Happy Birthday, John! | Page 9 | Fab Forum | The Beatles Bible

Some nice and funny stories from Irish fans about meeting John:

For Kildare native Richard Hall (80), news of Lennon’s killing was nothing short of devastating. “I’m not exaggerating when I say this, but I was never the same after,” he says. “I’ve always loved The Beatles and John Lennon . I just couldn’t get over it.”

Dick — as he is better known — first heard the band’s music in 1962 and was transfixed. He reckons there hasn’t been a day since when he hasn’t played their songs, or that of John Lennon — whom he still looks up to. “If you ask [wife] Maureen who I love most, she’ll say it’s John Lennon ,” he says.

Dick and Maureen have been married for 61 years. Maureen does not share her husband’s obsession with the band. He plays them every day and wants one of Lennon’s greatest songwriting achievements, All You Need Is Love ’, to soundtrack his funeral.

The couple now live in Clare and, remarkably, they can thank the Beatle for their retirement home. In 1968, while attending a wedding in the south of England, Dick had the idea of driving up to Lennon’s then home in Weymouth, Surrey, on the off-chance they might be able to meet their hero.

“The gates were open and we were able to drive through,” he says. “I knocked on the door and the housekeeper answered. I asked if we might speak with Mr Lennon if he was at home.” The Beatle — then at the peak of his fame — materialised with his then five-year-old son, Julian, by his side.

“We spoke to him for about 45 minutes,” says Richard. “He was very friendly. He asked us if The Beatles really were as good as the papers said they were and I said: ‘The Beatles are not as good as they say, they’re better.’”

When they were leaving, Maureen asked if they could have a souvenir to say they really had met him. Seemingly tickled by her cheeky request, the musician went into the house. “We thought he might bring out a cup or an ashtray.” Instead, Lennon handed her his Ivor Novello songwriting award for She’s Leaving Home. A shocked Dick said they couldn’t possibly take something as precious. Lennon insisted, telling them the gong had been collecting dust on his shelf.

Years later, amid concerns they might be robbed for the precious artefact, the Halls sold the award at Sotheby’s. Partly thanks to the proceeds, they were able to purchase their home in Clare. “Meeting John Lennon really was one of the greatest days of my life,” Dick says.

(Picture of Maureen and John with the Ivor Novello award is in the article)

….Thanks to the fan club, Pete has met scores of people who either knew Lennon or encountered him at some stage in their life. One of those is retired lighting engineer Tommy Nolan (82), who was working at the Adelphi on the night The Beatles came to town.

“I was in the toilet backstage and there was a loud banging at the door,” he recalls. “I opened the door and it was John Lennon . He was annoyed. He said: ‘Do you know who I am?’ I responded with two words and the last one was ‘off’. He said: ‘I could get you fired.’”

Tommy informed him that he was part of the crew for that night’s performance and if he was kicked out, there would be no show. During the gig, Lennon — on stage below — caught Tommy’s eye and a smile was exchanged. “There were no hard feelings,” he says. “They just got on with it. I had worked on lots of shows there — including Johnny Cash — and, at the time, it was hard to know if The Beatles were a flash in the pan or would become really big.”

Few more in the article including going to The Beatles concert in Dublin in ’63 and the man who founded The Beatles Ireland fan club.