Music legend and founder of The Beatles, John Lennon owes it to the Bermuda Triangle. Following the ill-fated breakup of the iconic band in April 1970, Lennon lived a secluded life with his family, away from any music indulgence. The English songwriter was known for his eccentric personality, often acting on his whims and fancies.
Therefore, a harrowing adventure on the Bermuda Triangle, infamous for disappearing ships and planes, freed Lennon’s mind to pursue music once again. Lennon traveled to Bermuda in June 1980, months after which he was assassinated in his New York apartment.
John Lennon found his creative awakening in Bermuda
Retired from music, John Lennon had not imagined that his impending adventure would inspire ageless classics like Watching the Wheels, Woman, and Nobody Told Me, among other songs. It is also rumored that Lennon’s wife, Yoko Ono urged him to embark on the Bermuda journey. Regardless, Lennon wanted to reunite with his English roots through sailing, much like his father and grandfather.
Hence, he undocked his sailboat in the spring of 1980 and set about for his Bermuda chronicles, resisting deathly thunderstorms and touching land after two months of sailing. After half a decade of running dry of ideas, the Liverpool native was brimming with creative ideas after he returned. In Season 4 of the documentary Behind the Music, Episode titled John Lennon: The Last Years, via IMDb, Lennon cherished,
“I had the time of my life. I was so centered after the experience at sea, that I was tuned in or whatever with the cosmos, and all the songs came.
Interestingly, the nature of his songs also shifted to a personal note instead of the usual political writings. This gave way to a to-be solo Lennon album eventually released as a joint effort with wife Yoko Ono, Double Fantasy, per The Guardian. The album was released only three weeks before Lennon was murdered, which ironically, bolstered the album’s commercial success.
Why was John Lennon killed?
John Lennon’s life was no less than a movie, and so was his death. According to USA Today, the music genius was shot on his way to his Upper West Side apartment, on December 8, 1980. He and his wife Ono were returning to the Dakota when Mark David Chapman, a former security guard and YMCA employee shot him dead.
The reason is rather terrifying. His obsession with fame and gaining recognition, be it evil, encouraged him to take the drastic step. Arrested on the scene itself, Chapman told authorities in 2022,
“I am not going to blame anything else or anybody else for bringing me there. I knew what I was doing, and I knew it was evil. I knew it was wrong, but I wanted the fame so much that I was willing to give everything and take a human life.”
The assailant is serving 20 years to life in prison and hasn’t been allowed to walk out free even after 43 years of the legend’s death.
