Q. events planned for john lennon 25th death anniversary
A. December 8, 2005 marks the 25th anniversary of the assassination of John Lennon, a profitable opportunity. Some will be celebrating, some will be reflecting, many will be cashing in on this...
Memorials:
The John Lennon Museum will be holding a a 6-day memorial event entitled "John Lennon Memorial Days 25" from Dec. 3 to 9, 2005 (excluding Dec. 6). Schedule of events.
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Radio:
UK: BBC Radio 4 will broadcast a new interview with John Lennon in November as part of a season marking the 25th anniversary of his death.
The interview was recorded by Rolling Stone founder Jann Wenner shortly after The Beatles split and has never been publicly heard in its entirety before. According to Radio 4 controller Mark Damazer the interview covers Lennon's career with "painstakingly emotional, at times excruciating detail.
CANADA: John Lennon Radio Series hosted by Graham Nash:
- Oct. 9 The first 3 hour special, "Dreaming Of The Past",
airs this Sunday, October 9th, Lennon's 65th birthday on classic rock
radio stations from coast to coast. This special covers Lennon's early
years growing up in Liverpool, the Beatles' formative days in Hamburg,
Germany, the worldwide phenomenon known as Beatlemania and the ultimate
break up of the group. Interviews include Lennon's first wife Cynthia,
original Beatles drummer Pete Best, half sister Julia Baird, Beatles'
producer George Martin, Yoko Ono, Paul McCartney and dozens more of
Lennon's associates.
- Dec. 8 An additional 3 hour special called "The Dream
Never Dies", which details Lennon's post-Beatle years, his
assassination in 1980 as well as events and Lennon CD/DVD's that have
been released since his death.
- Oct. 9 - Dec. 8 "A Minute Of Lennon", sixty-five sixty second features. Each minute program highlights a specific event in Lennon's life.
The Lennon series is also airing nationally in the United States as
well as in Mexico, Venezuela, Australia and a half dozen other
countries around the world.
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Appearances:
Cynthia Lennon, ex-wife of Beatle John Lennon, will be doing a very rare and very special talk, reading, and signing in New York City from her new book about her life with John. This special event will be held on Tuesday, October 4, at 7 pm at the Barnes & Noble, Union Square, which is located at 33 East 17th Street in New York City.
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Memorabilia:
Memorabilia at John Lennon's Liverpool Home
Marking the year of John Lennon’s 65th birthday and the 25th anniversary of his death, Yoko Ono Lennon has allowed a special exhibition of replicas of several new items relating to John’s early life to be displayed at his childhood home in Mendips, Liverpool.
The items include four of John’s paintings which he did at Mendips, a copy of his first passport, his swimming proficiency certificate, an entrance card for the 11-plus exam to Quarry Bank School, and one of his baby teeth.
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Concerts:
John Lennon Super Live, a charity concert by Japanese artists in memory of John Lennon, is set to kick off at Nippon Budokan on October 7th, as fans commemorate the 65h anniversary of the legend's birth. Artists participating in the concert include Love Psychedelico, Kiyoshiro Imawano, Tamio Okuda, Kyoko Koizumi and Puffy. Yoko Ono will also appear onstage and perform a song she released in 2001.
This is the fifth time artists have held a charity concert under his name. Takings from the previous four concerts were used to build 42 elementary schools and junior high schools in Asia and Africa, and plans have been made to build eight new schools with the money from this year's concert, to achieve the original goal of constructing 50 schools.
Come Together Right Now (Johnny is John) is the new theatre concert spectacular designed to win the hearts and minds of both John Lennon and Beatle fans. The show was conceived and produced by three musical friends, one from the UK and two from Germany. It was developed in an attempt to promote the prolific works of John Lennon and The Beatles in the commemoratory 25th year after Lennon's untimely death. The show almost did not happen due to heavy legal difficulties, but with pure hard work and a passion for Lennon's music as well as the much-appreciated assistance of the Performing Rights Society and Sony Music Publishing the show was finally realised, albeit in an altered format. The UK copyright law changed what was first conceived as a musical life story with actors into a pure music concert performance. However, undeterred the producers have gone all out to make this concert something very different, a little bit special and hopefully one of the best, most accurate professional theatre concert performances you will see in 2005. www.lennonshow.com
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On the eve of what would be rock legend and former Beatle John Lennon's 65th birthday, plans were announced today for The Concert for John (www.abbeyroadontheriver.com/concertforjohn),
presented by 365 Events, The Cleveland Agora and Friday! in the Plain Dealer. The event scheduled for Dec. 10, 2005 will feature 10 bands over 11 hours performing the music of John Lennon from the Cavern Days of the Beatles through his solo career. A portion of each ticket sold will be donated to the
Plain Dealer Charities and the Brady Campaign's effort to stop gun violence in memory of John Lennon, whose music continues to promote peace to people across cultures and generations.
CD:
Working Class Hero: The Definitive Lennon
Release date: Oct. 4, 2005
Capitol
Track listing
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DVD:
The 1988 documentary Imagine: John Lennon will be released on DVD on December 6th, to coincide with the 25th anniversary of Lennon's death, on December 8th, 1980. The documentary, culled from over 450 hours of film, is narrated by Lennon himself from over 100 hours of interviews. The DVD features rarely seen home movies and chronicles his life from his humble Liverpool beginnings through Beatlemania and up until his death in 1980. The set features nearly 40 of his best known solo as well as Beatles tracks including "Help!," "Strawberry Fields Forever," "Revolution," and "Imagine."
The film features exclusive interviews with both of Lennon's wives, Cynthia Lennon and his widow Yoko Ono, plus May Pang - his mid-'70s companion during his separation from Ono - Beatles producer George Martin and both of his sons, Julian and Sean.
Bonus features on the Imagine DVD include:
- The film's theatrical trailer.
- Previously unseen footage at home in 1971.
- A trivia quiz.
- A DVD-ROM featuring excerpts from the book The JL Music Guide.
- A featurette called Tribute To John Lennon: The Man, The Music, The Memories with new interviews by the film's producers and editors.
- John & Yoko: Truth Be Told - a 1980 BBC Radio interview with John and Yoko.
- An interview with his high school headmaster William Ernest Pobjoy.
- Plus a never-before-seen live acoustic performance of Lennon singing "Imagine" on December 17th 1971 at New York's Apollo Theatre.
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Books:
John by his ex-wife, Cynthia Lennon, with a foreword by their son, Julian. The release date coincides with Cynthia Lennon's arrival in New York for interviews.
Publisher Crown promises new revelations about John and Cynthia's marriage and divorce, Cynthia's dealings with Yoko Ono, who later married John, and his drug use and difficult relationship with Julian.
Her book will be followed by tomes ranging from a word and picture tribute by Lennon's personal photographer to reminiscences edited (but not written) by Ono. Oct. 4, 2005
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John Lennon: The New York Years by Bob Gruen (Stewart, Tabori & Chang). Longtime personal photographer recounts Lennon's years as a solo artist. Oct. 1, 2005
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Remembering John Lennon: 25 Years Later from Life magazine. A pictorial. Oct. 5, 2005
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John Lennon: In His Own Words by Ken Lawrence (Andrews McMeel). Quotations compiled by celebrity biographer. Oct. 1, 2005
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Memories of John Lennon introduced and edited by Yoko Ono (HarperCollins). A collection of 73 reminiscences written by friends and admirers. Dec. 1, 2005
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Magazine Special Issues:
The latest issue of Uncut magazine features a John Lennon special. It focuses on the the up-and-coming 25th anniversary of his death on Dec 8th and also what would have been his 65th birthday on Oct 9th.
Included with each copy of this special edition of Uncut magazine is a free CD which features 15 of The Beatles press conferences from 1964-1966, which became like performaces in their own right! The last track on the CD is a recording of John Lennons last interview which was conducted just hours before his death. For more information, check out Uncut magazine at www.uncut.co.uk.
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Dedications:
To coincide with the 25th anniversary year of the death of John Lennon, and a regeneration programme taking place in the Kensington area of Liverpool, today Friday 26 August 2005 a plaque was unveiled by original Quarrymen, John Duff Lowe and Colin Hanton. The plaque was erected on the house where Percy Philips had his Studio at 38 Kensington, Liverpool, where The Quarrymen recorded "That'll Be The Day" and "In Spite Of All The Danger." Each received a replica of the plaque as a keepsake.
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Events:
Sefton Park's boating lake will stage the Liverpool Culture Company's
City of Light, a giant mobile water screen displaying a spectacular light and laser display set to music. The 30m-high wall of water will feature images from two video projectors and a 15-minute film taking a light-hearted look at the city's 798-year history.
The thousands of people expected to attend the shows will also be able to see images and words of ex-Beatle John Lennon set to his song, "In My Life," to mark the 25th anniversary of his death.
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Julian Lennon issued a statement about this...
Statement from Julian Lennon on the 25th anniversary of John Lennon’s Passing
As the anniversary of Dad’s death approaches, I have, inevitably, started receiving many requests for interviews. I am not going to give any interviews on the subject; I genuinely feel that I have talked about Dad enough. But I do appreciate the enormous interest people have in my father and his legacy and so, in lieu of interviews, I am going to say just this:
"Dad was a great talent whose music and ideals are an inspiration to millions. Yet I have always had very mixed feelings about Dad. He was the father I loved who let me down in so many ways. Who knows how our relationship might have developed if he had not been murdered … it’s painful to think that his early death robbed me of the chance for us to know each other better. What can never be taken away are his words and music, that’s his legacy for me. It’s in my blood for a start. Like Dad I became a musician too, and as with many other artistes in this world his words and music continue to influence me today and probably forever more."
Also, I can direct you to two projects to which I have made a contribution. First, Mum’s book. As you probably know by now, Mum has written a biography about Dad and her time with him and I have provided the Foreword. I am immensely proud of her achievement – it’s an honest and truthful account of the ten years they shared together – half his adult life! I recommend this book to anyone who wants to know the truth, the real truth about Dad and his life with Mum. The book is called 'John' and is published on 26 September 2005.
And the second is a TV profile of Dad which will transmit on BBC Television in October. I very, very rarely take part in shows like this but I was impressed with the integrity of the company who are making it for the BBC and their commitment to making it a balanced and thoughtful programme.
I expect there will be lots of other programmes and profiles commemorating and celebrating Dad on and around 8 December … for Mum and me that day will be one of private remembrance."
Julian.
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