John Lennon was the legendary singer and songwriter, who became a global phenomenon through his association with the iconic Beatles band. He was its founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist, and rhythm guitarist. The singer has 25 number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Though he had a raging professional life, the singer had a tough childhood, as his father left the family when he was just a small kid.
The songwriter and musician had spent all his childhood and youth without his father. Hence, when his father suddenly showed up at his doorstep decades later, he was stunned.
John Lennon estranged father met him after two decades
Imagine singer John Lennon had spent almost his whole teenage and youth without the presence of his father. The singer met his father when he had already become a worldwide phenomenon with The Beatles. His father, Alfred Lennon, came to visit his place in 1965.
Alfred Lennon met a man who had occasionally driven The Beatles, and he agreed to take him to Lennon’s home.
John Lennon’s first wife, Cynthia Lennon was shocked to see him at her doorstep. She recalled in the book Lennon: The Definitive Biography by Ray Coleman,
“He was a charmer in his own way. There was no way I could have shut the door on him. He looked like a tramp, but he was John’s Dad. I had no alternative but to ask him to wait for John to return.”
Lennon was shocked by his father’s arrival, but he calmed himself and asked,
“Where have you been for the last twenty years?”
Cynthia shared that her husband was uncomfortable with his presence. Lennon’s father spoke about his financial issues, as he sat in the lavish home of The Beatles star.
She added,
“He was so embarrassed. He was in and out of the room like a cat on a hot tin roof. He was nervous and said he suddenly felt ill at ease in his own home.”
John Lennon’s wife further said,
“I suppose Fred was proud of what John had achieved, but his main object was to rip off some cash from John.”
Cynthia Lennon was married to John Lennon from 1962 to 1968.
John Lennon’s father was disappointed in him
After Lennon’s father dropped by unannounced after almost two decades, he stayed at his house for a few days. However, the relationship between father and son was never mended. Lennon stayed away from his place, and his wife Cynthia was left to talk with his father. Also, whenever Lennon and his father talked, it would quickly convert into an argument about his parents’ separation.
Alfred Lennon once spoke publicly about his son disappointing him. He said (per The Beatles: The Authorized Biography by Hunter Davies),
“He’s only let me down twice. Once was accepting that MBE. I wouldn’t have done it. Royalty can’t buy me.”
He added that he was also hurt when Lennon did not give a speech at a literary luncheon in his honor. He shared that if he had been at his son’s place, he would have given a speech and performed a song for him.
John Lennon was assassinated by Mark David Chapman in 1980.
Source-Lennon: The Definitive Biography and The Beatles: The Authorized Biography
