While holidaying in Scotland with Yoko Ono, her daughter Kyoko and his son Julian, John Lennon crashed his white British Leyland Austin Maxi car near Durness in the Highlands.
Lennon was a notoriously bad driver who had rarely been behind the wheel since passing his test in 1965. He was poor at navigating roads and often failed to notice other traffic.
The roads were narrow, the weather was poor, and Lennon panicked after spotting a foreign tourist driving towards him. Lennon lost control of his Austin Maxi, driving it into a roadside ditch. He, Ono and Kyoko sustained cuts to the face and Ono’s back was injured.
They were taken to Golspie’s Lawson Memorial Hospital where Lennon was given 17 facial stitches, Ono 14 in her forehead, and Kyoko four.
Julian Lennon was treated for shock but was otherwise unhurt. He was taken to stay with Lennon’s Aunt Mater in Durness, around 50 miles away, before his mother Cynthia took him back to London the following day. When she arrived at the hospital to demand an explanation from Lennon he refused to see her.
Lennon remained in hospital for five days. He later told reporters, “If you’re going to have a car crash, try to arrange for it to happen in the Highlands. The hospital there was just great.”
The crashed Austin Maxi was later transported to the couple’s Tittenhurst Park estate where it was sited in the gardens.
Although Lennon was never intending to attend, 1 July was the first official day of recording for what became the Abbey Road album. The crash further delayed his return to London, and after being discharged from hospital he spent three days at home before finally rejoining The Beatles on 9 July.
Yoko Ono suffered worse injuries in the crash than Lennon, and was pregnant at the time. Keen to keep a close eye on her wellbeing, he arranged for Harrods to deliver a double bed to the studio, and had a microphone suspended above it for her to add her thoughts during the sessions that followed.
I noticed the bloodstains on the hospital application form which also contains John’s autograph.
Joseph that was very observant of you are you studying to be a SOCO?
No SOCO needed since there was no crime.
Hi!
Since the crash occurred in 1969 the car must have been an early 1500 with cable gearchange, I own a such car (unfortunately it is red, not white as John´s was) the more well known 1750 was not introduced until 1971
The article says; his mother, Cynthia picked him up? His wife’s name was Cynthia and he was with Yoko and his mother died while he was a teenager. . . .something’s wrong here.
That sentence is referring to Julian Lennon. Read it again.
He is referring to Julian’s mother Cynthia, John ex-wife
Must have been his ex-wife Cynthia as her and John’s son Julian was also in the car.
Correct remark, Cynthia was John’s first wife. His mothers name was Julia…
It says Julian’s mum picked him up. Cynthia was Julian’s mother and she picked him up from the hospital.
His mother refers to Julian Lennon ?
If you read it back again, the article is talking about Julian, who was in the car crash with John, Yoko and Kyoko (Yoko’s daughter).
One other line gives the reason for split – John got Yoko a mic so she could add her thoughts during the sessions. I mean, what the heck was going through John’s head? I’m jamming with the lads who came up with such gems as Yesterday, Something, and Octopuses Garden… and sod that George Martin too… I’d rather know what Yoko thinks!!!! I’m surprised Paul hung around.
It’s called true love, perhaps you’ll be lucky enough to experience it for yourself someday. We don’t always behave rationally when we’re in love, but it’s always true.
Oh brother….
So, Ringo didn’t love Mo? George didn’t love Pattie? Paul didn’t love Linda? Because they didn’t get a bed in the studio with a microphone so they could comment on the songs. What a strange assumption to make. Yoko shouldn’t have been there, and she certainly shouldn’t been allowed to critique the Beatles’ music. End of.
Amen to that
bruhva it says right there that she came in so they could monitor her condition. no one said the other beatles didn’t love their respective wives, but love is different for everybody. god damn. she wasn’t making a mistake by existing near the other beatles.
No. It’s called “self-indulgence” and “self-centeredness”. Nothing and no one mattered but he and Yoko.
Love can be deaf,dumb & especially blind.
Sorry, but in this case Yoko was also John’s surrogate mother. She got so sick of the full-on toadying, she sent him off to have sex with the assistant for 18 months – arrogantly expecting Lennon would come yapping back like a love-starved puppy – and cruelly breaking May Pang’s heart when it was all over.
If it weren’t for the scars from the non-relationship with his father and the Oedipean relationship with his (later deceased) mother, Lennon would never have come back to Ono if she abandoned him like that. Damaged goods – just ask Julian.
These were the avant-est of the avant garde types by 1969. Imagine every movement every rehearsal, musical experiment, discussion or even bout of flatulence being filmed and recorded. Yoko Ono in a double bed in the studio was probably the means to get John Lennon’s arse back to the studio! It’s painfully obvious Lennon was blindly in love with Ono and the rest of the band dealt with his shenanigans in their own way.
I’m surprised the “Let it Be” album was completed and the “Rooftop Concert” ever took place! George Harrison’s “All Things Must Pass” compositions were in demo form at the time of Let it Be; gives one pause to imagine just how creative these men were/ are and how Yoko Ono on a bed in the studio was likely meaningless to no one but Lennon.
Fascinating.
They all hung around as long as they did because they were under contract with EMI and also needed to keep making money to fund Apple. They probably would have broken up during the white album had it not been for contract obligations.
A friend who keeps up with my blog [Kevin Doonan] just passed on a photo of his signed copy of a Scottish postcard: https://scotbeat.wordpress.com/2015/04/25/john-lennon-returns-to-scotland-1969/
I always thought that the accident did not occur in Golspie, but John was taken to the hospital there after the accident. I think the accident occurred on the North coast of Scotland, East of Durness. Golspie is on the East coast, North of Inverness.
Am guessing that Lawson Hospital, Golspie would have been the nearest in the region as the Lennons were ferried to the Golspie according to the following account: https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/uk-world-news/the-beatles-in-scotland-john-lennons-story-996108 The collector/buyer who first featured the autograph above also states that John and Yoko were heading back to Durness from Tongue.
Oh god. Oh my god.
THE ACCIDENT HAPPENED IN 1969, JOHN STAYED IN THE HOSPITAL FOR FIVE DAYS, DELAYED THE RECORDING OF ABBEY ROAD UNTIL THE 9TH OF JULY, WHEN DID EXACTLY THE ACCIDENT TAKE PLACE, NOT MENTIONED ANYWHERE!!!!!!!!…SOUNDS LIKE IT WAS THE END OF JUNE 1969………
The date is July 1, 1969 which is clearly visible under the banner headline for this page.
Stop screaming and read the article.
THANKS…DIDNT NOTICE THAT….1ST OF JULY PLUS 5 DAYS IN HOSPITAL PLUS THREE DAYS AT HOME……. THE ABBEY ROAD RECORDING RIGHT AFTER ALL THIS…ON THE 9TH………….DOES ANYONE KNOW WHERES THAT BLOODY HOSPITAL SUBMISSION NOTE IS,…IS IT STILL AT THE HOSPITAL….????????
The accident did not occur on the roads around Golspie but just south of Durness 75 miles away at Loch Eriboll.
I have the car name badges from the car. I was 12 years old at the time. Crash happened at the Kyle of Tongue John and Yolo had been in the tea room in the Tongue Post Office
According to what I read in the “The Beatles” biography about this, John said the reason he crashed was when he encountered the other car (on a single lane road), “I didn’t know what to do, so I just let go of the steering wheel.” That explains everything, it’s really wise to do that in poor weather…
Kinda gives pause to John’s statement: “If there is such a thing as a genius, I am one.”
Two morons