinions, it’s not okay for journalists to present conjecture as facts. Media sensationalism sells copy and fills airtime. But one must always remember that it’s infotainment at best, not the truth. In the recent, Meesha Shafi-Ali Zafar sexual harassment claim social media was filled with people taking sides, some using expletive filled sentences to do so. When you put yourself out there, then you have to be ready to get trolled. It’s the nature of the beast. What is never okay is to abuse your position of power and trust i.e. a journalist to his/her viewer or reader and present your personal opinion as the only viable truth. At GT, we are careful to not abuse our reader’s trust by feeding them false or biased information. If we are not sure about the credibility of a story, we will tell you clearly. Just as you come back to GT magazine pages and social media accounts loyally again and again, so do we remain faithful in our commitment and troth to you.
On a lighter note, this issue is filled with glamorous parties from Ronak Lakhani’s sundowners do at her palatial home, to HSY’s exclusive fashion show at Wajid Ali Shah’s haveli, the doors of which were opened for an event for the very first time, and to a grand Irani-Pakistani wedding. Before the intense summer heat and the advent of Ramzan, the scene is particularly happening. So sit back and enjoy all the stories, gossip and visuals we have for you as always in GT.
“I have been subjected, on more than one occasion, to sexual harassment of a physical nature at the hands of a colleague from my industry Ali Zafarâ€
He said:
“I categorically deny any and all claims of harassment lodged against me by Ms Shafi. I intend to take this through the courts of law and to address this professionally and seriously rather than to lodge any allegationsâ€
Story so far
The story was quickly picked up by international media with Hollywood actress and #MeToo campaigner Rose McGowan (one of the actresses who helped bring down Miramax former head Harvey Weinstein) lending support to Meesha Shafi and tweeting, “A heroine for our times. I stand with Meesha Shafi.â€
More women also came out, including blogger Humna Raza who tweeted “…I stood next to him and felt his hand go up the side of my waist…I knew what just happened.â€
Leena Ghani, makeup artist and sister of Maheen Taseer, also gained the courage to speak up on the matter, writing, “In the many years I have known Ali, he has, on many occasions, crossed boundaries of what is appropriate behaviour between friends.â€
LUMS alumna and journalist Maham Javaid took to Twitter to recount an incident where Ali Zafar had tried to force himself on her cousin and pull her “into a restroom with him.†She added that they considered reporting him but since he is a celebrity, no one would have believed them.
Artists who have lent support to Meesha Shafi include Urwa Hocane, Momina Sibtain and Osman Khalid Butt.
Meanwhile, others rose up to defend Ali Zafar. Lahore-based singer Kanza Munir refuted Meesha Shafi’s allegations of sexual harassment against the star on Instagram, “I stand witness to this particular ‘jam’ late last year that Meesha mentions….The whole house band along with myself and another fellow female vocalist (Aqsa Ali) were present during this session (on 21st December 2017) and whatever interaction took place between the two was in front of at least 10 other people.â€
Aqsa Ali too vociferously seconded Kanza stating on Facebook,†I was at this jam session becoz I sing in Ali’s band and so was her manager and our entire band. I am astonished that she would take a lie to this level which so many of us can prove wrong.â€
Fahad Rehman, former manager of Meesha Shafi , described her“terrible temper†and added, “Now I don’t know what happened between Ali and her (Meesha) but I do know that she has the capability to blackmail and malign one’s reputation. Without hard evidence, I would take everything she says with a ton of salt.â€
India Today quoted a source, “Meesha Shafi performed with Ali Zafar on stage on her own free will. She was hired to perform (in a concert in Islamabad on 23rd December 2017) independently of Ali as both did their separate performances first and only came together at the end to do a few songs. Her income or hiring for this show would have in no way been affected had she said she would not like to perform next to Aliâ€.
The latest till the time GT went to press
Team Ali Zafar has filed a defamation suit of Rs. 100 million against Meesha if she fails to issue an apology to Ali Zafar on electronic media within two weeks. Advocate Ali Sibtain Fazli, who is the legal counsel of Ali Zafar (as well as his father in law), said the media will be informed of further proceedings in the case.
Meesha Shafi has also hired the services of two lawyers to defend her case in court.
Rumour has it there’s trouble in Imran Khan-Bushra Maneka’s paradise not over another woman but a dog, or five. “My Motu (pet dog) is in Bani Gala and I have four more dogs,†said the great Khan of his favourite pets.
Pinky Pirni it turns out is not so fond of dogs and resents that Imran shares/d a bedroom with Motu. She has asked for the dogs be kenneled at a distance from the main house, but Imran is not budging. Let’s see who wins this battle.
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Rumour has it that Areeba Habib is in hot water now a days after posting the video mocking Zara Noor Abbas’s ramp walk. The video might be just girls having fun but a lot of people were disgusted how Areeba thought that rape jokes are funny. Tsk, tsk! Rape isn’t a verb you can just throw around.
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Rumour has it that we will be seeing Sana Bucha pretty soon on our TV screens. Do we see Laykan in the fore future? Only time will tell!
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Rumour has it Ayesha Omer is also coming forth about being sexually harassed, but is still finding the courage to speak up about it.
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Rumour has it that Lahore Se Agey producer Fizza Ali Meerza is in trouble for booing Ahad Raza Mir publicly for winning the award for Best Actor. This and more was all caught on tape at this year’s Lux Style Awards. While the fans and other media personalities demand an apology, we haven’t heard from Fizza as of yet and we are still waiting, tick tock…
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Rumour has it after Diplo, Eminem is all set to perform in Pakistan and we can’t wait!
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Rumour has it Jemima Khan is all ready to turn into a film mogul. Her new project is apparently a 4 part documentary focusing on the hit podcast serial exploring the murder of Hae Min and conviction of Adnan Syed.
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Rumour has it our favourite couple Sania Mirza and Shoaib Malik have announced the pregnancy in the cutest way possible!
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Rumour has it that Kanye West is under fire for reportedly saying “He Loves Donald Trump.†Our lips are sealed on that one.
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On the other hand
After tabloids printed that Jennifer Lopez took out a $27 million policy on her famous rearside, she had to go on late-night television to deny that rumor. Though some appraisers would give it a similar or higher value 🙂
Rumour has it Karachi actor Bilal Ashraf is seeing Lahore model Alyzeh Gabol
Disclaimer: The information, view or opinion expressed in this article/post has not been verified by us and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of GT magazine.