Was John Lennon Bisexual? | Page 3 | Fab Forum | The Beatles Bible

It’s a big reason why he needed a dominant woman who would run his life the way Yoko did. It mimicked what he had growing up with his Aunt Mimi. Look at when he was the dominant one in the relationship (Thelma Pickles, Cynthia)…they were subservient to him, hell Cynthia tried to be the perfect 60s housewife to him, and he was miserable, hitting her and arguing and not being bothered to be a decent husband and father. And then the polar opposite when he was with Yoko. The only time he seemed truly happy on an equal level with a women was when he was with May Pang, and even that was rocky.

A very interesting, complex man, which is one of the reason I’m fascinated with him beyond the music

Expert Textpert said
He is a fascinating character, and I can find myself identifying with him in many ways.

Dr. Beatle, Yoko withdrew her approval from the Norman biography because he painted John in a negative light–it had nothing to do with her.  Norman made her look good because he thought she was going to endorse it.  Norman talks about this in the epilogue at the end of the book.

Ah yes, I had it switched around, thanks for jogging my memory (it’s been a while since I’ve read it). Funny thing is, he (rightfully) took a lot of stick for canonizing John and trashing Paul, George, and Ringo in Shout! but he went to the other extreme in the biography. Although truthfully I don’t think it’s trashing John or portraying him negatively so much as not sugarcoating the man’s faults. But Yoko has sold Saint Lennon’s myth since 1980 so I can see why she refused to stamp her approval on it (not that I agree with it…I don’t!)

I don’t think he was, personally. From everything I’ve read and studied, by the end I feel he was kind of “stuck” (see George’s comments about visiting at the Dakota and feeling like John wanted to say more but couldn’t because Yoko was always around). Also, people from 1968 until his death all asked (and talked amongst themselves), “what power does she have over him?” Mick Jagger, Cynthia, Paul and Linda, George, Pete Shotton, his sisters…they all wondered it. What would make him literally in one day go from being ready to serve divorce papers to Yoko, buying a house with May and proposing to her, and heading to New Orleans to write and record with Wings, to going back to the Dakota and cutting off all ties with everyone? It’s so bizarre. I’ve read many accounts that people who knew him during the Lost Weekend said that was the real John, similar to how he was pre-Yoko and that he was almost like a zombie after getting back with her. Also, his diary tapes from the late 70s, and what he said to everyone at the Record Plant (since Yoko was almost never present during his sessions for his songs) paint the picture of a miserable guy who was ready to move on and reconnect with the past (his forthcoming trip to the UK and Mimi, rumblings of a Beatles reunion, renewing his partnership with Paul, etc).

Sorry to get so longwinded and off track. The gist of it…I believe with 100% of my being that he wanted out and was stuck.

Read “You Never Give Me Your Money .” It’s all in there. And in other books. Paul and Linda were expecting John and May in New Orleans for the Venus And Mars sessions when at the last minute he bailed. It’s all documented extensively in that book. There were multiple times in the late 70s when they’d set something up and at the last minute Yoko would answer the phone and scupper it. Basically, every time she caught wind of Paul and John planning something, she sabotaged it.

And quite the opposite…LOADS of people who were around John in ’73-’75 during the Lost Weekend state how he badmouthed Yoko and bitched all the time about her, how she wouldn’t stop pestering and calling him, etc and he was ready to move on. It’s also a misconception that it was one big party. He went nuts with booze and drugs at first, but once the Rock N’Roll debacle with Phil Spector hit, he cleaned up his act and was very focused (Walls And Bridges ) and happy. Hell, Cynthia and Julian came to hang out and they went with him and May to Disney World for a vacation!

Again, the truth is quite a bit different from the myth that’s been built (mainly by Yoko) since 1980.

From what I’ve read, he called and asked and she said no. So he stopped calling. As soon as that happened, she was relentless in how often she called on the phone. Also, yes, he does seem content in the Playboy interview, but Jack Douglas and others in the studio during the DF sessions paint a different picture..they couldn’t stand to be in the same room together for most of it, and it wasn’t all down to just musical differences. We’ll never know for sure but I lean heavily toward him wanting out. The fact that she took up with someone literally 2 months after his death says a lot, too.

I dunno. The whole narrative is full of contradictions. On one hand he did seem truly happy and fulfilled during that period. On the other hand, he seemed bored, stuck, and miserable looking for a way out. Both are documented and corroborated by others around him, as well as John himself. The man was such a paradox wrapped up in a human package that we’ll never know for sure.