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Cynthia Lennon

May 05, 2023

Cynthia Lennon (born Powell; 10 September 1939 – 1 April 2015) was the first wife of John Lennon and the mother of Julian Lennon.

Cynthia Lennon
Lennon in October 2010
Born
Cynthia Powell

(1939-09-10)10 September 1939
Blackpool, England
Died1 April 2015(2015-04-01) (aged 75)
Calvià, Mallorca, Spain
Spouse(s)
​
​
(m. 1962; div. 1968)​

Roberto Bassanini
​
​
(m. 1970; div. 1976)​

John Twist
​
​
(m. 1978; div. 1982)​

Noel Charles
​
​
(m. 2002; died 2013)​
ChildrenJulian Lennon

Born in Blackpool and raised in Hoylake on the Wirral Peninsula, she attended the Liverpool College of Art where Lennon was also a student. Powell and Lennon started a relationship after meeting in a calligraphy class. When Lennon was performing in Hamburg with the Beatles, Powell rented his bedroom at 251 Menlove Avenue in the Liverpool suburb of Woolton from his aunt and legal guardian, Mimi Smith. After Powell became pregnant, she and Lennon married in August 1962, and the couple lived at Kenwood in Weybridge from 1964 to 1968, where she kept house and participated with Lennon in a London-based social life. In 1968, Lennon left her for Japanese artist Yoko Ono; as a result, the couple's divorce was legally granted in November 1968 on the grounds of adultery.

Powell had three further marriages. She published a book of memoirs, A Twist of Lennon, in 1978, and a more intimate biography, John, in 2005. Over the years, she held several auctions of memorabilia associated with her life with Lennon. In her later years she lived in Calvià, Mallorca, where she died in 2015.

Early years

Cynthia Powell was born in Blackpool on 10 September 1939,[1] the youngest of three children of General Electric Company employee Charles Powell[2] and his wife Lillian (née Roby), who already had two sons named Charles and Anthony.[3] Her parents were from Liverpool, but her mother (along with other pregnant women) was sent to the safer area of Blackpool after World War II had been declared and lived in a small room in a bed-and-breakfast on the Blackpool seafront.[2] After the birth, with Liverpool becoming a frequent target of German air raids, the Powell family moved to a two-bedroomed semi-detached house in Hoylake,[2] a middle-class area on the Wirral Peninsula which was considered "posh" by those in Liverpool.[4] At the age of 11, Powell won an art prize in a competition organised by the Liverpool Echo.[5] A year later, she was accepted into Liverpool's Junior Art School,[6] which was also attended by Bill Harry, later the editor of Liverpool's Mersey Beat newspaper.[7]

Art college

When Powell was 16, her father died following a lengthy bout with lung cancer.[8] Before he died, he told her she would have to get a job to support her mother, and would not be able to go to art school. As her mother wanted her to receive an education, she rented out a room to four apprentice electricians.[2] In September 1957, Powell gained a place at the Liverpool College of Art.[9] Although studying graphics, she also took lettering classes, as did Lennon.[10] He never had any drawing tools with him, so he constantly borrowed pens and pencils from Powell, who discovered he was only there because other teachers had refused to instruct him.[11] She had an air of respectability and moved in different social circles than her future husband. Lennon and an art school friend, Jeff Mohammed, used to make fun of her by stopping the conversation when she walked in the room, saying: "Quiet please! No dirty jokes; it's Cynthia."[4]

Powell once overheard Lennon give a compliment to a girl with blonde hair in the college, who looked similar to the French actress Brigitte Bardot. The next Saturday, Powell turned up at the college with her hair several shades blonder.[10] Lennon noticed straight away, exclaiming, "Get you, Miss Hoylake!" (Lennon's nickname for her,[9] along with "Miss Powell" or "Miss Prim").[12] Dressed like a Teddy Boy, he sometimes brought a guitar with him into class, and once sang "Ain't She Sweet" directly to Powell.[13]

Relationship with John Lennon

After a college party to celebrate the end of term, Lennon asked Powell if she would like to "go out" with him.[14] She quickly replied that she was engaged to a young man in Hoylake even though the engagement had ended;[15][16] he replied, "I didn't ask you to fucking marry me, did I?"[17][18] He later approached her and asked if she would go to the Ye Cracke pub. She was confused when he ignored her all evening, but eventually invited her into the group with a joke.

 
The Ye Cracke public house

They began dating, with Lennon now referring to her as "Cyn".[19] In the autumn of 1958, she ended her engagement to be with him,[15] and he ended his relationship with another art student, Thelma Pickles.[20][21] His jealousy could also manifest itself in violent behaviour towards her,[22] as when he slapped her across the face (causing her head to hit a wall),[23] after watching her dance with Stuart Sutcliffe.[24] After the incident, she broke up with Lennon for three months, but resumed their relationship after his profuse apology.[25]

Her work at art school began to suffer, and teachers told her the relationship with Lennon was doing her no good. Lennon continued to be casually inconsiderate towards her, later saying, "I was in sort of a blind rage for two years. I was either drunk or fighting. It had been the same with other girl friends I'd had. There was something the matter with me."[26] Tony Bramwell—a friend of Lennon's since his youth—later said: "Cynthia was beautiful, physically, and on the inside. Although she knew he [Lennon] was apt to find love on the road, she was totally dedicated to his success... and extremely influential. He was insecure and Cynthia was there to pump him up, to buttress, sort of, his weak side."[27]

The Beatles' first Hamburg residency took place in 1960, with Lennon writing frequent and passionate letters back home to Powell.[28] After returning home, Lennon's aunt and legal guardian, Mimi Smith, threw a hand-mirror at him for spending a lot of money on a suede coat for Powell. Smith later referred to her as "a gangster's moll", and was often unpleasant towards her.[29] The Beatles went to Hamburg for a second time in 1961, and both Powell and Dot Rhone (Paul McCartney's girlfriend at the time), visited them two weeks later, during the Easter holidays.[30][31] They had to stay up all night because of the long sets, both taking Preludin to stay awake, which the group was also taking.[32] Lennon and Powell stayed with Sutcliffe's girlfriend, Astrid Kirchherr, at her mother's house.[30]

After the trip to Hamburg, Powell's mother Lillian said Powell's cousin and husband were emigrating to Canada with their new-born baby,[33] and that she, Lillian, would be going with them while they studied to become teachers.[34] Powell waited until Lennon came back from Hamburg before she asked Smith—who had taken in lodgers before at 251 Menlove Avenue—if she would rent a room to her. Smith rented out the box-room above the front door (which had been Lennon's bedroom), but insisted she also do chores around the house. After her student grant had run out, she took a job at a Woolworths store in Liverpool in order to pay the rent.[35] In the same year, when Lennon was 21 years old, he received £100 (equivalent to £2,400 in 2023)[36] from his aunt Elizabeth Sutherland (whom he called "Mater") who lived in Edinburgh, and went to Paris with McCartney. Powell could not accompany them as she was studying for her final exams.[37]

When Lennon went to Hamburg again in April 1962, she found a bedsit in a terraced house at 93 Garmoyle Road, Liverpool.[38] Shortly after having failed her art teacher's diploma exam,[39] in August 1962,[40] she found she was pregnant with Lennon's child.[35] She later explained that she and Lennon had never used contraception, had never talked about it, and did not think about it at the time. When she told Lennon he said, "There's only one thing for it Cyn, we'll have to get married".[41]

Marriage to Lennon and birth of Julian

Powell and Lennon were married on 23 August 1962[42] at the Mount Pleasant register office in Liverpool.[43] Fellow Beatles McCartney and George Harrison were in attendance, as was their manager, Brian Epstein, who was best man; no parents were there.[43][44][45] The wedding was farcical, because as soon as the ceremony began a workman in the backyard of the building opposite started using a pneumatic drill that drowned out anything the registrar, Lennon, or Powell said. When the registrar asked for the groom to step forward, Harrison stepped forward instead.[46] With no photographs or flowers the wedding party celebrated afterwards, at Epstein's invitation, in Reece's restaurant in Clayton Square, which was the place Lennon's parents, Alfred Lennon and Julia Lennon, had celebrated their marriage in 1938.[46] Lennon was 21 years old, and Powell 22.[33] The newlyweds had no honeymoon, as Lennon had to play an engagement at the Riverpark Ballroom in Chester the same night.[46] They travelled to the Hotel George V in Paris[47] for a belated honeymoon on 16 September[48] but were accompanied by Epstein,[49] even though he had not been invited to join them.[50]

During Powell’s pregnancy, Epstein offered her and Lennon the use of his flat at 36 Falkner Street, Liverpool, and later paid for a private hospital room when the pregnancy was coming to term.[51] Although still unknown outside Liverpool, by now the Beatles had a fanatical following among girls within the city.[45] Epstein had one condition which the Lennons had to follow: the marriage and the baby were to be kept a close secret, so as not to upset any of these fans.[52][45] One time when news of the wedding leaked out, the group denied it.[45]

The Lennons' son, Julian,[53] was born at 7.45 am on 8 April 1963, in Sefton Hospital.[54] Lennon, being on tour at the time, did not see his son until three days later,[53] and when he finally arrived at the hospital, said: "He's bloody marvellous, Cyn! ... Who's gonna be a famous rocker like his Dad then?"[55] He then explained that he would be going on a four-day holiday to Barcelona, with Epstein.[56] Lennon later referred to Julian as a "Saturday night special; the way that most people get here", or said that his son "came out of a whisky bottle,"[57] suggesting this as explanation for his poor parenting of Julian as compared to his second son, Sean Lennon: "Sean is a planned child, and therein lies the difference. I don't love Julian any less as a child."[58]

Beatlemania

Around the time of Julian's birth, the Beatles became a pop sensation across Britain, a phenomenon which became known as Beatlemania.[59] That one of the members was married and had a son was not publicly known at the time; a 1963 "Lifelines of the Beatles" page in the New Musical Express detailed over 25 biographical facts about each member of the group, but never gave any hint Lennon was married, even reporting "girls" as one of his hobbies.[60]

The press heard rumours about Lennon's wife and child at the end of 1963—after Beatlemania had already swept the UK and Europe—and descended on her mother's house in Hoylake (where mother and son were staying), in November and December.[61] Friends and neighbours protected their anonymity, but she was often approached by journalists.[62] In November, she had her son christened at Hoylake Parish Church, but didn't tell Lennon (who was on tour at the time), because she feared a media circus. She told him two days after, and he was angry as he hadn't wanted his son to be christened,[63] even though Epstein had asked to be Julian's godfather. Not long after the christening, every newspaper was full of the story about Lennon's secret wife and baby boy.[64]

Brian Epstein told the other Beatles to make the best of the situation, and hoped newspapers would not say Cynthia was pregnant before marrying him.[65] After living at Lennon's aunt's house for some months, the couple moved to London and found a three-bedroomed flat at 13 Emperor's Gate, off Cromwell Road.[66] The top floor flat was the third of three, which were each built over two floors. This meant climbing six flights of stairs, as the building had no lift. Cynthia firstly had to carry Julian up to the flat, and then go back down to collect shopping bags.[67] The Beatles' fans soon found out where they were living, and she would find them camping out in the hallway, and have to push through them when leaving or arriving.[68]

She accompanied Lennon to the United States in the first Beatles' tour there, with Lennon allowing the press to photograph them together,[69] which infuriated Epstein, as he had wanted to keep their marriage a secret.[70] On the tour, she was left behind in New York when Lennon and the other Beatles were quickly ushered into a car, and in Miami she had to ask the help of fans to convince a security guard who she was. Lennon's response was, "Don't be so bloody slow next time—they could have killed you".[71] It would be the only time Cynthia would go on tour with them.[72] At the Emperor's Gate address the situation grew worse,[22] with fans sticking chewing gum in the lock of the flat and tearing at any article of clothing when she or Lennon were leaving or arriving.[73] American girls would write her letters proclaiming their desperate love for John; the women in the lives of the other Beatles received equivalent missives.[74] As late as 1967, Beatles' wives were still dealing with occasional physical danger from female Beatles fans, with Cynthia being kicked in the legs by one who demanded she "leave John alone!"[75]

As Lennon was either touring or recording, supposed family holidays in 1966 were spent skiing in St. Moritz, with producer George Martin and his girlfriend, or staying at a castle in Ireland, with George Harrison and his wife Pattie Boyd.[76] Even these were subject to being discovered by fans, and Cynthia and Boyd had to escape the Irish location dressed as maids.[74] As a result of the long recording sessions and tours, Lennon usually slept for days afterwards.[77] When Lennon started filming How I Won the War in Almeria, Spain, he promised his wife and son they could join him there after two weeks of filming. The small apartment they were allocated was swiftly replaced by a villa when Ringo Starr and his wife joined them.[78]

Kenwood

Main article: Kenwood, St. George's Hill

Domestic life

The Beatles' accountant told Epstein the group members should move to houses near his in Esher, so Lennon bought a house called Kenwood in July 1964. It was a mock-Tudor-style house on three acres in Weybridge, where Cliff Richard already lived.[79] Lennon then spent twice the original £20,000 purchase price (equivalent to £431,200 in 2023)[36] on renovations for Kenwood,[80] reducing its 22 rooms to 17.[81] The new kitchen was so modern and complicated, someone had to be sent to explain how everything worked,[82] and during the extensive renovations the couple had to live in the attic bedroom for nine months.[83] Although Cynthia enjoyed entertaining in the larger rooms, Lennon could usually be found in a small sunroom at the back of the house overlooking the swimming pool, which was similar to his aunt's conservatory in Liverpool.[84] They had a cat called "Mimi", named after Lennon's aunt.[85] Cynthia took care of Julian herself, without a nanny, although babysitters were frequently employed. She also did the cooking herself, but employed a housekeeper, gardener, and chauffeur, who lived off the premises.[86]

When she passed her driving test, Lennon serially bought her a white Mini, a gold Porsche, a red Ferrari, and a green Volkswagen Beetle, usually as surprises without consulting her first.[87] Cynthia enjoyed the closeness of Pattie Boyd and Maureen Starkey (Ringo Starr's wife), as both lived nearby, often going on holiday together or shopping.[88] She was often photographed at Beatles' movie premieres and special occasions, and sometimes with Lennon and Julian at home, which meant she had the role of a Beatle wife, as well as being a mother. The Lennons often went to a nightclub in central London until nearly dawn, after which she took Julian to school.[89] Kenwood became the place to visit for the other Beatles, various American musicians, and total strangers who Lennon had met the previous night in London nightclubs.[88]

In 1965, she opened the front door of Kenwood to see a man who "looked like a tramp", but with her husband's features.[90] He explained that he was Alfred Lennon, the father whom Lennon had supposedly not seen for years.[91] Lennon was annoyed when he came home, telling her for the first time that his father had visited the NEMS office, Epstein's business, a few weeks before.[91] Three years after the meeting in the NEMS office, Alfred Lennon (who was then 56 years old) turned up at Kenwood again with his fiancée, 19-year-old student Pauline Jones.[92] He asked if the Lennons could give Pauline a job, so she was hired to help with Julian and the piles of Beatles' fan mail. Lennon's father and his fiancée then spent a few months living in the attic bedroom.[92] During an interview at Kenwood with Evening Standard reporter Maureen Cleave, Lennon said, "Here I am in my Hansel and Gretel house, famous and loaded, and I can't go anywhere. There's something else I'm going to do, only I don't know what it is, but I do know this isn't it for me".[93]

Drugs

Cynthia knew her husband took drugs like Preludin, and regularly smoked cannabis, but thought of them as not being very dangerous.[83] On 27 March 1965,[94] at a dinner party given by a dentist, John Riley,[95] the Lennons, Harrison, and Boyd were given LSD without their knowledge.[96] Although told not to leave the house, Harrison drove them to various nightclubs, with Riley following them by taxi.[94][97] At the Ad Lib club, they thought the lift up to the club was on fire and started screaming,[98] before finally crawling out of the lift for which Mick Jagger, Marianne Faithfull, and Starr were waiting. Harrison later drove them back home in Boyd's Mini Cooper at no more than 10 mph, as he was also feeling the effects of the drug. They stayed up all night at Kenwood, experiencing the full effects of their first LSD trip.[99]

Lennon then started taking LSD on a regular basis in addition to his daily use of cannabis.[100] After much encouragement from him, Cynthia agreed to try LSD one more time, but the adverse effects were the same. Although she said at the time she would never take the drug again, she relented and took it for the last time a few weeks later, on the way to a party at Epstein's country house in Warbleton, East Sussex.[101] Although she hated the psychological effects of the drug, from this point she could see the change taking place in her husband: "It was like living with someone who had just discovered religion ... Tensions, bigotry, and bad temper were replaced by understanding and love".[102] In 1970, Lennon confessed he had probably taken LSD one thousand times since 1965, saying: "I used to just eat it all the time".[103] In the decades ahead, Cynthia would always maintain that John's drug use was the beginning of the end for the couple.[104][101]

By 1967, Lennon's aggressive edges from his childhood had disappeared, and he spent considerable amounts of time sitting in his sunroom or garden and daydreaming for hours on end.[105] He became somewhat uncommunicative towards most people, including Cynthia (but not with the other Beatles, who had an almost unspoken ability to understand one another).[105] Cynthia once complained, saying: "What I'd like is a holiday of our own ... John, Julian and me". Lennon replied with, "OK, I know, we'll all retire to a little cottage on a cliff in Cornwall, all right?" Then adding, "No, I've got these bloody songs to write. I have to work, to justify living."[106] She understood his temperament, but felt frustrated at never having developed her own career by using her art college background.[106]

India and Ono

Main article: The Beatles in India

The Beatles were scheduled to fly to India to visit the Maharishi for two or three months of Transcendental Meditation. Before they left, Cynthia found letters from Yoko Ono to Lennon which indicated he had been having contact with her over a period of some time.[107] Lennon denied he was involved with Ono, explaining that she was just some "crazy artist" who wanted to be sponsored, although Ono kept up a stream of telephone calls and visits to Kenwood.[108] On 15 February 1968,[109] the Lennons flew to India, followed by the other Beatles and their partners four days later:[110] Boyd, Asher, and Maureen Starkey.[111] The division between the sexes was emphasised by the male musicians sitting outside at night composing songs, while their partners gathered together in one of their rooms, often talking about life as the wife or partner of a Beatle.[112] The Lennons shared a four-poster bed at the ashram, with Lennon playing guitar and Cynthia drawing and writing poetry between their long sessions of meditation.[112]

"Magic Alex" (Greek-born Alex Mardas, who controlled Apple Electronics) arrived later, smuggling in alcohol from the nearest village as it was not allowed in the ashram. After two weeks, Lennon asked to sleep in a separate room, saying he could only meditate when he was alone.[113] Every morning, Lennon would walk to the local post office to see if he had received a telegram from Ono, who sent one almost daily. Cynthia found out about these secretive trips much later, saying: "I had thought our magical interlude with the Maharishi would be the making of our marriage – but in reality it just presaged the end".[114] Paul Saltzman later published a book of photographs, The Beatles in Rishikesh,[115] showing Lennon deep in thought, and Cynthia's confused expression.[116] Despite the alienation from Lennon, she later spoke about her time there, saying: "I loved being away from the fans, hordes of people, deadlines, demands and flashing cameras".[114]

Divorce

During the flight back to England,[112] Lennon got very drunk on Scotch and confessed that he had been involved with other women during their marriage.[117] He went on to detail his liaisons with groupies, friends (such as Joan Baez, actress Eleanor Bron, journalist Cleave) and "thousands" of women around the globe.[118] Although not wanting to hear Lennon's confession, she knew women were attracted to him, "like moths to a flame".[119] Two weeks later, in May 1968, Lennon suggested Cynthia take a holiday in Greece with Mardas, Donovan, and two friends, as he would be very busy recording songs for what would become the White Album.[120] She arrived back at Kenwood from Greece earlier than expected, at 4 o'clock on 22 May 1968,[121] to discover Lennon and Ono sitting cross-legged on the floor in matching white robes, staring into each other's eyes,[122] and then found Ono's slippers outside the Lennons' bedroom door.[123] Shocked, she asked Jenny Boyd and Mardas if she could spend the night at their apartment.[124] At the apartment Boyd went straight to bed, but she and Mardas drank more alcohol, with Mardas trying to convince her to run away together. After she had vomited in the bathroom, she collapsed on a bed in the spare bedroom, with Mardas joining her and trying to kiss her until she pushed him away.[125]

Lennon seemed absolutely normal when she returned home the next day, and steadfastly maintained his love for her and their son,[126] saying: "It's you I love Cyn ... I love you now more than ever before".[124] Lennon went to New York with McCartney shortly after,[127] but as Cynthia was specifically not invited, a trip to Pesaro, in Italy, was arranged with her mother.[124] After an evening with Italian hotelier Roberto Bassanini, Mardas was waiting at the hotel to break the news that Lennon was planning to sue for divorce on grounds of adultery, seek sole custody of Julian, and "send her back to Hoylake".[128] She said in 2005: "The mere fact that 'Magic Alex' [Mardas] arrived in Italy in the middle of the night without any prior knowledge of where I was staying made me extremely suspicious. I was being coerced into making it easy" ... [for Lennon and Ono] "to accuse me of doing something that would make them not look so bad."[129] As Lennon had initiated divorce proceedings, it prompted her to exclaim: "Suing me for divorce? On what grounds is he suing me?"[130] When the news of Ono's pregnancy broke, Cynthia started her own divorce proceedings against Lennon on 22 August 1968.[131] The financial settlement was hampered by Lennon's refusing to offer any more than £75,000 (equivalent to £1,383,800 in 2023),[36][132] telling her on the phone that the payment was akin to winning the football pools and that she was not worth any more.[133] The settlement was then raised to £100,000 (equivalent to £1,845,000 in 2023),[36] £2,400 annually (equivalent to £44,300 in 2023),[36] and custody of Julian.[134] Another £100,000 (equivalent to £1,845,000 in 2023)[36] was put into a trust fund which Julian would inherit when he was 21. Until that time, his mother would receive the interest payments. Their decree nisi was granted on 8 November 1968.[135] The trust fund had one codicil, which provided for any further children by Lennon, so when Sean Lennon was born in 1975, Julian's inheritance was cut to £50,000 (equivalent to £922,500 in 2023).[36][136]

She lived for a few months in a flat Starr owned at 34 Montagu Square, central London,[137] but returned to Kenwood as Lennon and Ono preferred to live there instead, rather than in isolated Weybridge.[138] Lennon and Cynthia had one last short meeting at Kenwood (with Ono alongside Lennon), where Lennon accused her of having an affair in India, saying she was no "innocent little flower".[139] McCartney visited her and Julian that year,[140] and on the way to Kenwood he composed a song in his head which later became "Hey Jude".[140] Talking about their divorce,[141] McCartney later said: "We'd been very good friends for millions of years and I thought it was a bit much for them suddenly to be personae non gratae and out of my life".[142] Cynthia recalled, "I was truly surprised when, one afternoon, Paul arrived on his own. I was touched by his obvious concern for our welfare ... On the journey down he composed 'Hey Jude' in the car. I will never forget Paul's gesture of care and concern in coming to see us."[143] She was once asked if Lennon had written any songs about their time together, and answered: "It was too soppy when you were young to dedicate anything to anybody. Macho Northern men didn't do that in those days".[5] In contrast, Lennon said he wrote the 1965 song "Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)" about an affair he was having, but rendered it in "gobbledegook" so Cynthia would not know.[144]

 
Exhibit with quotations from Cynthia and Julian Lennon at The Beatles Story, Liverpool, 2010

Subsequent life

On 31 July 1970, Cynthia married Bassanini, whom she had started dating after parting with Lennon;[145] the couple divorced in 1973.[146] She then opened a restaurant in Ruthin, Wales, called Oliver's Bistro, which also had a B&B above the premises. She enrolled her son into the Ruthin School and he later joined the local Combined Cadet Force.[147] During Lennon's separation from Ono in 1973–74, his partner at the time, May Pang, tried to get Lennon to spend more time with his son, forming a friendship with Cynthia in the process, which continued even after John Lennon and Yoko Ono were reconciled.[148] A meeting during this period was the last time Cynthia saw John.[104] Julian had been allowed to visit his father twice a year by himself but John Lennon complained that during his time with Pang his ex-wife also wanted to be present, saying "She [Cynthia] thought she could walk back in 'cos I wasn't with Yoko!" After his reconciliation with Ono, he complained again that his son was not being allowed to visit him.[149]

On 1 May 1976, Cynthia married John Twist, a television engineer from Lancashire.[150] She published a memoir during their time together, A Twist of Lennon, in 1978, telling about her life before and with Lennon and containing her own illustrations and poetry.[151] [152] Lennon tried to stop the publication of the book after an excerpt was published in a newspaper.[153] Cynthia's memoir gained renewed interest and went to a third printing of 200,000 copies in the weeks after Lennon's death.[154] She and Twist separated in 1981 and were divorced in 1982.[155] She sold the Bistro and changed her name back to Lennon by deed poll, later commenting about why it was financially necessary, "Do you imagine I would have been awarded a three-year contract to design bedding and textiles [for Vantona Vyella in 1983] with the name Powell? Neither did they. When it is necessary to earn a living, it is necessary to bite the bullet and take the flack".[156][5]

She began a relationship with Liverpudlian chauffeur Jim Christie in 1981, who became her partner for 17 years as well as her business manager, living in Penrith, Cumbria.[157][158] She said at the time "Jim has never felt he's living in John Lennon's shadow. He's four years younger than me and wasn't really part of that whole Beatles' scene".[159] They later lived on the Isle of Man and then in Normandy for some years but separated in 1998.[104][158]

She had kept mementos of Lennon for years but began auctioning them off after his death.[160] This included a personally drawn Christmas card from Lennon to her, which fetched £8,800 at Christie's in August 1981.[161] With her finances in an unsteady state – she would say in 1999 that "Apart from John, the men I have fallen in love with have never been good at earning a living" – more of her memorabilia of Lennon went up for auction in 1991, including antiques from Kenwood.[158][157] She said at the time, "I've enjoyed these things for 30 years. But it's time for a change".[157] Another set of items, including some of Lennon's drug paraphernalia, brought over $60,000 for her in 1995.[162] She later said, "I think in life we collect so much baggage, when you have a clear-out, you send it to a car-boot sale, etc. My baggage was in demand and sold at Christie's. When you have to pay the bills, you're not proud and you can't take it with you".[5]

Over the years she entered some failed business ventures, including in 1988 a perfume named Woman[163][164] (after the 1980 John Lennon song) and, in April 1989, a restaurant named Lennon's—at 13/14 Upper St Martin's Lane, Covent Garden—which had menu items such as Rubber Sole (a play on the already-punning 1965 Beatles album),[157][158] as well as Sgt. Pepper's Steak and Penny Lane Pâté.[165] It had a short life as a business venture, as it was considered to be far too expensive.[166] She would later blame some of these efforts on the men in her life encouraging her.[158]

The Beatles' Hamburg days were the subject of the 1994 film Backbeat, with Jennifer Ehle portraying Cynthia Powell.[167] The film characterises Lennon and Cynthia's relationship as one that will eventually be doomed by their wanting different things from life but with Lennon not wanting to hurt her.[168] Cynthia later complained that the film made her out "as a clingy, dim, little girlfriend in a headscarf".[169] In another film covering the early years of the pre-fame Beatles, the 1979 Birth of the Beatles, she was portrayed by Wendy Morgan.[170] She was portrayed in 2000 television film In His Life: The John Lennon Story by Gillian Kearney; the negative aspects of John's treatment of her were not overlooked.[171] Cynthia was subsequently portrayed in the troubled, Ono-centric 2005 American musical Lennon, with her character – played by Julia Murney – gaining a little more prominence during one of the show's rewrites.[172][173] Her life had a more central role in the 2010 BBC Four film Lennon Naked, with Claudie Blakley playing the part.[174] Her character was absent from the 2009 British film Nowhere Boy, which purported to cover the story of Lennon from 1955 to 1960 but focused on his relationships with his aunt and mother.[175]

In 1995, Cynthia made her recording début with a rendition of "Those Were the Days" which, produced by McCartney, had been a number one hit for Mary Hopkin in 1968.[5] It failed to chart. Whilst she was living in Normandy, an exhibition of her drawings and paintings were displayed at Portobello Road's KDK Gallery in 1999.[158] By the 1990s, she was appearing at some Beatles conventions but appeared ambivalent about doing so.[5][157] At times she maintained she was moving on with her life and putting her Beatles past behind her and at other times seemed to embrace continued interest in that past as inevitable.[5][104][157][158] The Daily Telegraph said in a 1999 profile, "In essence, she is a suburban woman who – almost in spite of herself – got caught up with one of the most extraordinary men of modern times. More than 30 years since her marriage to John Lennon ended, she is as entangled as ever".[158]

Later years and death

 
Cynthia and Julian Lennon at the unveiling ceremony of the John Lennon Peace Monument in Liverpool, 9 October 2010, John Lennon's 70th birthday

In 2002, she married Noel Charles, a Barbadian nightclub owner.[176] In September 2005, she published a new biography, John, re-examining her life with Lennon and the years afterwards, including the events following his death. Michel Faber, writing in The Guardian, said of the book: "John is Cynthia's attempt to prove how much more she was worth. In theory, the disclosures of Lennon's loyal partner from 1958 to 1968 cannot fail to be valuable. On the page, the potential withers".[132] Rachael Donadio in the New York Times said the book "paints the picture of a man wounded by the deaths of family and friends, and tells the difficult story of the domestic front during Beatlemania". "If there is to be a balanced picture of Dad's life, then Mum's side of the story is long overdue," Julian Lennon, the couple's son, writes in the foreword.[177] In 2006, she and her son attended the Las Vegas premiere of the Cirque du Soleil production of Love, which marked a rare public appearance with Ono.[178] In 2009, she and her son opened an exhibition of memorabilia at The Beatles Story exhibition in Liverpool,[179] and she and Pattie Boyd staged a first-ever joint appearance at the opening of the Cafesjian Center for the Arts in Yerevan, Armenia.[180] On 30 September 2010, Julian opened his "Timeless" exhibition of photographs at the Morrison Hotel Gallery in New York. In attendance were Cynthia, Ono, Sean, and Pang, which was the first time all five had been in the same room together.[181]

The John Lennon Peace Monument was unveiled by Cynthia and Julian at a ceremony in Chavasse Park, Liverpool, on 9 October 2010 to celebrate the anniversary of Lennon's 70th birthday.[182] Cynthia lived with her husband, Noel, on the Spanish island of Majorca[179] until his death on 11 March 2013.[183]

She died on 1 April 2015 at her home in Majorca, at the age of 75 following a brief bout with cancer, her son Julian by her side.[184][185] Public messages of condolence were made by McCartney and Starr, with McCartney saying "She was a lovely lady who I've known since our early days together in Liverpool. She was a good mother to Julian and will be missed by us all", and Starr saying "Peace and love to Julian Lennon God bless Cynthia".[185] Ono also issued a statement, emphasising the position she held in common: "Being a single parent of a strong and intelligent boy is never easy. Cynthia and I understood each other in that way, wishing well for our sons and their future."[186] Beatles biographer Hunter Davies, who had spent considerable time with her and Lennon in the 1960s while researching his book, remembered her as "a lovely woman ... She was totally different from John in that she was quiet, reserved and calm."[185]

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Sources

External links

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cynthia Lennon.
  • Lambiek Comiclopedia biography.

May 05, 2023
cynthia, lennon, born, powell, september, 1939, april, 2015, first, wife, john, lennon, mother, julian, lennon, lennon, october, 2010borncynthia, powell, 1939, september, 1939blackpool, englanddied1, april, 2015, 2015, aged, calvià, mallorca, spainspouse, john. Cynthia Lennon born Powell 10 September 1939 1 April 2015 was the first wife of John Lennon and the mother of Julian Lennon Cynthia LennonLennon in October 2010BornCynthia Powell 1939 09 10 10 September 1939Blackpool EnglandDied1 April 2015 2015 04 01 aged 75 Calvia Mallorca SpainSpouse s John Lennon m 1962 div 1968 wbr Roberto Bassanini m 1970 div 1976 wbr John Twist m 1978 div 1982 wbr Noel Charles m 2002 died 2013 wbr ChildrenJulian LennonBorn in Blackpool and raised in Hoylake on the Wirral Peninsula she attended the Liverpool College of Art where Lennon was also a student Powell and Lennon started a relationship after meeting in a calligraphy class When Lennon was performing in Hamburg with the Beatles Powell rented his bedroom at 251 Menlove Avenue in the Liverpool suburb of Woolton from his aunt and legal guardian Mimi Smith After Powell became pregnant she and Lennon married in August 1962 and the couple lived at Kenwood in Weybridge from 1964 to 1968 where she kept house and participated with Lennon in a London based social life In 1968 Lennon left her for Japanese artist Yoko Ono as a result the couple s divorce was legally granted in November 1968 on the grounds of adultery Powell had three further marriages She published a book of memoirs A Twist of Lennon in 1978 and a more intimate biography John in 2005 Over the years she held several auctions of memorabilia associated with her life with Lennon In her later years she lived in Calvia Mallorca where she died in 2015 Contents 1 Early years 2 Art college 2 1 Relationship with John Lennon 3 Marriage to Lennon and birth of Julian 4 Beatlemania 5 Kenwood 5 1 Domestic life 5 2 Drugs 5 3 India and Ono 5 4 Divorce 6 Subsequent life 7 Later years and death 8 References 9 Sources 10 External linksEarly years EditCynthia Powell was born in Blackpool on 10 September 1939 1 the youngest of three children of General Electric Company employee Charles Powell 2 and his wife Lillian nee Roby who already had two sons named Charles and Anthony 3 Her parents were from Liverpool but her mother along with other pregnant women was sent to the safer area of Blackpool after World War II had been declared and lived in a small room in a bed and breakfast on the Blackpool seafront 2 After the birth with Liverpool becoming a frequent target of German air raids the Powell family moved to a two bedroomed semi detached house in Hoylake 2 a middle class area on the Wirral Peninsula which was considered posh by those in Liverpool 4 At the age of 11 Powell won an art prize in a competition organised by the Liverpool Echo 5 A year later she was accepted into Liverpool s Junior Art School 6 which was also attended by Bill Harry later the editor of Liverpool s Mersey Beat newspaper 7 Art college EditWhen Powell was 16 her father died following a lengthy bout with lung cancer 8 Before he died he told her she would have to get a job to support her mother and would not be able to go to art school As her mother wanted her to receive an education she rented out a room to four apprentice electricians 2 In September 1957 Powell gained a place at the Liverpool College of Art 9 Although studying graphics she also took lettering classes as did Lennon 10 He never had any drawing tools with him so he constantly borrowed pens and pencils from Powell who discovered he was only there because other teachers had refused to instruct him 11 She had an air of respectability and moved in different social circles than her future husband Lennon and an art school friend Jeff Mohammed used to make fun of her by stopping the conversation when she walked in the room saying Quiet please No dirty jokes it s Cynthia 4 Powell once overheard Lennon give a compliment to a girl with blonde hair in the college who looked similar to the French actress Brigitte Bardot The next Saturday Powell turned up at the college with her hair several shades blonder 10 Lennon noticed straight away exclaiming Get you Miss Hoylake Lennon s nickname for her 9 along with Miss Powell or Miss Prim 12 Dressed like a Teddy Boy he sometimes brought a guitar with him into class and once sang Ain t She Sweet directly to Powell 13 Relationship with John Lennon Edit After a college party to celebrate the end of term Lennon asked Powell if she would like to go out with him 14 She quickly replied that she was engaged to a young man in Hoylake even though the engagement had ended 15 16 he replied I didn t ask you to fucking marry me did I 17 18 He later approached her and asked if she would go to the Ye Cracke pub She was confused when he ignored her all evening but eventually invited her into the group with a joke The Ye Cracke public house They began dating with Lennon now referring to her as Cyn 19 In the autumn of 1958 she ended her engagement to be with him 15 and he ended his relationship with another art student Thelma Pickles 20 21 His jealousy could also manifest itself in violent behaviour towards her 22 as when he slapped her across the face causing her head to hit a wall 23 after watching her dance with Stuart Sutcliffe 24 After the incident she broke up with Lennon for three months but resumed their relationship after his profuse apology 25 Her work at art school began to suffer and teachers told her the relationship with Lennon was doing her no good Lennon continued to be casually inconsiderate towards her later saying I was in sort of a blind rage for two years I was either drunk or fighting It had been the same with other girl friends I d had There was something the matter with me 26 Tony Bramwell a friend of Lennon s since his youth later said Cynthia was beautiful physically and on the inside Although she knew he Lennon was apt to find love on the road she was totally dedicated to his success and extremely influential He was insecure and Cynthia was there to pump him up to buttress sort of his weak side 27 The Beatles first Hamburg residency took place in 1960 with Lennon writing frequent and passionate letters back home to Powell 28 After returning home Lennon s aunt and legal guardian Mimi Smith threw a hand mirror at him for spending a lot of money on a suede coat for Powell Smith later referred to her as a gangster s moll and was often unpleasant towards her 29 The Beatles went to Hamburg for a second time in 1961 and both Powell and Dot Rhone Paul McCartney s girlfriend at the time visited them two weeks later during the Easter holidays 30 31 They had to stay up all night because of the long sets both taking Preludin to stay awake which the group was also taking 32 Lennon and Powell stayed with Sutcliffe s girlfriend Astrid Kirchherr at her mother s house 30 After the trip to Hamburg Powell s mother Lillian said Powell s cousin and husband were emigrating to Canada with their new born baby 33 and that she Lillian would be going with them while they studied to become teachers 34 Powell waited until Lennon came back from Hamburg before she asked Smith who had taken in lodgers before at 251 Menlove Avenue if she would rent a room to her Smith rented out the box room above the front door which had been Lennon s bedroom but insisted she also do chores around the house After her student grant had run out she took a job at a Woolworths store in Liverpool in order to pay the rent 35 In the same year when Lennon was 21 years old he received 100 equivalent to 2 400 in 2023 36 from his aunt Elizabeth Sutherland whom he called Mater who lived in Edinburgh and went to Paris with McCartney Powell could not accompany them as she was studying for her final exams 37 When Lennon went to Hamburg again in April 1962 she found a bedsit in a terraced house at 93 Garmoyle Road Liverpool 38 Shortly after having failed her art teacher s diploma exam 39 in August 1962 40 she found she was pregnant with Lennon s child 35 She later explained that she and Lennon had never used contraception had never talked about it and did not think about it at the time When she told Lennon he said There s only one thing for it Cyn we ll have to get married 41 Marriage to Lennon and birth of Julian EditPowell and Lennon were married on 23 August 1962 42 at the Mount Pleasant register office in Liverpool 43 Fellow Beatles McCartney and George Harrison were in attendance as was their manager Brian Epstein who was best man no parents were there 43 44 45 The wedding was farcical because as soon as the ceremony began a workman in the backyard of the building opposite started using a pneumatic drill that drowned out anything the registrar Lennon or Powell said When the registrar asked for the groom to step forward Harrison stepped forward instead 46 With no photographs or flowers the wedding party celebrated afterwards at Epstein s invitation in Reece s restaurant in Clayton Square which was the place Lennon s parents Alfred Lennon and Julia Lennon had celebrated their marriage in 1938 46 Lennon was 21 years old and Powell 22 33 The newlyweds had no honeymoon as Lennon had to play an engagement at the Riverpark Ballroom in Chester the same night 46 They travelled to the Hotel George V in Paris 47 for a belated honeymoon on 16 September 48 but were accompanied by Epstein 49 even though he had not been invited to join them 50 During Powell s pregnancy Epstein offered her and Lennon the use of his flat at 36 Falkner Street Liverpool and later paid for a private hospital room when the pregnancy was coming to term 51 Although still unknown outside Liverpool by now the Beatles had a fanatical following among girls within the city 45 Epstein had one condition which the Lennons had to follow the marriage and the baby were to be kept a close secret so as not to upset any of these fans 52 45 One time when news of the wedding leaked out the group denied it 45 The Lennons son Julian 53 was born at 7 45 am on 8 April 1963 in Sefton Hospital 54 Lennon being on tour at the time did not see his son until three days later 53 and when he finally arrived at the hospital said He s bloody marvellous Cyn Who s gonna be a famous rocker like his Dad then 55 He then explained that he would be going on a four day holiday to Barcelona with Epstein 56 Lennon later referred to Julian as a Saturday night special the way that most people get here or said that his son came out of a whisky bottle 57 suggesting this as explanation for his poor parenting of Julian as compared to his second son Sean Lennon Sean is a planned child and therein lies the difference I don t love Julian any less as a child 58 Beatlemania EditAround the time of Julian s birth the Beatles became a pop sensation across Britain a phenomenon which became known as Beatlemania 59 That one of the members was married and had a son was not publicly known at the time a 1963 Lifelines of the Beatles page in the New Musical Express detailed over 25 biographical facts about each member of the group but never gave any hint Lennon was married even reporting girls as one of his hobbies 60 The press heard rumours about Lennon s wife and child at the end of 1963 after Beatlemania had already swept the UK and Europe and descended on her mother s house in Hoylake where mother and son were staying in November and December 61 Friends and neighbours protected their anonymity but she was often approached by journalists 62 In November she had her son christened at Hoylake Parish Church but didn t tell Lennon who was on tour at the time because she feared a media circus She told him two days after and he was angry as he hadn t wanted his son to be christened 63 even though Epstein had asked to be Julian s godfather Not long after the christening every newspaper was full of the story about Lennon s secret wife and baby boy 64 Brian Epstein told the other Beatles to make the best of the situation and hoped newspapers would not say Cynthia was pregnant before marrying him 65 After living at Lennon s aunt s house for some months the couple moved to London and found a three bedroomed flat at 13 Emperor s Gate off Cromwell Road 66 The top floor flat was the third of three which were each built over two floors This meant climbing six flights of stairs as the building had no lift Cynthia firstly had to carry Julian up to the flat and then go back down to collect shopping bags 67 The Beatles fans soon found out where they were living and she would find them camping out in the hallway and have to push through them when leaving or arriving 68 She accompanied Lennon to the United States in the first Beatles tour there with Lennon allowing the press to photograph them together 69 which infuriated Epstein as he had wanted to keep their marriage a secret 70 On the tour she was left behind in New York when Lennon and the other Beatles were quickly ushered into a car and in Miami she had to ask the help of fans to convince a security guard who she was Lennon s response was Don t be so bloody slow next time they could have killed you 71 It would be the only time Cynthia would go on tour with them 72 At the Emperor s Gate address the situation grew worse 22 with fans sticking chewing gum in the lock of the flat and tearing at any article of clothing when she or Lennon were leaving or arriving 73 American girls would write her letters proclaiming their desperate love for John the women in the lives of the other Beatles received equivalent missives 74 As late as 1967 Beatles wives were still dealing with occasional physical danger from female Beatles fans with Cynthia being kicked in the legs by one who demanded she leave John alone 75 As Lennon was either touring or recording supposed family holidays in 1966 were spent skiing in St Moritz with producer George Martin and his girlfriend or staying at a castle in Ireland with George Harrison and his wife Pattie Boyd 76 Even these were subject to being discovered by fans and Cynthia and Boyd had to escape the Irish location dressed as maids 74 As a result of the long recording sessions and tours Lennon usually slept for days afterwards 77 When Lennon started filming How I Won the War in Almeria Spain he promised his wife and son they could join him there after two weeks of filming The small apartment they were allocated was swiftly replaced by a villa when Ringo Starr and his wife joined them 78 Kenwood EditMain article Kenwood St George s Hill Domestic life Edit The Beatles accountant told Epstein the group members should move to houses near his in Esher so Lennon bought a house called Kenwood in July 1964 It was a mock Tudor style house on three acres in Weybridge where Cliff Richard already lived 79 Lennon then spent twice the original 20 000 purchase price equivalent to 431 200 in 2023 36 on renovations for Kenwood 80 reducing its 22 rooms to 17 81 The new kitchen was so modern and complicated someone had to be sent to explain how everything worked 82 and during the extensive renovations the couple had to live in the attic bedroom for nine months 83 Although Cynthia enjoyed entertaining in the larger rooms Lennon could usually be found in a small sunroom at the back of the house overlooking the swimming pool which was similar to his aunt s conservatory in Liverpool 84 They had a cat called Mimi named after Lennon s aunt 85 Cynthia took care of Julian herself without a nanny although babysitters were frequently employed She also did the cooking herself but employed a housekeeper gardener and chauffeur who lived off the premises 86 When she passed her driving test Lennon serially bought her a white Mini a gold Porsche a red Ferrari and a green Volkswagen Beetle usually as surprises without consulting her first 87 Cynthia enjoyed the closeness of Pattie Boyd and Maureen Starkey Ringo Starr s wife as both lived nearby often going on holiday together or shopping 88 She was often photographed at Beatles movie premieres and special occasions and sometimes with Lennon and Julian at home which meant she had the role of a Beatle wife as well as being a mother The Lennons often went to a nightclub in central London until nearly dawn after which she took Julian to school 89 Kenwood became the place to visit for the other Beatles various American musicians and total strangers who Lennon had met the previous night in London nightclubs 88 In 1965 she opened the front door of Kenwood to see a man who looked like a tramp but with her husband s features 90 He explained that he was Alfred Lennon the father whom Lennon had supposedly not seen for years 91 Lennon was annoyed when he came home telling her for the first time that his father had visited the NEMS office Epstein s business a few weeks before 91 Three years after the meeting in the NEMS office Alfred Lennon who was then 56 years old turned up at Kenwood again with his fiancee 19 year old student Pauline Jones 92 He asked if the Lennons could give Pauline a job so she was hired to help with Julian and the piles of Beatles fan mail Lennon s father and his fiancee then spent a few months living in the attic bedroom 92 During an interview at Kenwood with Evening Standard reporter Maureen Cleave Lennon said Here I am in my Hansel and Gretel house famous and loaded and I can t go anywhere There s something else I m going to do only I don t know what it is but I do know this isn t it for me 93 Drugs Edit Cynthia knew her husband took drugs like Preludin and regularly smoked cannabis but thought of them as not being very dangerous 83 On 27 March 1965 94 at a dinner party given by a dentist John Riley 95 the Lennons Harrison and Boyd were given LSD without their knowledge 96 Although told not to leave the house Harrison drove them to various nightclubs with Riley following them by taxi 94 97 At the Ad Lib club they thought the lift up to the club was on fire and started screaming 98 before finally crawling out of the lift for which Mick Jagger Marianne Faithfull and Starr were waiting Harrison later drove them back home in Boyd s Mini Cooper at no more than 10 mph as he was also feeling the effects of the drug They stayed up all night at Kenwood experiencing the full effects of their first LSD trip 99 Lennon then started taking LSD on a regular basis in addition to his daily use of cannabis 100 After much encouragement from him Cynthia agreed to try LSD one more time but the adverse effects were the same Although she said at the time she would never take the drug again she relented and took it for the last time a few weeks later on the way to a party at Epstein s country house in Warbleton East Sussex 101 Although she hated the psychological effects of the drug from this point she could see the change taking place in her husband It was like living with someone who had just discovered religion Tensions bigotry and bad temper were replaced by understanding and love 102 In 1970 Lennon confessed he had probably taken LSD one thousand times since 1965 saying I used to just eat it all the time 103 In the decades ahead Cynthia would always maintain that John s drug use was the beginning of the end for the couple 104 101 By 1967 Lennon s aggressive edges from his childhood had disappeared and he spent considerable amounts of time sitting in his sunroom or garden and daydreaming for hours on end 105 He became somewhat uncommunicative towards most people including Cynthia but not with the other Beatles who had an almost unspoken ability to understand one another 105 Cynthia once complained saying What I d like is a holiday of our own John Julian and me Lennon replied with OK I know we ll all retire to a little cottage on a cliff in Cornwall all right Then adding No I ve got these bloody songs to write I have to work to justify living 106 She understood his temperament but felt frustrated at never having developed her own career by using her art college background 106 India and Ono Edit Main article The Beatles in India The Beatles were scheduled to fly to India to visit the Maharishi for two or three months of Transcendental Meditation Before they left Cynthia found letters from Yoko Ono to Lennon which indicated he had been having contact with her over a period of some time 107 Lennon denied he was involved with Ono explaining that she was just some crazy artist who wanted to be sponsored although Ono kept up a stream of telephone calls and visits to Kenwood 108 On 15 February 1968 109 the Lennons flew to India followed by the other Beatles and their partners four days later 110 Boyd Asher and Maureen Starkey 111 The division between the sexes was emphasised by the male musicians sitting outside at night composing songs while their partners gathered together in one of their rooms often talking about life as the wife or partner of a Beatle 112 The Lennons shared a four poster bed at the ashram with Lennon playing guitar and Cynthia drawing and writing poetry between their long sessions of meditation 112 Magic Alex Greek born Alex Mardas who controlled Apple Electronics arrived later smuggling in alcohol from the nearest village as it was not allowed in the ashram After two weeks Lennon asked to sleep in a separate room saying he could only meditate when he was alone 113 Every morning Lennon would walk to the local post office to see if he had received a telegram from Ono who sent one almost daily Cynthia found out about these secretive trips much later saying I had thought our magical interlude with the Maharishi would be the making of our marriage but in reality it just presaged the end 114 Paul Saltzman later published a book of photographs The Beatles in Rishikesh 115 showing Lennon deep in thought and Cynthia s confused expression 116 Despite the alienation from Lennon she later spoke about her time there saying I loved being away from the fans hordes of people deadlines demands and flashing cameras 114 Divorce Edit During the flight back to England 112 Lennon got very drunk on Scotch and confessed that he had been involved with other women during their marriage 117 He went on to detail his liaisons with groupies friends such as Joan Baez actress Eleanor Bron journalist Cleave and thousands of women around the globe 118 Although not wanting to hear Lennon s confession she knew women were attracted to him like moths to a flame 119 Two weeks later in May 1968 Lennon suggested Cynthia take a holiday in Greece with Mardas Donovan and two friends as he would be very busy recording songs for what would become the White Album 120 She arrived back at Kenwood from Greece earlier than expected at 4 o clock on 22 May 1968 121 to discover Lennon and Ono sitting cross legged on the floor in matching white robes staring into each other s eyes 122 and then found Ono s slippers outside the Lennons bedroom door 123 Shocked she asked Jenny Boyd and Mardas if she could spend the night at their apartment 124 At the apartment Boyd went straight to bed but she and Mardas drank more alcohol with Mardas trying to convince her to run away together After she had vomited in the bathroom she collapsed on a bed in the spare bedroom with Mardas joining her and trying to kiss her until she pushed him away 125 Lennon seemed absolutely normal when she returned home the next day and steadfastly maintained his love for her and their son 126 saying It s you I love Cyn I love you now more than ever before 124 Lennon went to New York with McCartney shortly after 127 but as Cynthia was specifically not invited a trip to Pesaro in Italy was arranged with her mother 124 After an evening with Italian hotelier Roberto Bassanini Mardas was waiting at the hotel to break the news that Lennon was planning to sue for divorce on grounds of adultery seek sole custody of Julian and send her back to Hoylake 128 She said in 2005 The mere fact that Magic Alex Mardas arrived in Italy in the middle of the night without any prior knowledge of where I was staying made me extremely suspicious I was being coerced into making it easy for Lennon and Ono to accuse me of doing something that would make them not look so bad 129 As Lennon had initiated divorce proceedings it prompted her to exclaim Suing me for divorce On what grounds is he suing me 130 When the news of Ono s pregnancy broke Cynthia started her own divorce proceedings against Lennon on 22 August 1968 131 The financial settlement was hampered by Lennon s refusing to offer any more than 75 000 equivalent to 1 383 800 in 2023 36 132 telling her on the phone that the payment was akin to winning the football pools and that she was not worth any more 133 The settlement was then raised to 100 000 equivalent to 1 845 000 in 2023 36 2 400 annually equivalent to 44 300 in 2023 36 and custody of Julian 134 Another 100 000 equivalent to 1 845 000 in 2023 36 was put into a trust fund which Julian would inherit when he was 21 Until that time his mother would receive the interest payments Their decree nisi was granted on 8 November 1968 135 The trust fund had one codicil which provided for any further children by Lennon so when Sean Lennon was born in 1975 Julian s inheritance was cut to 50 000 equivalent to 922 500 in 2023 36 136 She lived for a few months in a flat Starr owned at 34 Montagu Square central London 137 but returned to Kenwood as Lennon and Ono preferred to live there instead rather than in isolated Weybridge 138 Lennon and Cynthia had one last short meeting at Kenwood with Ono alongside Lennon where Lennon accused her of having an affair in India saying she was no innocent little flower 139 McCartney visited her and Julian that year 140 and on the way to Kenwood he composed a song in his head which later became Hey Jude 140 Talking about their divorce 141 McCartney later said We d been very good friends for millions of years and I thought it was a bit much for them suddenly to be personae non gratae and out of my life 142 Cynthia recalled I was truly surprised when one afternoon Paul arrived on his own I was touched by his obvious concern for our welfare On the journey down he composed Hey Jude in the car I will never forget Paul s gesture of care and concern in coming to see us 143 She was once asked if Lennon had written any songs about their time together and answered It was too soppy when you were young to dedicate anything to anybody Macho Northern men didn t do that in those days 5 In contrast Lennon said he wrote the 1965 song Norwegian Wood This Bird Has Flown about an affair he was having but rendered it in gobbledegook so Cynthia would not know 144 Exhibit with quotations from Cynthia and Julian Lennon at The Beatles Story Liverpool 2010Subsequent life EditOn 31 July 1970 Cynthia married Bassanini whom she had started dating after parting with Lennon 145 the couple divorced in 1973 146 She then opened a restaurant in Ruthin Wales called Oliver s Bistro which also had a B amp B above the premises She enrolled her son into the Ruthin School and he later joined the local Combined Cadet Force 147 During Lennon s separation from Ono in 1973 74 his partner at the time May Pang tried to get Lennon to spend more time with his son forming a friendship with Cynthia in the process which continued even after John Lennon and Yoko Ono were reconciled 148 A meeting during this period was the last time Cynthia saw John 104 Julian had been allowed to visit his father twice a year by himself but John Lennon complained that during his time with Pang his ex wife also wanted to be present saying She Cynthia thought she could walk back in cos I wasn t with Yoko After his reconciliation with Ono he complained again that his son was not being allowed to visit him 149 On 1 May 1976 Cynthia married John Twist a television engineer from Lancashire 150 She published a memoir during their time together A Twist of Lennon in 1978 telling about her life before and with Lennon and containing her own illustrations and poetry 151 152 Lennon tried to stop the publication of the book after an excerpt was published in a newspaper 153 Cynthia s memoir gained renewed interest and went to a third printing of 200 000 copies in the weeks after Lennon s death 154 She and Twist separated in 1981 and were divorced in 1982 155 She sold the Bistro and changed her name back to Lennon by deed poll later commenting about why it was financially necessary Do you imagine I would have been awarded a three year contract to design bedding and textiles for Vantona Vyella in 1983 with the name Powell Neither did they When it is necessary to earn a living it is necessary to bite the bullet and take the flack 156 5 She began a relationship with Liverpudlian chauffeur Jim Christie in 1981 who became her partner for 17 years as well as her business manager living in Penrith Cumbria 157 158 She said at the time Jim has never felt he s living in John Lennon s shadow He s four years younger than me and wasn t really part of that whole Beatles scene 159 They later lived on the Isle of Man and then in Normandy for some years but separated in 1998 104 158 She had kept mementos of Lennon for years but began auctioning them off after his death 160 This included a personally drawn Christmas card from Lennon to her which fetched 8 800 at Christie s in August 1981 161 With her finances in an unsteady state she would say in 1999 that Apart from John the men I have fallen in love with have never been good at earning a living more of her memorabilia of Lennon went up for auction in 1991 including antiques from Kenwood 158 157 She said at the time I ve enjoyed these things for 30 years But it s time for a change 157 Another set of items including some of Lennon s drug paraphernalia brought over 60 000 for her in 1995 162 She later said I think in life we collect so much baggage when you have a clear out you send it to a car boot sale etc My baggage was in demand and sold at Christie s When you have to pay the bills you re not proud and you can t take it with you 5 Over the years she entered some failed business ventures including in 1988 a perfume named Woman 163 164 after the 1980 John Lennon song and in April 1989 a restaurant named Lennon s at 13 14 Upper St Martin s Lane Covent Garden which had menu items such as Rubber Sole a play on the already punning 1965 Beatles album 157 158 as well as Sgt Pepper s Steak and Penny Lane Pate 165 It had a short life as a business venture as it was considered to be far too expensive 166 She would later blame some of these efforts on the men in her life encouraging her 158 The Beatles Hamburg days were the subject of the 1994 film Backbeat with Jennifer Ehle portraying Cynthia Powell 167 The film characterises Lennon and Cynthia s relationship as one that will eventually be doomed by their wanting different things from life but with Lennon not wanting to hurt her 168 Cynthia later complained that the film made her out as a clingy dim little girlfriend in a headscarf 169 In another film covering the early years of the pre fame Beatles the 1979 Birth of the Beatles she was portrayed by Wendy Morgan 170 She was portrayed in 2000 television film In His Life The John Lennon Story by Gillian Kearney the negative aspects of John s treatment of her were not overlooked 171 Cynthia was subsequently portrayed in the troubled Ono centric 2005 American musical Lennon with her character played by Julia Murney gaining a little more prominence during one of the show s rewrites 172 173 Her life had a more central role in the 2010 BBC Four film Lennon Naked with Claudie Blakley playing the part 174 Her character was absent from the 2009 British film Nowhere Boy which purported to cover the story of Lennon from 1955 to 1960 but focused on his relationships with his aunt and mother 175 In 1995 Cynthia made her recording debut with a rendition of Those Were the Days which produced by McCartney had been a number one hit for Mary Hopkin in 1968 5 It failed to chart Whilst she was living in Normandy an exhibition of her drawings and paintings were displayed at Portobello Road s KDK Gallery in 1999 158 By the 1990s she was appearing at some Beatles conventions but appeared ambivalent about doing so 5 157 At times she maintained she was moving on with her life and putting her Beatles past behind her and at other times seemed to embrace continued interest in that past as inevitable 5 104 157 158 The Daily Telegraph said in a 1999 profile In essence she is a suburban woman who almost in spite of herself got caught up with one of the most extraordinary men of modern times More than 30 years since her marriage to John Lennon ended she is as entangled as ever 158 Later years and death Edit Cynthia and Julian Lennon at the unveiling ceremony of the John Lennon Peace Monument in Liverpool 9 October 2010 John Lennon s 70th birthday In 2002 she married Noel Charles a Barbadian nightclub owner 176 In September 2005 she published a new biography John re examining her life with Lennon and the years afterwards including the events following his death Michel Faber writing in The Guardian said of the book John is Cynthia s attempt to prove how much more she was worth In theory the disclosures of Lennon s loyal partner from 1958 to 1968 cannot fail to be valuable On the page the potential withers 132 Rachael Donadio in the New York Times said the book paints the picture of a man wounded by the deaths of family and friends and tells the difficult story of the domestic front during Beatlemania If there is to be a balanced picture of Dad s life then Mum s side of the story is long overdue Julian Lennon the couple s son writes in the foreword 177 In 2006 she and her son attended the Las Vegas premiere of the Cirque du Soleil production of Love which marked a rare public appearance with Ono 178 In 2009 she and her son opened an exhibition of memorabilia at The Beatles Story exhibition in Liverpool 179 and she and Pattie Boyd staged a first ever joint appearance at the opening of the Cafesjian Center for the Arts in Yerevan Armenia 180 On 30 September 2010 Julian opened his Timeless exhibition of photographs at the Morrison Hotel Gallery in New York In attendance were Cynthia Ono Sean and Pang which was the first time all five had been in the same room together 181 The John Lennon Peace Monument was unveiled by Cynthia and Julian at a ceremony in Chavasse Park Liverpool on 9 October 2010 to celebrate the anniversary of Lennon s 70th birthday 182 Cynthia lived with her husband Noel on the Spanish island of Majorca 179 until his death on 11 March 2013 183 She died on 1 April 2015 at her home in Majorca at the age of 75 following a brief bout with cancer her son Julian by her side 184 185 Public messages of condolence were made by McCartney and Starr with McCartney saying She was a lovely lady who I ve known since our early days together in Liverpool She was a good mother to Julian and will be missed by us all and Starr saying Peace and love to Julian Lennon God bless Cynthia 185 Ono also issued a statement emphasising the position she held in common Being a single parent of a strong and intelligent boy is never easy Cynthia and I understood each other in that way wishing well for our sons and their future 186 Beatles biographer Hunter Davies who had spent considerable time with her and Lennon in the 1960s while researching his book remembered her as a lovely woman She was totally different from John in that she was quiet reserved and calm 185 References Edit Lennon 2005 p 13 a b c d Lennon 2005 pp 16 17 Lennon 2005 p 14 a b Davies 1968 p 57 a b c d e f g You ask the questions The Independent 7 July 1999 Retrieved 5 April 2011 Lennon 2005 p 15 Harry 2000 p 266 Edmondson 2010 p 28 a b Edmondson 2010 p 27 a b Spitz 2005 pp 154 155 Lennon 2005 p 22 Anderson 2010 p 31 Lennon 2005 pp 24 25 Lennon 2005 p 27 a b Mulligan 2010 p 23 Lewisohn 2013 p 1291 Spitz 2005 p 156 Cynthia Lennon obituary The Daily Telegraph 1 April 2015 Archived from the original on 11 January 2022 Retrieved 11 August 2019 Spitz 2005 p 155 Cross 2004 p 9 Clayson 2003 p 31 a b Living with Lennon BBC 21 May 2008 Retrieved 27 March 2011 Edmondson 2010 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Wirral student who caught John s eye April 2015 In Loving Memory Cynthia Lennon 1939 2015 julianlennon com Archived from the original on 27 November 2015 Retrieved 1 April 2015 a b c John Lennon s first wife Cynthia dies from cancer BBC News 1 April 2015 Retrieved 2 April 2015 Yoko Ono Remembers Cynthia Lennon She Embodied Love and Peace Rolling Stone 3 April 2015 Retrieved 5 April 2015 Sources EditAnderson Jennifer Joline 2010 John Lennon Legendary Musician amp Beatle Lives Cut Short ABDO Publishing Company ISBN 978 1 60453 790 1 Badman Keith 2001 The Beatles Diary Volume 2 After The Break Up 1970 2001 Omnibus Press ISBN 0 7119 7520 5 Barrow Tony 2006 John Paul George Ringo and Me Thunder s Mouth Press ISBN 978 1 56025 882 7 Brown Peter Gaines Steven 2002 The Love You Make An Insider s Story of the Beatles Reprint ed NAL Trade ISBN 978 0 451 20735 7 Carr Roy Tyler Tony 1975 The Beatles An Illustrated Record Harmony Books ISBN 0 517 52045 1 Clayson Alan 2003 John Lennon Beatles Sanctuary Publishing Ltd ISBN 978 1 86074 451 8 Coleman Ray 1984 John Winston Lennon 1940 66 v 1 Sidgwick amp Jackson Ltd ISBN 978 0 283 98942 1 Coleman Ray 1999 Lennon The Definitive Biography Revised ed Harper Paperbacks ISBN 978 0 06 098608 7 Cross Craig 2004 Day By Day Song By Song Record By Record iUniverse ISBN 978 0 595 31487 4 Davies Hunter 1968 The Beatles The Authorized Biography paperback Dell Publishing Also adapted for publication in Davies Hunter 13 20 September 1968 The Beatles Life Dewitt Howard A 1985 The Beatles Untold Tales Horizon Books ISBN 978 0 938840 03 9 Edmondson Jacqueline 2010 John Lennon A Biography ABC CLIO ISBN 978 0 313 37938 3 Harry Bill 2000 The John Lennon Encyclopedia Virgin Books ISBN 978 0 7535 0404 8 Ingham Chris 2003 The Rough Guide to The Beatles Rough Guides Ltd Julien Oliver 2009 Sgt Pepper and the Beatles It Was Forty Years Ago Today Ashgate ISBN 978 0 7546 6708 7 Kane Larry 2007 Lennon Revealed Running Press ISBN 978 0 7624 2966 0 Lennon Cynthia 1978 A Twist of Lennon Avon Books ISBN 978 0 352 30196 3 Lennon Cynthia 2005 John Hodder amp Stoughton ISBN 978 0 340 89512 2 Lewisohn Mark 2013 The Beatles All These Years Vol 1 Tune In Crown Archetype ISBN 978 1 4000 8305 3 Loker Bradford E 2009 History with The Beatles Dog Ear Publishing ISBN 978 1 60844 039 9 Mann John 2009 Turn on and Tune in Psychedelics Narcotics and Euphoriants Royal Society of Chemistry ISBN 978 1 84755 909 8 Miles Barry 1997 Many Years From Now Vintage Random House ISBN 978 0 7493 8658 0 Miles Barry Badman Keith 2001 The Beatles Diary After the Break Up 1970 2001 Omnibus Press ISBN 978 0 7119 8307 6 Mulligan Kate Siobhan 2010 The Beatles A Musical Biography Story of the Band Greenwood Press ISBN 978 0 313 37686 3 Ryan David Stuart 1982 John Lennon s Secret A Biography Kozmik Press ISBN 978 0 905116 08 2 Salewicz Chris 1987 McCartney Futura Publications ISBN 978 0 7088 3374 2 Sheff David 2000 All We Are Saying St Martin s Griffin ISBN 978 0 312 25464 3 Spitz Bob 2005 The Beatles The Biography Little Brown and Company ISBN 978 0 316 80352 6 The Beatles 2000 The Beatles Anthology Chronicle Books ISBN 978 0 8118 2684 6 Thomson Elizabeth Gutman David 2004 The Lennon Companion Da Capo Press ISBN 978 0 306 81270 5 Tillery Gary 2010 The Cynical Idealist A Spiritual Biography of John Lennon Quest Books ISBN 978 0 8356 0875 6 Tremlett George 1975 The Paul McCartney Story Futura ISBN 978 0 86007 200 3 Wenner Jann 1971 Lennon Remembers The Rolling Stone Interviews paperback Popular Library Wiener Jon 1991 Come Together University of Illinois Press ISBN 978 0 252 06131 8 Womack Kenneth Davis Todd F 2006 Reading the Beatles State University of New York Press ISBN 978 0 7914 6715 2 External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cynthia Lennon Lambiek Comiclopedia biography The Beatles First Wives Club Memorial Page Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Cynthia Lennon amp oldid 1153121700, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, 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