by Jho Harris

Created on: August 07, 2009

For every star in the universe there is a thought on John Lennon. Much admired, loved and respected, he was not without his critics. The public facts of John's life have been well documented but on 8th December 1980, the private facts of a life of genius died with the man himself.

The 8th December 1980 is quite a long time ago unless you are old enough to remember the day, if you were old enough to think for yourself, the news that Lennon had been gunned down will be etched in your mind but for those born after that date 29 years ago, Lennon's life is based on history. It is important to remember that for the rest of us who knew Lennon intimately, though only through the media and his music, John Lennon had been a house husband before the term became popular and had spent five years out of the public eye. Then it was decided by those who made his decisions for him (usually his wife Yoko Ono) that it was time for a come back by way of a new album but it is without doubt that the huge success of the album "Double Fantasy" was greatly influenced by the actions of Marc Chapman who in turn was determined to gain public notoriety too.

Lennon had enjoyed unprecedented success with The Beatles and somewhat later as a solo artist but notably his most successful album "Imagine" was devoid of too much influence from Yoko Ono, at least all the lead vocals were his, and Ono has only one song writing credit, the beautiful "Oh My Love". The final album "Double Fantasy" was released after Lennon's brutal murder and the theme returned to a frustration for Lennon fans who loved his music but had to content with Lennon sharing the limelight with his wife, a woman who never showed an ounce of talent for musical ability but rather displayed a lust for the avante garde, the weirder and less melodic the better. I don't want you to think this is a personal attack but if you disagree and have all her records I and almost 6 billion other people will be very surprised indeed.

"Double Fantasy" would have sold even if Lennon had survived the cold blooded shooting outside The Dakota Building in New York but it would probably have met with a lot more criticism for making his fans wait so long for material in which he was brilliant but marred by the fact that he indulged his wife had he survived to promote it. It is likely that the album may have been nicknamed half fantasy !

If you were born after Lennon's death, don't feel left out, few of his fans knew him, even his closest friends and family did not really know him. You can still get to know the artist through his music but don't analyse it, just enjoy it and you will , particularly if you skip the Yoko Ono tracks

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