What was John Lennon really like, or the dark side of a rampant legend

John Lennon - one of the most striking and contradictory of musicians in history. He was an intellectual, a man of art in every sense of the word--drew, wrote, played. He also promoted love and world peace, but did he live up to the divine image he so actively sought to cultivate?

Lennon as a person is a very ambiguous, unrestrained and even contradictory figure. He was very different from his fellow Beatles, but it was not because of his legendary "granny glasses". His inner demons were insane! His true desires were incomprehensible either to his loved ones or to himself. But such contradictions do not spoil our impression of the iconic Beatle at all. On the contrary, they add "fire" to his persona, romanticism, and extraordinary, forcing us to resort to this genius more and more often and to immerse ourselves more and more intensely in his story...

Master Provocateur

Lennon never tried to be "better" or "right. He was confident in himself, in what he was doing - and what the Beatles as a whole were doing - for a thousand percent! John didn't try to downplay his success, on the contrary, he was happy to rant about it to journalists. And one day he even said: "The Beatles are more than Jesus.". Of course, he could have anticipated what would follow this high-profile statement, but it seems - the scandal and sensation were his motivation, not his obstacle.

John's relatives recalled how the musician purposely provoked people around him - whether it was a reporter or a fan in a bar. Lennon could easily stir up a scuffle, get into a conflict. He seemed to "feed on" all those emotions. Nevertheless - often conflicts occurred just because John had a hard time watch the language: He could say whatever was on his mind, unsparingly criticizing prominent figures and even his own band. He was also very hot-tempered, and one day - when a DJ took him and By Brian Epstein for a couple in love - Lennon jumped on the poor guy with his fists, and he literally had to be dragged away from the guy at the console!

According to McCartney, John was a "nice guy" in life, although "with his own cockroaches in his head. He had kind heart (according to many people close to him) and a fine intellect, and his main problem was inability to (or maybe an unwillingness to) control his feelings, his words, his emotions. John also had an incredibly ironic sense of humor, which hurt some

A man with a big heart

Many claim that John was a man of with a big heart! He was genuinely interested in the problems of those around him, and if he could, he willingly helped. But it seems that this did not apply to everyone. For some reason Lennon could devote a lot of his time to other people, while completely forgetting about those closest to him... So it was with his first son JulianHe had literally cut him out of his life for a while. Fortunately, as the days wore on, John realized his mistake, and began spending hours on the phone with his son, spending time with him, and sharing his deepest thoughts. Better late than never!

And here's a story from "second hand"found on a popular foreign forum:

"In 1973 I was playing in a traveling band and we had a sound engineer/rody named Jeff. Jeff was an employee of a big music store and went to a music equipment show in Chicago in that capacity. John and Yoko were there. According to Jeff, he ran into them, said hello, and John asked him, "Who are you and what do you do?" Jeff replied, "I'm nobody." John and Yoko were stunned. "Don't ever talk about yourself like that!" said Lennon. And he proceeded to gently lecture Jeff about how important we all are in this world..."

Uncertainty in love

Was Lennon able to love? Surprisingly, this question is of great concern to some foreign biographers. Some of them are inclined to believe that John needed a loyal and intelligent person beside him, ready to help and just to listen. There is an opinion that his first marriage to Cynthia fell apart precisely because John did not feel the creative flow, inspiration, soulfulness and liberation in this relationship. And that it was with Yoko he was able to be himself - he found a kindred spirit, a person who understood him half-heartedly.

John was known to have had affairs on the side, but the musician himself never took them seriously. But did he love Ono, or was he just impressed by this woman - her brilliant mind, creative vision and freedom? In fact, did John need love? Some biographers argue that Lennon had "third party"He had a tendency to be a bit of an idiosyncrasy that was familiar only to him: he would not open up completely even to his closest ones, and he was often in doubt and temptation. Whether this is true or not, you and I have now we won't know.

Lastly

Some biographers attribute Lennon's expressiveness to his date of birth - allegedly many "fall." Art people were scandalous and stubborn individualists (prime examples are the intolerant Roger Waters, an aggressive and unempathic rebel Johnny Ramon, or Liam Gallagherwhose wild antics literally ruined Oasis). All this certainly sounds interesting, but we don't tend to identify character traits with the position of the stars in the sky...

Whatever the number on the calendar, childhood psychological trauma, or an unrestrained lifestyle triggered by worldwide fame, Lennon remains the most compelling, mysterious, controversial, and colorful figure 20th centuries. And that's probably why, for his confidence and stubbornness, we still love him! John was always either a puddle of sadness or a wave of joy, depending on the mood of the day. But either way - he was really nice guy.that we will miss forever...