|
|
|
Lennon was born during World War II. It must have had something to do with the shaping of his temperament. His father left when he was five, and his mother Julia left him with his aunt Mimi and uncle George. He kept in touch with his mother though, and it was she who kindled a love of music by teaching him to play the banjo. Then, soon after he turned 17, Julia died in a car accident.
A recent friend of Lennon's, a boy called Paul McCartney, had lost his own mother to cancer at 14. The common loss, coupled with a fascination with rock 'n' roll, brought the two closer. After Lennon joined the Liverpool College of Art, two things happened. He met his first future wife, Cynthia Powell, and started a band called the Quarry Men with Paul McCartney and a younger friend, George Harrison.
The band changed its name a couple of times. They were Johnny and the Moondogs, then The Silver Beetles. Finally, they settled on The Beatles. And nothing would ever be the same again.
|
|