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Excerpt from MOJO of an interview with Sean:

BEATLES SCION SEAN LENNON faced the daily worry of abduction when he was growing up in the Dakota Building in New York with his parents John Lennon and Yoko Ono. “I was terrified of that scenario when I was young,” he explains in the new issue of MOJO (on sale in the UK now). “We lived under the threat of kidnap and I had the whole bodyguard thing.”

Lennon tackles the subject on Midnight Sun, the second album by The Ghost Of A Saber Tooth Tiger, the neo-psych folk-rock duo he formed in 2009 with multi-instrumentalist and girlfriend Charlotte Kemp Muhl. The track Poor Paul Getty relives the tale of the titular American oil heir who in 1973 was kidnapped in Rome and subsequently had his ear cut off by his captors. “It was the bogey-man story,” says Lennon. “The song isn’t jokey at all.”

Entertaining MOJO in central London, Lennon and Kemp Muhl stress their artistic relationship has few parallels to John and Yoko’s controversial union as man and woman, musicians and philosophers. “They didn’t collaborate,” points out Lennon. “My mum refused to write with my dad, even though I think he wanted to.”

“They inspired each other but were fiercely independent,” adds Kemp Muhl. “[Sean] and I are more counterpoints to each other. Very few empowered couples work together as peers.”

In our exclusive interview, Lennon also discusses his complex working relationship with mum Yoko Ono (whose last two albums he produced), his interest in West Coast ’70s psychedelic guru Father Yod and gradually emerging from his father’s lengthy shadow. “Being John’s boy was very intimidating,” he admits. “It’s taken me longer than other people to feel comfortable in my own shoes… and Char[lotte] has been a big part of that.”

Read the full interview in the new issue of MOJO.

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* While Ringo will be at Capitol Records in LA for his birthday celebration, fans are organizing at event at Abbey Roads.

* Julian’s first-ever box set will be available September 10 (Cynthia’s birthday).

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meanmistermustard said
For all and any who are interested Yoko and the Plastic Ono Band are playing Glastonbury’s Park Stage this Sunday (29th June), scheduled to begin at 6pm. No idea if it will be screened but the BBC provide a ton of coverage at Glastonbury so you might find it amidst their output.

Speaking of which, it’s been 10 years since Paul’s appearance there.

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A Facebook post on the tributes announced at the celebration lunch for Brian Epstein’s blue plaque unveiling below. According to a comment, Vivek Tiwary also sent a tribute. 

[x-posted to the RIP Brian Epstein thread]

Tributes to Brian Epstein read out at the celebration lunch yesterday

PAUL McCARTNEY:

I know Brian would have been very proud to think that he had earned a Blue Plaque in the West End of London. He played a very important role in guiding the career of us Beatles and more than that he was a lovely man whose friendship we all valued and who I will always remember with great fondness. Congratulations, Brian. Love from Paul McCartney .

RINGO STARR:

He started like we did. He didn’t know the game, neither did we, really. We knew how to play, and he tidied us up and moved us on. He ran a record shop in his father’s furniture company, heard about us, or heard about them, I wasn’t even with them then; he went down to the Cavern and decided to be a manager. And he was very good. Love and peace. Ringo

GEORGE MARTIN:

Brian Epstein and I were very good friends from the word go, and we liked each other a lot. We sort of ran The Beatles together but he left the music to me and gave me enormous encouragement. The Beatles were number one in Brian’s life, as they were in mine. He was a charming man who we lost far too soon, but will always be remembered with affection and gratitude.

PATTIE BOYD:

I had the deep honour and great fun of getting to know Brian well in those halcyon years from 1964 to 1967 when we all seemed to cram a year of living into every week. The very essence of Brian was that he was an incredibly sweet man who cared deeply about The Beatles and everyone in his orbit. He was not motivated by money but by a desire to make the dreams of his artists and pals come true. How rare and special that was.

BILLY J. KRAMER:

Brian’s enthusiasm and unwavering belief in The Beatles, myself and his other artists made it impossible for the world to not sit up and take notice. Over the years, I felt that his huge contribution to the music industry had been totally overlooked, but, finally, ceremonies such as this, along with his recent long-overdue induction into the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame, give Brian Epstein the recognition he deserves. Here it is 50 years later and The Beatles are still the biggest phenomenon that the world has every known, and I attribute a great deal of that to Brian. I was very proud to have him as my manager, mentor and friend.

GERRY MARSDEN: (Gerry & The Pacemakers)

I liked Brian very dearly and appreciated the good things he’d taught me about how to deal with people, he was a great help to me in growing up. A year after his death, three of his acts had achieved precisely what he said they would: The Beatles were bigger than Elvis, Cilla was on her way to becoming a very successful TV personality, and I had made it to the West End for a musical (Charlie Girl). He was a great man who crammed a lot into a short life, and made a lot of people very happy.

YOKO ONO:

At the point that Brian started managing The Beatles, in January 1962, John, Paul and George had been together for five years – yet had not become known outside Liverpool and Hamburg. Brian believed in them passionately and committed himself to fulfilling the dream that John had that The Beatles could become bigger than Elvis. Which seemed impossible at the time. But Brian’s tireless efforts on their behalf helped make that dream come true. John never forgot the love that Brian had for The Beatles and his crucial role in that wonderful voyage

ANDREW LOOG OLDHAM:

The Beatles changed our lives. Brian Epstein changed theirs. He made it all possible. Brian told them who they could be and helped them become it. He persevered against all odds and got his lads a recording contract and that act changed all our lives for the better. If Brian had loved himself as much as he loved The Beatles, he may have still been with us today. But we do still have all that they did together. And that’s a gift that will never stop giving.

CILLA BLACK:

Brian was a wonderful person and a wonderful manager who did so much for me and all his acts, nothing was ever too much trouble for him. He always took special care of me as the only female artist on the roster and made sure that everything was right, and for that I’ll be eternally grateful. He’ll always have a special place in my heart and I’m so pleased for him today. Thank you Brian, love Cilla.

TONY BRAMWELL: (NEMS promotion executive)

To put it bluntly, without Brian the Mersey Beat phenomenon would not have escaped Liverpool. He was the one who could see further than across the Mersey and by his own energy and determination mastered The Beatles’ career and moved the whole thing into an international industry.

GEOFFREY ELLIS: (Managing Director of Epstein’s company NEMS)

The whole world of popular music owes a great deal to Brian Epstein, with his innovative and personal approach to the many aspects of management, which ensured the success of not only those under his direct guidance but of artists managed by others.

TONY BARROW: (Beatles publicist)

Brian was always amazingly faithful to the stars he chose to promote, and the style and scope of management he offered has remained a shining example to the rest of the industry.

 

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Examiner articles on a panel at the Fest for Beatles Fans on Women Historians of The Beatles: Pt 1 and Pt 2

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* LA Times article on the mystery of the “Train Song.” [x-posted at the AHDN thread]

* Beatles Blog on the Japanese mono box set, Japan Box, with photos.

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* Paul has a ticket giveaway contest going. [x-posted to the Out There 2014 thread]

* A lot of posts at the AHDN and AHDN 50th threads, including my report of last night’s Don’t Knock the Rock gala in LA, so be sure to check those out.

Happy July 4th to those in the US!

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