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Updated October 2, 2000 The official site of All You Need Is... has been announced. The concert event is at the Palace Theatre, Sunday, December 10 to commemorate the death of John Lennon. Percentages of the proceeds will go to the BBC Children in Need Appeal and Greenpeace. Tickets are limited and are on sale as of Monday October 2. To book your tickets, call 0207 494 5098 or any Ticketmaster outlet. The official launch night will take place at 'Lounging' at Legends, Old Burlington Street, off Regent LStreet in London, UK. from 10:30 PM until...who knows when?! They will be giving away two FREE VIP Tickets and after party to the Concert and poster signing with GUS MacGREGOR.
For more information on the concert please contact Dragon Productions at :
DragonsL2K@aol.com
MDC Blames His Own Father (Entered September 28, 2000) Thanks to Larry McGahey, MP3 Station ... Thanks to Paul Boyd... Placing the blame for John Lennon's death on his own father, John's killer continues getting publicity in the worldwide media just days before his parole hearing in New York. MDC claims that he received no love from his own father, and "Perhaps I was getting him back, killing John Lennon, ruining my life as well." He says he had considered killing his father before finally deciding to take John Lennon's life. In a statement released by Parlophone Records in London, Yoko withheld comment on MDC's parole hearing, saying "At this time, I do not wish to offend the Parole Board by making an untimely public statement which may be construed as an attempt to try and influence their decision." Yoko has written a letter to the parole board. Frighteningly enough, MDC says if he wins his freedom, he wants to become a father. Despite the fact that he only recently began thinking of John Lennon as a real person rather than as a photograph on an album cover, he claims he is mentally ready for release. MDC says he thinks John Lennon "would probably want to see me released." Elliot Mintz, a spokesman for Yoko Ono, said he has no idea whether John would have approved of parole for Chapman. ``John would have loved to have been here to speak for himself,'' he told Tuesday's New York Post. ``John would have loved to have been here to speak for himself,'' he told Tuesday's New York Post in what was a front page story. The Post had a full-page photo of MDC, with a small photo insert of John Lennon, with the words, "Beatle Killer Proclaims: John Would Forgive Me" across the left side of the page. The Post story claims that they have knowledge of what Yoko wrote to the Parole Board, and that her letter is a heartfelt plea to keep her husband's murderer behind bars. MDC's taped interview will be shown on Court TV's Mugshots on October 2 at the same time that Bravo will be airing a Yoko Ono special which will feature an interview with John and Yoko's son, Sean. Sean was 5 years old when his father was murdered. He shares a birthday with his father, and turns 25 on October 9. Front Page New York Post Story
John Lennon Night, October 7 on Channel 4 (Entered September 28, 2000) Thanks to Paul Boyd... An evening of commemorative programs to mark John Lennon's 60th birthday, will be aired on Saturday, October 7th. The centerpiece of the evening will be a musical tribute to songs of John's entitled, "Shine On" where international artists with an appreciation of, or an empathy with John's music, cover a track of their choice as well as short messages from people who knew John Lennon such as his Liverpool Art College tutor and producer Phil Spector. The show will be presented by Jools Holland & Jo Whiley. Related story: IK! News, August 31, 2000
MDC Wants Freedom (Entered September 26, 2000) Thanks to Larry McGahey, MP3 Station Thanks to Paul Boyd Jack Jones, who wrote a book about John's killer, has interviewed him and it has been revealed that Chapman plans to present a case for himself at his parole hearing on October 3. According to Jones, John's murderer has his parole date circled on his calendar. In a sure sign that this person is not ready to face the world, he has admitted that John Lennon only became a real human being to him three years ago. Before that, he was just a picture on an album cover. He murdered John almost 20 years ago and it took him 17 years to figure this out. He still does not show total remorse for his action and claims it was a different man who committed premeditated murder in New York City on December 8, 1980. Jones reports that Chapman thinks John would have forgiven him. He plans to tell the parole board he will spend his time outside prison walls as a "Christian revivalist." He claims to want to lead a "normal" life - and his quest for fame at the expense of John Lennon, his family, loved ones, friends and extended family around the world - is over.
Jones interviewed MDC for a Court TV special which will air on the same date
and same time as Bravo will be airing a Yoko Ono special which will feature
interviews with John and Yoko's son, Sean and Yoko's daughter, Kyoko.
Read this whole pathetic Jack Jones interview story at LineOne- Or: Yahoo News
Related link: Add your comments about the upcoming parole hearing on the IK! Community Message Board. Or send a message to the New York Parole Board.
The Art of John Lennon (Entered September 24, 2000) Thanks to Paul Boyd
The show will take place at the The Royal Ontario Museum with free admission to the tour on Fridays between 4:30 and 9:30 p.m. Regular admission to this special show is $12 for adults, $8 for seniors and students, and $6 for children aged 5 to 14. Phone (416)586-8000 or visit the web site. About the timing of the show, Yoko told Ott: "I think things happen in a very organic way. It's very interesting, especially timing-wise. Sometimes we plan something, and it just doesn't happen. But this year, it's great, because timing is something I don't have much control over. I never say, 'Well, I'll wait until John's 60th birthday or whatever.' I never do that." Yoko will be in Japan at the opening of the world's first permanent John Lennon museum on October 9. She told Ott she feels the art tour helps to show a different side of John. Yoko:"I think that as a rocker, John always felt that he had to kind of show this tough side, his macho side as well. That side was important for the rock world. But through the drawings, he found that he did not always have to be the macho guy. So he was showing the other side of him, which, of course, I saw at home." The show features drawings from Real Love, the children's book Lennon drew for his son, Sean -- who turns 25 on October 9. The tour is organized by Pacific Edge Gallery of Laguna Beach, California, whose curator, Richard Horowitz, drew the attention of Lynn Clifford, director of Yoko's Bag One Art productions. She attended a Horowitz showing of his own collection of John's art and recommended that Yoko give Horowitz her cooperation. Horowitz there will be "between 100 and 110 different drawings on display," some of which have never been shown in Canada before. Horowitz: "We will also be bringing along three original pen-and-ink drawings from John's Japanese dictionary." Two of them are on loan from Yoko and are not for sale. The one that is for sale is called With Love, John. It is a self-portrait of John, a sun and a little children's drawing of a sheep. It's signed by both John and Yoko. "Someone could actually walk away with an original, totally authenticated, never offered for sale before, John Lennon drawing for US $8,000," Horowitz says. As well as the Lennon art exhibit, the ROM is hosting two related events. On October 6, University of Toronto music professor James Kippen will lecture ($7 admission fee) on the "indispensability of John Lennon to the Beatles." And on October 13, the Greg Godovitz Orchestra and Choir, featuring Canadian '80s pop star Goddo, will perform a tribute to the Beatles' music at the ROM's Garfield Weston Exhibition Hall. Read the full story at at the National Post.
Yoko in New York Times Sunday, September 24 (Entered September 24, 2000) Thanks to Paul Boyd New York Times Photo By Lyle Ashton Harris
A few snips: Sean describes his mom-as-artist backstage at the JazzFest in NYC this past summer: "I think what makes her unique as an artist, is she really just thinks of art as this total thing that encompasses film, theater, performance, music, visual art and everything else. Well, they're expressions, they're manifestations of your inner, you know, workings." DJ Spooky on Yoko: "Yoko's coming out of a hybrid Western and Eastern sense of postmysticism," he says. "She's a shaman. Shamans were transcendent figures who could guide you on an experience. That's how I view her. Like Joseph Beuys," he says, likening her to one of the central figures of postwar European art. The article focuses on the diversity of Yoko's art and life, discusses her childhood and early art career briefly and the author shares a scene inside the Dakota as Yoko photographs her circle of artist-friends for the Ubu show. Yoko: "Wherever I go I'm trying to heal myself, heal the earth, heal the universe, heal the people who came to the concert or the show." Yoko: "I think the image of the Asian woman up until me was Madam Butterfly," she says. "Madam Butterfly is about a woman who had an affair with an American officer and she kills herself. I was touching a sacred cow, but I also didn't seem to be that vulnerable woman who is going to commit suicide. I was coming right at your face." About the situation with Julian's claims that Yoko has been unfair to him, David Warmflash, a Lennon-Ono family lawyer since the 70's said, financially, Julian was treated equally with Sean. "Before his death, John would not give Julian money, but Yoko gave him money," he says. Asked to reveal her financial assets, Yoko said, "Anybody who gives out their net worth belongs in a mental institution." She told Wallach her worth is "close to Paul McCartney's" - which was recently estimated at $775-million. Yoko prefers to be judged by her art rather than by her bankbook. See the whole story online at New York Times or pick up the paper on your newsstand this weekend.
JOL Birthday Party From Louisiana on Public Radio (Entered September 23, 2000) Thanks to Doyle and Yvette Jeter On October 9, 2000, Enoch's Cafe and Pub in Monroe, Louisiana will hold its 21st annual John Lennon's Birthday Celebration! The celebration was started on October 9, 1980. Just a few months later, John was killed. This year's event will broadcast live on KEDM Public Radio, 90.3 FM. This station can be picked up worldwide on the internet, so you're invited to listen in from 7 to 9 pm Central Time. E-mail yjeter@iamerical.net with any comments.
Capitol Records Promo Interview for Radio Stations (Entered September 23, 2000)
Jody Denberg Program Director at KGSR in Austin, Texas has just wrapped up an interview with Yoko which will be the centerpiece of a radio special due in mid- to late-October. Jody told IK! that Yoko named the disc "Starting Over." The program features a new interview with Yoko conducted by Jody earlier this month, along with two tracks from each of the three reissues ("Remember," "God," "Imagine," "Gimme Some Truth," "Starting Over" and "Walking on Thin Ice."). The disc will also include a section tentatively entitled "John Lennon: Spoken Words" with at least ten soundbites of John talking - from the "Jesus Apology" to the Elliot Mintz "Beatles Reunion" beach talk..to a couple bites from WNEW 1974..as well as a couple circa 1980. The disc will feature a rarely seen Allen Tannenbaum photo on the cover and the interview topics with Yoko include the parole of Chapman, John's diaries, why she doesn't respond to allegations made in books and.. she answers questions about Julian and Sean.
Rock 'N Roll Hall of Fame (Entered September 20, 2000) Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum IK! received a news story today about Rock 'N Roll Hall of Fame and Museum's special tribute to John that begins October 20th. The exhibit, "Lennon: His Life and Work" will remain on display for a whole year..through September 2001..so there's plenty of time to head to Cleveland, Ohio. The major retrospective will occupy the fourth, fifth and sixth floors of the museum. The exhibit is a collaboration with Yoko Ono, with more than 100 pieces on loan from her personal collection. "It's quite exciting in a way that reflects John's spirit," said Yoko, who will attend an opening evening reception planned for October 19. Rock hall officials have mentioned Sean Lennon and the British Beatles-influenced band, Oasis, as possible performers for the kick-off party, although details have not been finalized. "This is probably the biggest exhibit that the rock hall has done," said Jim Henke, the museum's chief curator. "Both as a Beatle and as a solo artist, John Lennon had a very profound impact not just on rock 'n' roll music, but on politics and popular culture," Henke said. "He was one of the leaders of the generation who grew up in the '60s and '70s." The exhibit will include the following artifacts: A 12-string Rickenbacker electric guitar that Lennon played with the Beatles. A psychedelic frock coat worn by John when the Beatles performed "All You Need Is Love" on an international television special in 1967. John's white tuxedo from the "Magical Mystery Tour" film. A Gibson acoustic guitar that John played on "Give Peace a Chance." Drawings, paintings and collages by John. John and Yoko's bed from the Dakota apartment building. An upright Steinway piano, also from the Dakota, on which John composed songs for the 1980 album "Double Fantasy." Kimonos worn by Lennon and Yoko in the video for "Starting Over." John's handwritten lyrics for 32 songs, including "In My Life," "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" and "Imagine." At Yoko's request, the exhibit also will feature a bag containing the clothes and other personal belongings that were removed from John's body at Roosevelt Hospital in New York, where he died December 8, 1980, after being shot in the back by what is commonly referred to as "a deranged fan." John was only 40. His blood-splattered eyeglasses will be displayed at the rock hall, too. These glasses have already been shown on the cover of Yoko's album, "Season of Glass." "We don't want to sensationalize his murder," Henke said. "Yoko wants to make a point about how tragic his death was." Completing the installation will be two pieces by Yoko. Museum visitors will be able to write notes and hang them on a "wish tree," most likely to be located in the main lobby. "It will probably be some sort of evergreen tree," Henke said. "Ultimately, the notes all go back to Yoko. I don't know what she does with them." The rock hall also will hook up a special phone that Ono plans to call occasionally for impromptu chats with visitors. "It will only take incoming calls," Henke said. "Yoko will call when the spirit moves her and engage people in conversation." Yoko wrote the introduction for an exhibit catalog that will be published by the rock hall. The 176-page book will include color photos of key artifacts as well as an essay by Henke, who edited the catalog. It will be sold exclusively at the museum and on the rock hall's Web site. The exhibit may travel to Europe after it closes here, Henke said, although it will not be shown outside the rock hall in the United States, as requested by Yoko. John has been inducted into the rock hall twice, as a member of the Beatles and as a solo artist.
Central Park Event (Entered September 20, 2000) Thanks to Brad from JOL Society On October 7th and October 9th, the John Lennon Society will be in Strawberry Fields in Central Park to collect signatures for the petition to keep MDC in prison. If no one from The Society is there when you are, look for the petitions on the Imagine Mosaic. As far as IK! knows, there is no official ceremony planned in Central Park on what would have been John's 60th birthday. If anyone has information about any organized gatherings on that date, please drop us an e-mail here at IK!
John Lennon Documentary and Tribute on Channel 4 (Entered September 19, 2000) Thanks to Paul Boyd Channel 4 in the UK will screen a 75-minute documentary on John Lennon's life, followed by an hour-long tribute featuring JOL songs performed by stars of today. The show, recorded earlier this month in former Beatles' producer, Sir George Martin's Air Studios, features among others, Noel Gallagher and Paul Weller. Related JOL Birthday Celebration Stories: Oasis Members Plan Musical Tribute to John JOL B'Day Celebration in Hollywood
John Lennon Museum To Open in Japan (Entered September 19, 2000) The John Lennon Museum, which we've been hearing about for quite some time, will open its doors on October 9, 2000. The museum is located in the Saitama New Urban Center, just 30km north of Tokyo. You can see an aerial photograph of the building with a graphic that shows where the JLMuseum is located inside the Center at http://www.taisei.co.jp/museum/newcity_e.html The John Lennon Museum web site also shows a map of the surrounding area. The Lennon family vacation city, Karaizawa is a one-hour bullet train ride away. In addition, one page of the site is devoted to details about what is being shown in the Museum. John's life will be displayed in, appropriately enough, nine zones and message spaces within the Saitama New Urban Center building on the fourth and fifth floors. This is the first official John Lennon museum in the world, approved by Yoko Ono. In fact, most of the 130 items on display were donated to the museum by Yoko. These items include guitars, lyrics, clothes and pictures. Main exhibits will include one of John's Rickenbacker guitars which he played from 1960 to 1962. The lyrics to "Woman" will be displayed, along with John's glasses, New York City shirts and other items closely associated with him. A theater will project pictures of John from his birth to the Beatle days. There will also be a museum shop selling original items and a cafe which was produced in the image of the Mampei Hotel in Karuizawa where John and Yoko stayed regularly in the summers of 1976 to 1980. The management of the cafe is being handled by the Mampei Hotel. When the Museum project was first announced several months ago, many fans were surprised and some were dismayed that it was being built in Japan. Yoko mentioned this fact in her Q&A Event with IK! readers last year: Yoko: "The organizers seem to be responsible and good people. You may ask, why not in the United States or Britain? Well, we didn't get the call, that is, from reliable people! It's alright, my friends. This is the card that's been dealt to us now." By the looks of things, the hand being dealt is a very good one.
Yoko Hosts BBC2 TV Music Show (Entered September 18, 2000)
From Ono-Net, Richard Layne From Yahoo News: Yoko is to be guest presenter for a Top Of The Pops special devoted to John Lennon to mark the 60th anniversary of his birth. She will introduce some of his classic tracks and give an insight into his life with anecdotes and reminiscences about his songwriting on BBC2's TOTP2. The show, which will feature tracks like "Give Peace A Chance," "Power To The People" and "Instant Karma," will be screened on September 27. John would have celebrated his 60th birthday on October 9. Two months later it will be the 20th anniversary of the night he was murdered outside his home at the Dakota apartment building in New York City. Yoko touches on his death when she introduces the song "(Just Like) Starting Over," which was in the charts shortly before his death and climbed to number one as the world mourned. She says: "What a song. We loved it, we thought it was very positive. It was a start for both of us and we felt very positive about it. Life is so strange because while he was singing Starting Over and we were rejoicing in this beautiful song there was some spirit sneaking behind us to take John away." She also recalls the days recording Lennon's classic album "Imagine" at their mansion in Ascot and tells how the song "Jealous Guy" still leaves her in tears. (Sign an online petition to keep John's killer behind bars on the John Lennon Society web site.)
John's Killer Due for Parole Hearing Soon
(Photo of John, Yoko and Sean by Nishi F. Saimaru -
On their site, they are collecting "signatures" - online names and remarks - from as many people as possible, which they will then present to the New York Parole Board.
Sign the JLSociety online petition at
http://johnlennonsociety.tripod.com/petition.htm . Please note..IK! was contacted by the JLSociety today (September 18) and they have corrected their mailbox problem. The box was overflowing, so they've switched to a different mailbox that can handle the volume. If you had trouble signing this petition, please try again!
NYS Department of Correctional Services IK! has also tried to contact Kristy Mundt who has been collecting signatures for at least two years. The e-mail address we have for her no longer seems to work and the web site address she gave us at the beginning of the year is no longer reachable. If Kristy is reading this, or if someone out there knows how to reach her, please contact us. We would like to know how her worldwide project is progressing.
The Latest News from Capitol (Entered September 10, 2000)
As IK! reported earlier, Plastic Ono Band and Double Fantasy are being reissued
in October to coincide with what would have been John's 60th birthday.
What follows is the official press release issued by Capitol Records:
NEW YORK-Two remarkable albums by John Lennon, arguably the greatest rock musician we will know in our lifetime, will be reissued on October 9, 2000, on what would have been his 60th birthday. The two albums' initial release dates were separated by a decade, but their emotional resonance shows no sign of abating with the passing of time. Rather, like much of Lennon's work, they have gained in stature and, although they were each released at the dawning of a new decade and at times of great social change - the 1970's and 1980's respectively - they are truly timeless. The reissue of these albums brings together John's first post-Beatles solo album with his last. "John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band" is seen by many as John Lennon's masterpiece, offering a disquieting, riveting insight into a life spent in exploration and illumination. Containing many of his most incisive and harrowing songs, like ``Mother,'' ``Working Class Hero'' and ``God,'' John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band was originally released on Apple on Dec 11, 1970. Now remixed and digitally remastered under the supervision of Yoko Ono, the album is augmented by two bonus tracks - ``Power To The People,'' a single originally released after the album, and ``Do The Oz,'' originally the b side of the ``God Save Oz(Us)'' single which was covered by Bill Elliott and The Elastic Oz Band. ``Do The Oz'' refers to ``Oz'' magazine, the leading underground paper of the `60's; both tracks reflect the beginning of the expression of John and Yoko's political interests. ``Power To The People'' was originally released in the UK on March 12, 1971. Packaging for the album will feature the original cover art and photographs for the album, plus rare pictures from the era, plus John's hand-written lyrics. "Double Fantasy," by John Lennon and Yoko Ono, was released in the UK on November 17, 1980. Announced in the press release as ``a dialogue between men and women, and their fantasies,'' the album was released amidst a barrage of publicity; it was John Lennon's first studio album for 5 years and as word spread, excitement was palpable. In 1970, "John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band" had begun with the sound of a tolling bell. Ten years later, in a deliberate echo, John opened what was to be the final album of his life with another bell. This time it was no slowed-down harbinger of doom, but the benevolent tinkling of a traditional Japanese wishing bell and the track it introduced, ``(Just Like) Starting Over'' was a message of hope, of renewal, a message not lost on Lennon fans over the world. By the beginning of December " Double Fantasy" was in the U.S. Top 10 and climbing to No. 1, and John and Yoko were working on a new Yoko track, ``Walking On Thin Ice'' that had been finished too late for inclusion on the album. The track was finished on December 8th and is now inextricably linked to the events of that night, the night John Lennon was killed. Its inclusion on the new version of "Double Fantasy," along with two other bonus tracks, seems to complete a very powerful lyrical cycle, as it is now impossible to listen to "Double Fantasy" as a record isolated from the events surrounding it. Now digitally remastered, "Double Fantasy" features 3 bonus tracks - the previously unreleased John Lennon song ``Help Me To Help Myself,'' Yoko's ``Walking On Thin Ice'' and ``Central Park Stroll,'' a short dialogue of John and Yoko walking in Central Park. These tracks continue the duality of the original album, which is comprised of consecutive John Lennon and Yoko Ono tracks. ``Central Park Stroll'' unites the two at the end of the album. Retaining the original artwork, "Double Fantasy" also includes additional photographs from the era. In the 20 years since his death, John Lennon's music has reached out to new generations of artists and fans alike. He has inspired countless musicians who have used his music as a springboard for their own creativity and helped take his message to a new audience. It came as no surprise that Oasis ended their recent shows with his image projected onscreen behind them; they will not be the last to acknowledge their debt to who is seen by many to be the most important singer/songwriter of the last 50 years. On October 9 in Tokyo the world's first permanent John Lennon Museum will open. Later that month there will be a major John Lennon exhibition at The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Museum in Cleveland. Amongst the retrospectives, it is strange to relate that, to a lot of people over the world, John Lennon has never really gone away. The music on these two reissued albums helps us understand why.
A Birthday Celebration at Hollywood Walk of Fame
(Entered September 10, 2000)
Jerry Rubin, whose name is closely associated with the John Lennon Birthday Celebration each year in Los Angeles through the Alliance for Survival organization, is fighting city hall. Rubin, a candidate for Santa Monica City Council, is upset that the California city won't let him list "peace activist" as his occupation on the ballot for the November 7 election. Rubin told the AP: "It's an accurate description of what I've done for the past 20 years. I've marched on Washington and done 25 peace-related fasts. Peace activist is my job." Rubin has sued the city, saying his civil rights have been violated. State guideliness require that the term explain how candidates earn their income and the guidelines prohibit use of the word "activist." Jump to Alliance for Survival JOL Birthday Story
Lennon2000 Coming to London in December (Entered September 10, 2000) Dragon Productions has sent information to IK! about a one-night show coming to London in December. LENNON2000 is being billed as a "musical and visual feast" for one night only at the Palace Theatre. The show will take place Sunday, December 10 and will star Gus MacGregor..with special guests. BBC Children In Need Appeal and Greenpace will receive 4% each of total ticket sales. You can book your ticket online at Stoll-Moss.Com or phone 0207-494-5098. IK! has learned that the first 100 people to book their tickets by email, will receive a FREE VIP entry PASS to the EXCLUSIVE AFTER PARTY at Cafe de Paris. Tickets go on sale Friday, September 15. Be watching for the official launch of The Lennon2000 web site.
John's Killer Due for Parole Hearing Soon (Entered September 10, 2000) As the time draws near for the parole hearing of John Lennon's murderer, news agencies are renewing their speculation as to whether Yoko will make a victim's statement, if so, what will it consist of, and will John's killer eventually go free. No official word has come from Yoko, but there have been hints from insiders that her response will be that she is concerned about the safety of John's two sons, Sean and Julian, and herself. John's killer was sentenced to 20-years-to-life for the 1980 murder. According to prison officials, his behavior behind bars has been acceptable and he has been disciplined for only minor infractions. If John's killer does win his freedom on this first parole hearing, the earliest possible release date would be December 4, four days before the 20th anniversary of the killing. Fans have been gathering signatures on petitions that will be presented to the parole board. You can sign an online petition at John Lennon Society . There has been no word as to whether or not John's killer wants to be paroled - his own safety could also be in question.
JOL Art Comes to Toronto in October (Entered September 5, 2000) Thanks to Paul Boyd An interview with Yoko conducted by Christopher Hume was featured on The Toronto Star site Monday, September 4. Mr. Hume is the Star's art critic. The interview was for the purpose of advance publicity for a Toronto exhibition of drawings by John Lennon..to be displayed at the Royal Ontario Museum from October 5 to October 15. The exhibition consists of prints made from sketches by John in the 1960s and '70s. For this show, 12 new images from Real Love, a handmade book Lennon made for his son, Sean, have been added. All works have been photomechanically reproduced as lithographs and serigraphs, some with colour added by Yoko, and released in editions of 300 or so. Here's Hume's version of his phone conversation with Yoko: ``Yoko will be right with you,'' says the voice on the line from Ono's studio in New York. The sounds of ``Woman,'' one of Lennon's drippiest tunes, comes over the phone. ``Woman, I can hardly explain . . .'' With a click, the song ends and Ono is on the line. ``John is not around so he cannot write a new song or do a new drawing,'' she explains. ``I want people to remember him and what he stood for. ``He was a person who was very warm and nice,'' she adds, ``with a great sense of humour.'' Much of this can be gleaned from these pictures, which celebrate Ono and their son, Sean, and their lives together. But what did John Lennon stand for? ``Family values,'' says Ono. ``You know, love, understanding, a few laughs. . . .'' ``I feel the fact we got together had something to do with his art,'' she says. ``Whenever he did anything he would show it to me. He began to take his work more seriously. He started to sign it and began to think of it as something that would come out later. He wanted to show it in a gallery.'' ``Excuse me, Yoko,'' a voice interrupts, ``there's another interview waiting on line two.'' ``John's work looks very easy, but it's not,'' Ono points out, talking faster and faster. ``He was a much better artist than he thought he was.''
LA Alliance for Survival JOL Birthday Celebration (Entered September 5, 2000) Thanks to West Coast Correspondent, Harry Bluebond A free-to-the-public John Lennon 60th Birthday Celebration will take place at 7PM Monday, October 9 at John's Hollywood Walk of Fame star. The special birthday gathering will include a cake cutting ceremony, John Lennon and Beatles music, and the lighting of 60 peace candles surrounding John's tribute star. At 8PM, following the cake cutting ceremony and candle lighting, a Public Organizing and Outreach Meeting will be held at the star to plane for the very special John Lennon 20th Anniversary Memorial Remembrance - also scheduled to tak eplace at John's Walk of Fame star beginning at 7PM Friday, December 8. John's star is located at 1750 N. Vine Street, one block north of Hollywood Boulevard, directly in front of the Capitol Records Tower Building. For further information, or to volunteer to help at the evening, call the Los Angeles Alliance for Survival at (310) 399-1000.
The Real Yoko Ono Bravo TV has announced an air time for "The Real Yoko Ono." This Bravo Profile will be shown in the United States on October 2, 2000 at 10PM and 1AM Eastern Time.
Thanks to Larry McGahey, webmaster for Old World Distributors (Originally Entered August 18, 2000) Soul Purpose Productions have produced a new documentary for Channel 4 (Great Britain) TV about Yoko's life, art and family. According to Channel 4's promo of "The Real Yoko Ono," the film will focus on lesser-known facts about Yoko's life and will feature information about her first husband, Toshi Ichiyanagi, her second marriage to filmmaker Tony Cox, the father of Yoko's daughter Kyoko, her struggle to get her daughter back after Cox went into hiding with her following Yoko's marriage to John, as well as her relationship with Sean after John's death. Yoko talks about her life before, during and after her marriage to John Lennon. Also interviewed: Sean and, for the first time ever, Kyoko. Sources at Channel 4 have informed IK! that this documentary will not be available for sale on videotape at this time. The documentary was directed and produced by Ursula Macfarlane; executive producer, Belinda Giles. Read more about it at Channel 4
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Terry Ott reported for 
The New York Times Magazine (September 24, 2000) has an extensive feature story
by Amei Wallach about Yoko that discusses her art, music and fame.
David Peel, who recorded some tunes with John and Yoko several years ago,
and a group of other concerned fans and friends have set up a web site
for an organization they've formed called The John Lennon Society.
