John Lennon

I- History
II- Marriages and relationships
III- Political activism and drugs

I'm going to present you John Lennon, the famous English rock-muscian belonging to the Beatles.

I - History

a) first, his childhood and adolescence

John Lennon was born in the Liverpool Maternity Hospital in 1940, to Julia Lennon and Alfred Lennon. As Alfred was a seaman merchant during the world war II , he was often not at home, but he sent regular pay cheques to his wife. When Alfred discovered that his wife was pregnant with another man's child, he tried to take Lennon to emigrate to New-Zeland with him. Julia followed them and Lennon had to choose between his parents whereas he was just five years old. As he could not choose, he lived during the rest of his childhood with his aunt and her husband. His mother came see him almost everydays, and it was her who bought to Lennon his first guitar, in 1957.

b) From 1957 to 1970 : The Beatles

It's Lennon who had the idea of founding a band with a friend, in 1957. At this moment, John met Paul Mc Cartney. In addition their passion for music, the death of their mother would be a bond between Lennon and Mc Cartney. Lennon had a certain authority on the members, in fact Mc Cartney had said « we all looked up to John. He was older and he was very much the leader » . The success arrived very quickly, and in 1962 they recorded their first single « love me do », followed by their first album five months later called « please please me ». It is the beginning of the Beatlemania.

During the next years, the success arrived very quickly, fans following the artists, and all that took them unawares. Then, Lennon gived an interview for a newspaper in which he said : « Christianity will go. It will vanish and shrink... We are more popular than Jesus now. I don't know which will go first, Rock n' Roll or Christianity. » This comment created a big conversy and contributed to Beatles decision to stop tourning. At