The New York Post ran a story about the George Harrison stabbing incident today which also had a statement from Yoko about the horrific event. The Post said that Yoko was "distraught by the violence." Her message to the Harrison family: "My heart goes out to George, Olivia and Dhani, and I hope he will recover quickly."
For many of us, this incident in December was a flashback to another, soul-wrenching violent act in December of 1980. Here at IK!, our hearts also go out to Yoko for having to relive that terrible night upon learning about this latest act of insane violence.
From: Yahoo News
Thursday December 30 6:38 AM ET
Intruder Stabs Ex-Beatle Harrison
By Kate Kelland
HENLEY-ON-THAMES, England (Reuters) - An intruder armed with a knife stabbed former Beatle George Harrison
four times in the chest in a pre-dawn attack at their home near London on Thursday, a police spokesman said.
The spokesman said Harrison, 56, was in hospital in a stable condition after fighting off the intruder
at his home in Henley-on-Thames on the outskirts of London. His wife, Olivia, was also wounded in the attack
and was in hospital.
``The injuries aren't life-threatening,'' police spokesman Guy Bailey said. The 33-year-old attacker was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder at the 100-room mansion. Bailey said a member of the Harrisons' staff telephoned police to report the attack at 3:30 GMT on Thursday.
He said it was not clear if the attack was an action by an obsessed fan similar to the 1980 assassination in New York of another ex-Beatle, John Lennon, or a robbery attempt. But the attacker was from Liverpool, the birthplace of Harrison and the other Beatles members. ``Taste in music is pretty far down the questions police initially ask a suspected murderer,'' the spokesman told Reuters. Bailey said Harrison fought with the intruder to protect his wife, who suffered head injuries in the struggle. ``The intruder has head injuries so there was a serious struggle put up by Harrison and his wife,'' Bailey added.
The attack happened 19 years after Lennon was shot dead on December 8, 1980, by obsessed fan Mark Chapman outside his New York apartment building. ``It just brings a chill to you when you think about what happened to John Lennon,'' said radio DJ Jono Coleman who was a friend of Harrison.
``Suddenly, the day before the brand new century starts, another one of our prized, most fabulous people like George Harrison and his wife are attacked in their own home,'' he said.
``He's the one you'd least expect something dramatic to happen to,'' Beatles biographer Hunter Davies said. ``He's been a recluse in many ways in the lasts few years. He's gone into spiritualism, spiritual things.''
Other Ex-Beatles and Yoko Informed Of Attack
Harrison, the former lead guitarist of the Beatles, lived for many years in the shadow of Lennon and Paul McCartney and was rated a major musician in his own right only after the break-up of the ``Fab Four.'' During the group's reign as the kings of pop music, the Beatles' youngest member became devoted to oriental mysticism. He persuaded the other Beatles to travel to India to sit at the feet of the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.
``George leads a very quiet life now,'' Sir George Martin, the former Beatles' producer, said after the attack. ``He's very down to earth. He likes nothing more than doing his garden.''
A spokesman for the Beatles record company Apple said McCartney, Lennon's widow Yoko Ono and Beatles drummer Ringo Starr had all been advised of the attack.
``Everyone is deeply shocked but relieved and thankful that George and Olivia are OK,'' Apple said in a statement.
From Other News Sources:
Olivia was not admitted to the hospital. George was transferred to a specialist chest unit at the
Harefield Hospital in Uxbridge, northwest London. He was being treated for a collapsed lung and
was said to be on "serious tranquilizers."
The Harrisons' attacker was described as unstable by people who knew him and who may have had a problem with the Beatles, believing them to be "witches."
Wayne Page, who lives close to the Harrisons' 100-room estate said, "This is unbelievable news. I can't believe he's been attacked in his own home. I thought it was like Fort Knox in there. There's security and patrol dogs to keep people out and warning signs on the gates. He's not someone who just stays locked behind his gates, you see him down the Post Office...he's just a normal guy and this is horrific."
Paul McCartney's statement: "Thank God that both George and Olivia are all right. Send them all my love."
Mark Gritten, the chief executive of Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading where George was first hospitalized said that since George had gotten into a hospital bed following the attack, he was much better and was resting comfortably. Gitten told ABC News "Generally, they are very happy and concerned to let the world know they are recovering well."
More News Links:
(If your browser won't take you directly to the story using the full url, erase back to the main address ending
in ".com" and click from site's main page to find story.)
VH1
AllStar
Sonic Net
Launch
Wall of Sound
U.K's Dotmusic web site reported December 26, 1999 that "Imagine" is holding steady at Number Three for a second week on the British Pop Charts. Westlife's "Seasons in the Sun" remains at Number One for a second week, while Cliff Richard's "Millennium Prayer" holds steady at Number Two for the week. "Imagine" was given a "200,000 units sold" symbol on the charts.
Jody Denberg from KGSR has informed IK! that they now have Yoko's Christmas Card online, along with two interviews - one is from 1998, "Howitis: The John Lennon Anthology Yoko Ono Interview" and the other is a Ryko Disc interview that is linked to IK's site - at KGSR-Yoko . Jody has also informed us that over 14,500 copies of that compilation disc (scroll down a few stories for info about that) which included live performances on-air at KGSR by Julian and Sean has sold out in just three weeks. By the way, Jody says that the Yoko interviews and greeting will be kept online after the holidays.
Got this from Ono-Net..through Steve of Abbeyrd's Beatles Page who got it from Matt Hurwitz at Good Day Sunshine . Now that we've established that!----EMI is auctioning autographed copies of the British "Imagine" CD single. There are 10 sequentially numbered copies which have been autographed and customized by Yoko and other artists. Each artist signed and further personalized the CD by drawing things on the sleeve. Yoko's customized CD has a cloud drawing with Japanese script, is signed and dated.
Proceeds from the auction will benefit Shelter, a British charity which helps the homeless in England. Yoko said, "It's great to be involved in a U.K. charity that draws attention to such a worthwhile cause."
The auction runs from December 21 to January 4 and can be accessed at http://www.msn.co.uk/lennon .
See more about this story on on the BBC web site.
Launch reported today that the Beatles' "All You Need Is Love"" has been chosen as the theme that will open the U.K.'s grand Millennium Dome on New Year's Eve. After weeks of considering various choices, "All You Need Is Love" was chosen by a panel of experts that included the dome's creative director Mark Fisher (who has designed stage shows for Pink Floyd and others), musician Jools Holland (formerly of Squeeze), Paul Daniel (director of the English National Opera) and Michael Lockett (project director of the Dome's opening night.)
"All You Need Is Love" will be performed by all of the artists gathered at the Millennium Dome in Greenwich, London, just before the queen opens the dome. The song beat out a short list of current and past pop songs and was finally chosen after the list was narrowed down to just two songs, "All You Need Is Love" and "Let It Be." Of the choice, Fisher said, "It expresses the sentiment we all share for the future of the planet, our children and ourselves."
IK! has been running a survey asking you which song you would choose, and the vote has been overwhelmingly in favor of "All You Need Is Love." As of this writing (December 22 at 5PM) out of 121 voters, 74% have chosen the song that is now the official Millennium Dome opener.
(Thanks to Larry for e-mailing us this info)
According to Billboard Magazine's web site, the reissued "Imagine" on Parlophone debuted on the U.K. music charts at number 3. A group called Westlife had the Number 1 song with cover versions of Abba's "I Have a Dream" and Terry Jacks' "Seasons in the Sun." Cliff Richards' "Millennium Prayer" was bumped down to second place, while the novelty song known as the "hamster song," Cuban Boys' "Cognoscenti Vs. Intelligentsia" debuted at No. 4. This is the third time John's "Imagine" has become a Top 5 hit in Britain. This chart information was released December 19.
(Entered December 20,1999)
The ABC newsmagazine, "20/20" finally did run their Julian interview on December 16.
This interview obviously had been scheduled to run earlier. We had been
alerted more than once that Julian would appear "tonight" in the weeks prior
to the actual airing on the 16th. We must assume this was a scheduling manipulation on
ABC's part to have the interview coincide with the release of John Lennon's
"Imagine" in England that same week. Since almost the entire interview dealt with John and
Yoko rather than with Julian's own career and life, it's not surprising ABC
wanted to take full advantage of the publicity surrounding the release of "Imagine."
It's unfortunate that while Julian seems to want to be his own person,
journalists continue to monopolize his interviews by making comparisons to his father's
looks and voice. When he is not being compared musically or facially to
John, the discussion turns to Julian's opinion of John as a father and
Yoko as a stepmother and guardian of the Lennon Estate. No questions about how
Julian creates his music, when he might work on a new album, or how he feels about
current world events.
The host of the "20/20" interview, Jay Schadler, wrapped up the segment
with a solemn closing statement about how we're in an age
"fascinated with watching our heroes fall" and about how journalists are often
"the first ones to swing the ax." Apparently, Mr. Schadler is giving
himself too much importance in this ax-swinging scenario
because Julian has given this same interview on several TV and radio programs and
in print ever since his album was released more than a year ago. There was
really nothing new here for anyone following Julian's career for
the past several months.
If you missed it, you can read it for yourself. A transcript of the interview is on
ABC's Web site.
(Entered December 15, 1999)
"Imagine" has been voted the Song Of The Century by readers of SongLink International,
the London-based music industry trade magazine for songwriters and music publishers.
The song, which was re-released this week, just beat out the Paul McCartney-penned
Beatles classic 'Yesterday' to the top slot.
Lennon & McCartney meanwhile, were voted songwriters of the century
ahead of Elton John, Stevie Wonder, Bob Dylan and Diane Warren who
has written material for other artists including Whitney Houston.
The Beatles also won the Band Of The Century category.
SongLink surveyed nearly 1000 music industry professionals around the
world, who responded by e-mail, fax and post to vote for their all-time favourite
songs and artists. The full results of SongLink's poll are as follows:
Song Of The Century:
Songwriters Of The Century:
Band Of The Century:
Ideal Song To Herald The New Millennium:
(Entered December 15, 1999)
Check out a two-and-a-half hour interview on the
KGSR web site.
The station regularly has guest artists perform live on the air.
A compilation disc from the past year's live performances that
were broadcast exclusively on 107.1 KGSR has just been released
with performances by Julian and Sean.
(Entered December 14, 1999)
It's a battle of the band..singular..for the final sing-along of the century
at Britain's Millennium Dome, organizers have informed the media. The panel
of experts selecting the song to be sung at the turn-of-the-century
celebrations has narrowed the choice down to two Beatles tunes: "All You Need
Is Love" or "Let It Be." The song will be sung just and played just before
Queen Elizabeth officially opens the Dome, the centerpiece of Britain's
Millennium celebrations.
Panel leader Mark Fisher said: "Ever since we asked the question what is the
greatest rock classic of the century, we have been bombarded with letters,
e-mail, abuse, praise and debate. The Beatles pre-eminent place in the popular
culture of the last 100 years is assured. In the next few days we will make
the final choice. It won't be easy."
Check out IK!'s
survey
and make tell us what your choice would be.
(Entered December 13, 1999)
"Imagine" was released in Britain today. The competition for the Number One
spot on the charts appears to be Cliff Richard's "Millennium Prayer" and
according to ABC Radio News today, a song by a group of.....hamsters? This
is reportedly a big thing in England right now. Their web site,
Hamster Dance.Com was promoted
on the news report. I haven't tried to visit it myself..been kinda busy. But
it would be difficult to believe that a bunch of "singing hamsters" could
outsell John Lennon..or even Cliff Richard! Maybe Alvin and the Chipmunks
could do it..but hamsters? Strange days indeed!
The new "Imagine" release will be available at
CD Universe December 28. You can
pre-order now at a price of $12.99 The song will be available in a few
weeks at CD NOW for $11.49.
(Entered December 12, 1999)
BRITISH POP STAR URGES FANS TO BUY "IMAGINE"
Reuters News Service reported Friday that British pop star George Michael
has accused Sir Cliff Richard of exploiting religion in his ``vile'' chart-topping
single ``Millennium Prayer.''
The much-criticized song, which marries the words of The Lord's Prayer to the music
of ``Auld Lang Syne,'' went to No. 1 in the British charts after Christians
were urged to buy it.
Michael said in a London radio broadcast: ``There are people out there who feel it
is their duty as a Christian to buy this record on the eve of the millennium --
and that is a really horrible reason for a number one record.''
Michael urged his fans to send John Lennon's reissued single ``Imagine'' --
which he described as ``pure peace and spirituality'' -- to the top of the
charts instead.
``Everyone listening to this show should buy 'Imagine' just to make sure
they don't have that heinous piece of music on the radio as we go into the next
millennium,'' said Michael.
(Entered December 11, 1999)
A fan who changed his name to "John Ono Lennon" and moved to live in Penny Lane
was the first person lined up when a raffle was held for free tickets to a
concert by Paul McCartney at the Cavern Club. He was one of the 150 to
get tickets in the draw held December 10. The fan who made the furthest trek
to get tickets to the show on December 14 is Tomohiro Kobayashi from Tokyo, Japan.
Paul has held back the last two tickets to give away in a telephone competition
that will raise funds for the cancer unit appeal at Liverpool's
Alder Hey children's hospital where his mother Mary worked as a nurse.
Find the full story online at
Yahoo Daily News
(Thanks Larry for the above story tip)
(Entered December 10, 1999)
The Yoko Ono Project now has official opening dates, prices and information
about how to get tickets. Here are some excerpts from their press release.
Theatre Passe Muraille and Loud Mouth Asian Babes present...
THE YOKO ONO PROJECT.
Characters/Stage Play by JEAN YOON With Instruction Poems, texts and music by
YOKO ONO
Directed by JEAN YOON and MARION DE VRIES
Five years in development, this bold and provocative mixture of performance, music and
multi-media promises to explode myths and challenge perceptions about the
woman John Lennon called "the most famous unknown artist in the world."
Playwright JEAN YOON (Sliding for Home & Borders, LMAB), who is also directing
the piece with MARION DE VRIES (Rhubarb!'s Dreaming Elsewhere, Blyth's Wilbur
County Blues), has combined her own stage play and characters with instruction
poems, artwork, texts and music by Ono in a re-examination and celebration of her
art, strength, wit, and boundless imagination. The production has received the
support of Ms. Ono who has generously given permission for the use of her work.
Plot line: Three women gather at a Yoko Ono art exhibition. The exhibition triggers
revelations and debate about the North American Asian experience as refracted
through the prism of Ono, her work and pop image.
Joining them is the obligatory white boyfriend, and a sexy but embittered Asian guy.
Presiding over the gathering in the role of Singer/Yoko is renowned
pianist/composer LEE PUI MING, whose original music for the show is inspired by
and responds to Ono's musical mofits. Pui Ming is one of the most compelling
improvisers on the North American new music scene today. Trained in the classical
European tradition, her work is a fascinating blend of jazz, Chinese traditional
music, new concert and experimental improvisation. Her most recent CD,
Taklamakan, has been garnering rave reviews.
THE YOKO ONO PROJECT runs from January 13 to February 6 Previews January 11
& 12, 2000 at the Theatre Passe Muraille Mainspace, 16 Ryerson Avenue, Toronto, Ontario
Tuesday to Saturday at 8:00 pm Sunday at 2:30 pm.
Ticket prices are PWYC for previews $19 Tuesday to Thursday, $28 Friday and
Saturday, with PWYC performances on Sunday afternoons.
Tickets at the box office or call (416) 504 PLAY (7529).
VISIT THE WEBSITE:
http://www.passemuraille.on.ca
(Entered December 8, 1999)
Today's edition of the British newspaper, The Sun, featured an article written
by Yoko in which she urged British fans to send John to the top of the charts
once again. Yoko wrote, "I think 'Imagine' is the perfect anthem for the Millennium
and its message is still relevant today. It helps to spread the idea of peace
and John would be so touched if it reached Number One again. It was a wish piece
and laid out his vision for the world. I'd urge people to buy the song as a
tribute to John and to promote his ideas. It is the right note on which to
end the Millennium. I can't think of any more appropriate way." Currently,
Cliff Richard's "The Millennium Prayer" is perched at the top of the British
pop chart. The song is a rewrite of "The Lord's Prayer" set to the music of
"Auld Lang Syne."
(Entered December 8, 1999)
(Thanks to Barbara from Ono-Net)
In These Times Magazine is currently
featuring a story by Paul Krassner about John, Yoko and the FBI. You can read
the first part of the story online, but will have to buy the magazine at the
newsstand, or subscribe online to read the whole story.
(Entered December 7, 1999)
The Beatles Monthly Book reports in the December 1999 edition that Britain's
Prime Minister Tony Blair wants to include "pop heroes" among the Millennium
New Year's Honors List. John is thought to be high on the list...not
surprising with his song, "Imagine" recently voted Favorite Song Lyric in
Great Britain in a BBC poll.
(Entered December 05, 1999)
IK! was pleased to receive permission to link to the Dan Berkowitz
family's tour of "Open Window," Yoko's exhibit in Umm El-Fahem, Israel.
Tour the exhibit through the Berkowitz' eyes
here.
(Entered December 05, 1999)
Yoko appeared on Larry King Live on CNN Saturday, December 4. Larry King
brags that he doesn't do research on his guests so that he can ask the same
types of question that Joe Public might ask...but I suspect even Joe Public
already knows how John and Yoko met and just might be a wee bit tired of
the question, "Yoko, did you really break up the Beatles?" But, after we
got through those rather dip-stick questions, Yoko was able to talk a little
bit about her art shows in Israel, some of her early experiences with John
when they were being shunned by their friends, and talked a bit about Sean.
King asked her if she was able to forgive John's killer, and Yoko became
visibly shaken and refused to get into that subject. She said she's been
blocking that subject out because getting depressed about it would accomplish
nothing. King said that "Imagine" had been voted the second best song of
the Century, then after the commercial break, stood corrected that it was
actually the Number One song. Larry then read off his cue card and promoted
three new "Beatle" songs coming up, which Yoko corrected him with "Larry!
Wrong again!"
She pointed out that "Imagine," "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" and "Give Peace
a Chance" are John Lennon songs, not Beatle songs.
We're always grateful
to see Yoko being interviewed on television, but hopefully if Larry King
has her as a guest in the future, he will not ask her again if she broke
up the Beatles. (I could swear that he asked her this one other time when
she was on his show!)
(Read the transcript at CNN )
(Entered December 03, 1999)
Got this TV Guide Description from a posting on Ono-Net today:
The South Bank Show
"Melvyn Bragg presents a profile of Yoko Ono - one of the most famous and
controversial women of the century. Although a successful avant-garde
artist when she married John Lennon in 1969, her identity as an artist was soon
eclipsed by her association with the famous Beatle. But, as the programme
reveals, her work has recently been rediscovered by a new generation of
conceptual artists."
(Entered December 03, 1999)
This Mike Douglas-John and Yoko-Hawaii thing was bothering me because I knew I'd read it
somewhere, but it was buried deep, deep in my brain's archives. So today
I went on Ono-Net to see if someone there could jog my memory and wasn't disappointed.
Thanks to Bonnie and Steve for reminding me where to look for a published story about this.
It was mentioned in the Mike Douglas interview in the video booklet for "The Mike Douglas
Show with John and Yoko."
Douglas says, "Did you know that John and Yoko were booked to do my show in
Hawaii in December 1980 and had they done the booking, he would not have been
in New York City the day he was assassinated? I remember John called and said,
'I'm terribly sorry, but I'm in the midst of finishing an album and I have to
get it finished. And I can't get away.' That's an absolute fact."
(Here's a thought about wistful thinking of the "what if" and "if only" variety.
This also goes for people who occasionally speculate about "if John had stayed
in England he'd still be alive." I try to avoid that type of thinking. If John
and Yoko had flown to Hawaii, that doesn't necessarily mean John would be alive today.
What if the plane had crashed? We can only live with the way things are.)
(Entered December 02, 1999)
Larry King's CNN talk show last night (12/01/99) featured former talk show host
Mike Douglas reminiscing about his days on television and plugging his new book,
"I'll Be Right Back." A caller asked Douglas about his reaction when he learned
that John Lennon had been shot. Douglas said he "cracked up" and told a story
about having John booked for his show in Hawaii. Douglas claims John was booked to
appear on his show, but was killed the day before he was set to appear.
Now..maybe I've forgotten this scheduled Douglas appearance, (the older you get, the more you
forget) but I had always read that John and Yoko's next plans after wrapping up some
recording were to fly to San Francisco to demonstrate with Asian workers. The night he
was shot, John and Yoko had been working late on Yoko's music and were just heading home
before midnight. Would they have been getting ready to pack up to fly to Hawaii the
very next day? (I'm going to do a little research on this - there's a little
gnat buzzing in my ear about it. If anyone else can come up
with something that was published about this planned appearance, please
let us know and we'll post it here. This could be one of those things that
I read once and then forgot about in the almost 20 years since.)
1) John Lennon - 'Imagine'
2) The Beatles - 'Yesterday'
3) Queen - 'Bohemian Rhapsody'
4) Frank Sinatra - 'My Way'
5) The Eagles - 'Hotel California'
1) John Lennon & Paul McCartney
2) Elton John
3) Stevie Wonder
4) Bob Dylan
5) Diane Warren
1) The Beatles
2) The Rolling Stones
3) U2
4) Abba
5) Queen
1) Prince - '1999'
2) John Lennon - 'Imagine'
3) Robbie Williams - 'Millennium'
4) REM - 'The End Of The World As We Know It'
5) Abba - 'Happy New Year'
http://www.interlog.com/~jyoon
(Thanks Richard Layne)
ITV
Sunday 05 December 23:15 to 00:20
