Beatleobit: Lucy Vodden

Former classmate of Julian Lennon, and - supposedly - the non-drug inspiration behind Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds Lucy Vodden has died from Lupus. She was 46.

The Beatles came from Liverpool, you know

After the not-entirely-successful attempt of Capital Of Culture year to prove there's more to Liverpool than The Beatles, the City Council returns to business as usual:

John Lennon's son Julian and Liverpool's Lord Mayor are teaming up for a global peace initiative tomorrow (Tuesday, June 16).

They will light a white candle at the Beatles Story museum in the Albert Dock urging people to think of peace.

Are they going to light it together? Isn't that a marriage ceremony type of thing?

Candles will be sent to all cities across the globe for civic leaders to do the same in memory of John Lennon's struggle for peace and understanding, and Julian's continuing efforts.

All cities? I'd love to know where Liverpool got a definitive list of cities from. And the money to buy tens of thousands of candles. If you live in an urban area and don't get a candle, you might feel a bit slighted, so let's hope that it's watertight.

Interestingly, that "Lord Mayor" is none other than Mike Storey. Somehow, the civic leader of the city is a man who had to resign as leader of the city council after leaking information; it's ironic that a man who got himself into such a position over a big council row is now offering to send out candles of peace to the world.

Anyway, it's not really about peace, is it?

The event coincides with the opening of an exhibition at the new Beatles Story branch at the Pier Head on Wednesday (June 17) called White Feather - The Spirit of Lennon.

The exhibition offers an introspective view of Lennon's personal life including his rise in fame and fortune.

Ah. So world peace is being used as a way of marketing a tourist sideshow, then? Classy.

Julian is happy to be involved:

Julian Lennon said: "The white feather is so prevalent in my life. One thing for sure is that it's always represented peace to me. One of the things my father said to me was that should he pass away, if there was some way of letting me know he was going to be ok, or that we were all going to be ok, it was by in some way, shape or form presenting me with a white feather.

"I hope this exhibition lets people see another aspect of his life and our time together as a family. This collection represents something of great importance to us as it is part of our history.''

That's quite touching, isn't it? It does, though, sit awkwardly with the way Julian used to speak about his pa before he abandoned a solo career in favour of being John Lennon's Official Child:

Well it’s difficult when people come up to you and say ‘I loved your father so much’ y’know coz it tugs at my heart in two ways. Yes, as an artist in his solo work and with the Beatles- he was fantastic..but as a father I don’t have much respect for him coz he wasn’t there and he didn’t take the time to be.

Mike Storey, meanwhile, wants to remind you about something important about John Lennon. He came from Liverpool, you know:

"John Lennon, and indeed the Beatles are a huge part of the history of the city. As a city we will never forget the contribution John Lennon made not only to music but towards a more peaceful world.

"The candles represent a white feather which was a symbolic part of both John and Julian's life. We are hoping that all major cities will take part and help create a more peaceful world."

Oh, it's just the major cities now, is it? Sorry, Aurora, if you didn't get one; you're just not major enough.

You've got to love the "and indeed The Beatles", haven't you?

As James M (to whom, thanks for the link) sums it up:

So heartening to see the civic leaders championing new, unsigned acts from Liverpool & not falling back on tired old stereotypes as well as a band that split up 40 years back in order to have easy PR stunts, eh?

Yoko is all over the internet

Yoko Ono is busily sending messages out to the internet to try and quash the claims that she's suing Lennon Murphy to stop her using the name. Her defence has popped up on Idolator and Boing Boing already:

Dear Friends

A musician named Lennon Murphy is claiming that Yoko Ono has sued her and that Yoko is seeking to stop Lennon Murphy from performing under her name, Lennon Murphy. Both of these claims are untrue.

Several years ago, Lennon Murphy sought Yoko's permission to do her performances under her name, Lennon Murphy. Yoko, of course, did not object to her request. Subsequently, without Yoko's knowledge, Lennon Murphy filed an application in the United States trademark Office requesting the exclusive right to utilize the name "Lennon" for musical performances. Yoko's attorneys asked Lennon Murphy's attorneys and manager to withdraw her registration of exclusivity to the name LENNON for the trademark. Yoko also offered to cover all costs Lennon Murphy had incurred in filing for the trademark. But Lennon Murphy went ahead to register.

Yoko did not sue Lennon Murphy, but sought to stop her from getting the exclusive right to the name Lennon for performance purposes. For that, Yoko's attorneys, simply notified the Trademark office that Yoko did not believe it was fair that Ms. Murphy be granted the exclusive right to the "Lennon" trademark in relation to musical and entertainment services. As you can see, this is a very important issue for Yoko and the Lennon family.

Yoko says: "I am really hurt if people thought that I told a young artist to not use her own name in her performances and had sought to sue her. I did no such thing. I hope this allegation will be cleared."

Thank you for your kind attention,

Yoko

As Karl T pointed out when he drew our attention to this, "Yoko" appears to have an interesting way of approaching talking about herself - not only talking about herself in the third person, like "George is getting upset", but also quoting herself. Oddly, though, when Yoko quotes herself, she suddenly starts to talk about herself in the first person again.

The odd thing, though, is the original source of the story - a letter from Lennon Murphy claiming she was being sued, posted on Julian Lennon's MySpace with the introduction:

Sad but True & interesting........... I feel for her & know the situation well

So, then, rather than Yoko's word against Murphy's, it seems almost as if you're having to choose if you believe the widow or the first born. Curious.

Ju pops pops' pops

Julian Lennon - the son of the more famous father - has Cash In The Atticed a slice of his rights to John's music. Primary Wave has bought the "significant" chunk of the songwriting royalties.

Primary are thrilled:

"We are thrilled to be partnering with Julian Lennon and to own a piece of music history," Primary Wave's chief executive Larry Mestel said.

Julian, on the other hand, thinks its appropriate:

Julian Lennon said: "I felt it was the appropriate time to take on a partner for both my interest in my father's legendary music and for my future music endeavours."

Aha! And here we get to the heart of the deal - Julian has bundled his less-than-glittering catalogue with his Daddy's somewhat more lucrative work. Cynics have suggested that Julian has been trading off his father's fame for years - now he's merely formalised the deal.

Lennons together

What could be worse than one of John Lennon's kids touring Europe? How about the pair of them touring together? Apparently, Julian Lennon has joined Sean on his bus:

Sean says, "How sweet is that? I am totally thrilled and deeply touched by this. "It's really fun having him on the bus. It's nice to have some quality time with him. None of my friends are willing to rough it on the tour bus, so I am very impressed."

We notice that slightly barbed "none of my friends will get on the bus...", but we're surprised that this sort of thing is encouraged. The British Royal Family wouldn't let two male heirs travel together in case something terrible happened and they were both wiped out at the same time. Surely not a risk anyone would want to take with these two...