Yoko Ono Was Warned John Lennon Was ‘In Danger’ Before His Murder
· Ultimate Classic RockA new book claims Yoko Ono was warned that John Lennon was in danger before his murder on Dec. 8, 1980.
We All Shine On: John, Yoko and Me was written by Elliot Mintz, a friend and former spokesperson for the couple. In it, Mintz recalls various conversations with Ono following Lennon’s death.
In an excerpt recently shared with The Times, Mintz implored Ono to agree to a radio interview to combat disinformation regarding her late husband. Ono responded by saying she would check with her “advisors,” various tarot readers and numerologists she trusted.
READ MORE: The Day John Lennon Died
“Yoko, let me ask you something,” Mintz replied. “If these advisers are as good as you believe they are, why is it that none of them saw what was going to happen to John? Why was there no warning?”
Ono responded by asserting that she had been alerted to Lennon’s peril.
John Lennon 'Didn't Believe in Bodyguards'
“I was told he was in danger in New York and that he should be removed immediately,” she claimed. “That’s why I sent him to Bermuda over the summer. … But I couldn’t keep him away forever. He had to come back at some point.”
READ MORE: 30 Rockers Who Died Before 30
As Mintz was left “speechless” by the revelation, Ono further explained the situation.
“You know how John felt about his own safety,” she noted. “We talked about this at our kitchen table when your friend [the actor Sal Mineo] was killed. John said, ‘If they’re going to get you, they’re going to get you.’ It didn’t matter what my advisers told me. He didn’t believe in bodyguards, he wouldn’t put up with them. He wanted to be free.”
Lennon was killed by obsessed fan Mark David Chapman outside of his New York City apartment. He remains behind bars and has been denied parole since 2000.
11. 'Unfinished Music No. 2: Life With the Lions' (1969)
The noise records Lennon made with Yoko Ono came during a creative spell in 1969 in which he not only recorded the Beatles' final music but also three LPs of audio scraps and other found sounds. Unlike his band's last works, these experimental projects are self-indulgent messes. 'Life With the Lions,' the worst of them, includes a section recorded in a hospital following Ono's miscarriage. That should tell you something about the nature of these records.
10. 'Wedding Album' (1969)
The final album released by Lennon and Yoko Ono in 1969 includes the same sort of experimental pieces found on the two earlier 'Unfinished Music' LPs. Heartbeats, tape manipulation, interviews and various noises fall together in two extended pieces that run about 50 minutes – an extremely long, painful and assaulting 50 minutes.
9. 'Unfinished Music No. 1: Two Virgins' (1969)
Lennon released three albums while the Beatles were still officially together. All of them were experimental pieces with Yoko Ono. The first is the most controversial, thanks to the artists' totally nude cover photo. But like the other two records he released in 1969, 'Two Virgins' is barely listenable.
8. 'Some Time in New York City' (1972)
Following the release of his two best solo albums, Lennon put out a double LP with Yoko Ono that was part live record and part studio mess. Recorded during Lennon's most political period, 'Some Time in New York City' boils down to a whole bunch of quasi-revolutionary rhetoric that's as tired and stale as the music is boring and listless.
7. 'Walls and Bridges' (1974)
'Walls and Bridges' was written and recorded during Lennon's Lost Weekend separation from Yoko Ono. As a result, the music is often scattered and half-formed. But there's a rollicking energy to some of it (like "Whatever Gets You Thru the Night," his first solo No. 1), and Lennon and the backing crew (which includes Elton John and Harry Nilsson) sound like they're having lots of fun, even if many of the songs are forgettable.
6. 'Milk and Honey' (1984)
'Milk and Honey' was released four years after Lennon's death, assembled from songs leftover from 'Double Fantasy,' as well as tracks he was working on after those sessions wrapped. But unlike so many posthumous records, 'Milk and Honey,' which was conceived as a sequel to 'Double Fantasy,' falls together surprisingly well, given the raw quality of some of the recordings and the album's scattershot history.
5. 'Mind Games' (1973)
By 1973, Lennon wasn't sure what kind of artist he was anymore: political, poetic, experimental, pop. On previous albums he played around with his legacy as much as he dismantled it. On 'Mind Games,' he attempts to pull it all together and make sense of it all. It ends up being one of Lennon's least cohesive albums, but some of the songs are among his best solo numbers.
4. 'Rock 'N' Roll' (1975)
Lennon started recording this set of '50s and '60s covers before 'Walls and Bridges,' but after producer Phil Spector skipped town with the tapes, its release was delayed for a couple years – making it his last released album before a five-year hiatus. And in a way, it's a perfect stopping point for this part of Lennon's career: a tribute to the music that helped shape him as an artist, played with reverence, wit and spirit.
3. 'Double Fantasy' (1980)
After a self-imposed five-year exile from music, Lennon – working again with Yoko Ono – returned with a "Heart Play" that ties together the couple's songs for a passionate portrait of domestic tranquility and renewed enthusiasm for making records. Three weeks after the album's release, Lennon was killed, lending an added level of poignancy to the wistful nostalgia surrounding 'Double Fantasy.'
2. 'Imagine' (1971)
After three albums of unlistenable noise experiments with Yoko Ono, and a record of head-cleaning primal-scream therapy, Lennon finally gave fans what they wanted: a project that sounded like a Beatles LP. There are love songs ("Jealous Guy"), political numbers ("Gimme Some Truth"), savage takedowns of former bandmates ("How Do You Sleep?") and an eternal hymn for peace ("Imagine"). Almost perfect.
1. 'John Lennon / Plastic Ono Band' (1970)
Lennon's first proper solo album (nobody really listened to those three experimental LPs he made with Yoko Ono in 1969 anyway, right?) cleared his consciousness of all things Beatles. Applying primal therapy techniques to his songs, Lennon faces longstanding issues he had with his mother, his band and his fans. It's a remarkable exorcising of demons that plagued Lennon since childhood, and one of the most personal albums ever made. A landmark and triumphant record.