John Lennon
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John Lennon

Details
John Lennon
An autograph note, signed, to Apple publicist Tony Bramwell, [n.d. but circa May 1969] telling him to keep quiet about The Ballad Of John And Yoko until its release: ...No Pre Publicity On Ballad Of John & Yoko Especially The Christ! Bit -- So Don't Play It Round Too Much Or You'll Frighten People adding -- Get It Pressed First, John 1p.
Provenance
Ex-lot 373, Pop, Christie's South Kensington, 25th April, 1991, From the collection of Tony Bramwell
Literature
THE BEATLES, The Beatles Anthology, London: Cassell & Co. 2000, pp. 333-334
ROBERTSON, John The Art & Music of John Lennon, London: Omnibus Press, 1990, p.108
M. Lewisohn op. cit, 1992, p.319 (illus.) LEWISOHN, Mark The MACDONALD, Ian Revolution In The Head, London: Pimlico, 1978, p.277
Special notice
VAT rate of 5% is payable on hammer price plus buyer's premium

Lot Essay

This note to Tony Bramwell reflects Lennon's anxiety about public perception of his autobiographical song The Ballad of John and Yoko released on 30 May, 1969. The song gave an account of John and Yoko's wedding, their honeymoon/Bed-In in Amsterdam and their return to England but Lennon was particularly concerned about the media and public reaction to the song's refrain Christ you know it ain't easy, you know how hard it can be The way things are going, they're gonna crucify me.... Having been savaged in 1966 for his Beatles are bigger than Christ.. out-of-context quote, and ridiculed by a large proportion of the world's press over their recent bed-in for peace, Lennon's paranoia regarding his use of the words Christ and crucify is understandable and somewhat prophetic. A number of radio stations outside Britain, particularly in America's southern bible belt and ABC, the Australian Broadcasting Company did subsequently ban it or bleep the word 'Christ' during airplay.

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