Tag: Sean Lennon

A Young John Lennon!

UK: Gimme Some Truth – an Interesting John Lennon Album, Documentary & Documents! (25.8.2026)

This is why I admire the genius-structure of “Taxman” – but thoroughly reject the underlying selfishness that informed its production. As for ideology – The Beatles were all over the place. I think “money” was their god – and the transcending freedom this gave them from the cycle manual labour, paying bills, and being in debt – enabled them to take drugs, reads books and explore different realities – realities not normally open to the British workers of the day. John Lennon was did flirt with Maoism (and had an affair with his “Chinese” Secretary) – and they all wore Lenin-type hats from time to time (I do not think Lennon knew anything about Maoism). But this does not amount to Revolutionary action. According to the US government – Lennon was a “Trotskyite” – but I doubt his ideological development had progressed to him taking sides in the unfolding of the Soviet Revolution. He once said the the Socialist had messed-up the world as much as the capitalists – and this was to a group of UK students! Perhaps we expect too much from our millionaires as the game they play is designed to enrich and then move privilege away from the path of Revolution (keeping them firmly ensconced within reaction).

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The ‘Budokan’ and Doing ‘A Beatles’! (29.3.2023) 

John Lennon had been to Japan with the Beatles about five months before he met Yoko Ono in New York. The Beatles made their first visit to Asia at the end of June 1966. They played two televised Concerts at the ‘Budokan’ on June 30th and July 1st, 1966. This is actually the ‘Nippon Budokan’ (日本武道館) located in the heart of Tokyo. The name means ‘Japan Martial Arts Training Hall’ and this venue was built and opened in 1964. Although Japan was still officially ‘Occupied’ by the US Military until 1972 (following Japan’s Unconditional Surrender during late 1945) – the Americans tolerated a certain level of right-wing Japanese ultra-nationalism amongst the population – providing it was contained to being aimed at Communist China. Yoko Ono’s family is said to have been supportive of this ‘racist’ ultra-nationalism – which she rebelled against by having relationships (and children) with ‘White’ men. At one point, Yoko Ono even allowed her husband to have an 18-month affair with his ethnic ‘Chinese’ secretary – the American-born May-Pang (龐鳳儀 – Pang Feng Yi). 

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The Beatles – A Work in Perpetual Progress! (29.3.2023) 

Despite the UK in many ways appearing to be a Soviet State between 1948-1979 – it still functioned within a Bourgeois, capitalist (liberal democratic) system. Since 1979, the onus has been upon dismantling this Socialist edifice and re-instating the pre-1948 status quo where workers do as they are told for as little money as possible. This has to understood if the stage-managing of The Beatles is to be understood. The Beatles existed as a means for the four members and the plethora of individuals surrounding and enabling them (including the ‘Roadie’ Mal Evans) were to make a comfortable living. Behind all these people was the monolith of EMI – so if The Beatles were already millionaires by 1964 (and there are good reasons to assume this) – the reader can speculate just how much profit their ‘look’ and ‘sound’ bought the publishing company! As a winning combination has been arrived at more or less by trial and error – the thinking was that none of it should be changed for fear of spoiling the earning potential. The music of The Beatles is so dialectically stimulating that it means many things to all people. This led to John Lennon expressing in a (reactionary) 1968 interview with British students that he had as many ‘fascists’ as ‘Socialist’ fans – he said this after berating the USSR and the idea of external (revolutionary) change. He seems to be expressing EMI advertising policy rather than any innate knowledge of Marxist-Leninism. Cackling in the shadows was Yoko Ono who never got round to addressing the subject of her anti-Western family supporting ultra-right-wing political views in Japan – or the War Crimes the Imperial Japanese Army had committed during the 1930s and 1940s throughout Asia (and against British POWs). She remains ‘anti-Chinese’ to this day.

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