John Lennon

As most musicans do, John had a very problematic early childhood. He was born on October 9th 1940, during one of the most horrific bomb raids of Liverpool. In fact, the raid was so bad, that baby John was put under a table to protect him, and his Aunt Mimi risked her life to come to see him. His father, Alfred, was a merchant seamen so he was away a great deal and Julia, his mother, was very free spirited and was the main source for some of John's entertaining personality. Because of Julia's personality it was decided that Mimi, her much more strict sister, would raise John with her husband George. John was not abandoned by his mother, as some believe, she frequently visited him, but it was Mimi that raised him.

One most ghastly events in John's life at an early age occurred when his father came home to see him when he was four. Alfred came and took John to Blackpool, admist Mimi's reluctance. He did not return at his scheduled time and Mimi and Julia went to retrieve him. Once they got there, they made John choose what parent he wanted to live with. At first he wanted to stay with his dad, but he went crying to his mom, who brought him back to stay with Mimi. This event tragically scared John for the rest of his life, and fostered is insecurities. Mimi and George were fairly well off financially contrary to John's idea that he was working class. Of all the Beatles, John came from the wealthiest family. Mimi was very rigid and strict with John, and had the lacerating wit that John would display later. George was very easy and often spoiled John when Mimi was punishing him. John was a very bright child and often read, wrote and sang. He did however, have lots of trouble at school. He was always getting i trouble with Pete Shotton, his partner in crime. He did not do well with his grades and was poor in math especially. One thing John excelled in was art, he was notorious for his caricatures of deformed people. Therefore, as a teen, he went on to art school. There he met his future wife, Cynthia Powell, and best friend, Stuart Sutcliffe.

Also by this time, the skiffle craze had spread across Britain, and John formed a band. It at first consisted of his friends, and none had any musical knowledge. The skiffle craze died quickly but the Quarry Men, as they were named (after Quarry Bank High School which John attended), stayed together. Now they played the more rebellious, rock and roll. John became obsessed with music, and would practise his guitar often, which Mimi did not approve of. She frequently kicked John out onto the porch, and would often tell him "The guitar is nice John, but you won't earn a living from it!". John's music did unite him with his mother. Julia played banjo and taught John the chords she knew. This led John to only use 4 or the 6 strings. She also provided a place for his band to practice, in her bathroom. Unfortunately, she was killed when John was 17. This loss was something that would take John many many many years to recover from. Also lost before that was his loving Uncle George. Sadly, John would lose yet another important person before the Beatles became famous. Stu died of a brain hemorrage in Germany just before the Beatles achieved fame. Stu was very important to John for he was one of the few people John would not put an act up for.They shared many feelings together and when they separated they were known to write 20 page letters to eachother.

John did meet a good friend and future collaborator, Paul McCartney when the Quarry Men played at the Woolton Fete. Paul and John shared many many feelings and became very close friends, almost as close as John and Stu. They would often write their own songs together

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