Understanding John Lennon

The full story of John Lennon and The Beatles has all been told, or has it? Francis Kenny's 'Understanding John Lennon' presents an account of John and the band that challenges preconceived assumptions. With a foreword to the book by lifelong friend and founder of Merseybeat Magazine, Bill Harry

A Genius made and broken by his childhood!

John Lennon, musical Icon and leader of the greatest band the world has ever known. What was the secret that made this Rock 'n Rock Juggernaut come off its rails?

In a Huffington Post article on the best biographies on John Lennon, Kenny's earlier, shorter book, The Making of John Lennon, was ranked second.

Kenny (who has lived in Liverpool all his life) believes that to fully understand The Beatles, it would be helpful to have a good grasp of Liverpool, with its large Irish immigrant population and the diverse influences of being a maritime city. The attitude and outlook of The Beatles were firmly intertwined with the notion of outsider and otherness of Liverpool. Politician Margaret Simey declared that: 'The magic of Liverpool is that it isn't England.' This view was reflected in the attitude and the music of The Beatles.

Understanding John Lennon contains an extensive bibliography (It was previously published by Indiana University Press), and the research is referenced with over 300 citations. The book offers a new and challenging interpretation of John Lennon and The Beatles. Some of the issues Kenny deals with are:

• Julia, John's mother, had her postnatal health issues used against her by her sister, Mimi, for Mimi to gain custody of John. The puritanical nature of Mimi traumatised the young John.
• John's father, Freddie, was blackmailed, while in prison, by Mimi to keep him out of John's life.
• The cause of John's musical genius and his dark depression sprang from the same circumstances.
• An article written by Kenny and published in Salon Magazine, which puts forward the view that Strawberry Fields Forever was not about a girl's orphanage, but something far more personal.
• The demise of the band began with the release of Sgt Pepper's.
• John's fear of losing leadership of The Beatles resulted in, by his admission, using Yoko Ono to help break up the band.
• The lyrics of Working-Class Hero were an ambiguous split between a plea for understanding of himself and an attack on Paul and George.