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Lennon Not a Nice Guy, New Bio Says

Tell-all portrays him as callous, abusive; Ono calls it 'too mean'

By Laurel Jorgensen,  Newser Staff

Posted Oct 12, 2008 7:05 PM CDT
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(Newser) – Not everything John Lennon could Imagine was so nice, the New York Post reports. The ex-Beatle callously cheated on his first wife, groped a girl in front of Yoko Ono, and upset Ono by treating her like a lay du jour when they first met, a new biography says. But Ono, who contributed to Philip Norman's John Lennon: The Life, calls the book “too mean.”

Norman also depicts Lennon as verbally abusing his kids and regretting he didn't sleep with his mother. He was also a Jealous Guy: He insisted Ono join him to the bathroom during studio sessions so she wouldn't bed another Beatle. “People said I followed him to the men’s room, but he made me go with him,” Ono told Norman.

A portrait of John Lennon.
A portrait of John Lennon.   (Shutterstock)
A portrait of John Lennon hangs on the wall of the Lennon Suite at the newly opened Hard Days Night Hotel on February 1, 2008, Liverpool, England.
A portrait of John Lennon hangs on the wall of the Lennon Suite at the newly opened Hard Days Night Hotel on February 1, 2008, Liverpool, England.   (Getty Images)
John Lennon and Yoko Ono pictured during filming of the promotional film for 'The Ballad of John and Yoko'.
John Lennon and Yoko Ono pictured during filming of the promotional film for 'The Ballad of John and Yoko'.   (Getty Images)
John Lennon and Yoko Ono pose at a reception in 1968.
John Lennon and Yoko Ono pose at a reception in 1968.   (Getty Images)
Yoko Ono, the wife of Beatles front man John Lennon, contributed to the new biography but calls it too mean.
Yoko Ono, the wife of Beatles front man John Lennon, contributed to the new biography but calls it "too mean."   (AP Photo/Paul Thomas)
A portrait of Paul McCartney hangs on the wall of a suite at the Hard Days Night Hotel, Friday, Feb. 1, 2008, in Liverpool, England.
A portrait of Paul McCartney hangs on the wall of a suite at the Hard Days Night Hotel, Friday, Feb. 1, 2008, in Liverpool, England.   (AP Photo/Paul Thomas)
The new biography John Lennon: The Life paints a disturbing portrait of the rock star.
The new biography "John Lennon: The Life" paints a disturbing portrait of the rock star.   (AP Photo)
The rock group, The Beatles, are shown in 1967. From left, are: Ringo Starr, John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison.
The rock group, The Beatles, are shown in 1967. From left, are: Ringo Starr, John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison.   (AP Photo)
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What John's sister has to say about the book
The Independent

Read a full review
The Observer (Ind.)

 
Yoko Ono • John Lennon • biography • Beatles

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