10 Tragic Moments From John Lennon’s Life

Despite his remarkable contribution to music and his philosophical messages he shared around this world, John Lennon’s life was far from being perfect. Chaos is the word to describe it. We look back at the gruesome and tragic moments of John Lennon’s life.

John Lennon’s uncle died tragically

It’s not easy for the singer to grow up without his real father right at his side. Fortunately, he was blessed to have George Toogood Smith, his uncle from marriage. George was kind to John and stood as his father figure; he taught the future Beatle his hobbies like painting, poetry, music. It didn’t take long when a 15-year old Lennon saw his beloved uncle died from liver hemorrhage.

His mother died in a freak accident

Although John lived with his uncle and aunt, he was also pretty close with his mother, Julia. Julia also gave John his first-ever guitar and encouraged him to pursue music. But, all of a sudden, she was run over by a policeman and died unexpectedly. The tragedy left a big scar on Lennon’s heart.

His real father abandoned him

It is a known fact that John Lennon had an estranged relationship with his father, abandoning the young boy at the age of 4. Back in the days when the “Fab Four” were on top of everything, John met his father, yet the singer still decided not to dwell on their relationship. Similar events happened back in 1970, but this time, John grabbed his father, Alfred Lennon, by the collar and screamed at him. Poor Alfred died 5 years later that.

He was a domestic abuser

John Lennon once casually admits that he was a domestic abuser to his former wife, Cynthia Lennon. While the singer is a strong advocate for peace and love outside, but in his private life, he tended towards violence. But years later on, he had expressed regret for his actions in the past.

He was never there for his first son, Julian

Julian Lennon, John’s son from his previous marriage, once admitted in an interview that he didn’t agree with his father’s “peace and love” advocacies, and called him “a hypocrite”. John was always absent and unaffectionate to him and Julian, he was a bad dad.

John was seriously addicted to heroin

His heroin addiction and the mood swings that came with it played a big part in the break-up of the Beatles. George Harrison, Paul McCartney, and Ringo Starr saw their leader snort huge amounts of the drug, something that was quite alarming. Lennon’s addiction was his way to rebel against his bandmates, who cannot freely embrace Yoko as a part of the group.

Lennon was a subject for plagiarism

Who would’ve thought that Lennon might copy a thing or two from someone else’s work? According to music producer Morris Levy, he “straight-up plagiarized” Chuck Berry’s “You Can’t Catch Me.” Lennon admitted that he was inspired with the song, but Levy insisted that it was more than that. Lennon settled the lawsuits in court.

He became enemies with former President Nixon and the FBI

Lennon’s political activism took a toll on former president Richard Nixon. The FBI as well kept an eye on him when he performed in a rally for John Sinclair, who was arrested for selling two marijuana joints. Nevertheless, when the watergate scandal forced Nixon to resign, Lennon was back on track, securing his green card in the US.

John Lennon’s “Lost Weekend”

In 1973, John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s marriage was starting to fall apart. Ono wanted to take a break from everything, and Lennon wanted to see other women. Ono handled the situation and let Lennon be set up with May Pang, the couple’s assistant and whom John Lennon finds attractive as well. They embarked on an 18-month affair filled with booze and drugs, and Lennon referred to this as his “lost weekend”.

The assassination

Lennon’s life started as chaotic, and never for once would people expect him to die the same way. A crazed fan killed Lennon in hopes to get famous as the man “who killed John Lennon”. The singer died on the 8th of December, 1980.