John Lennon’s most controversial time frame during his career was in late 1971 and early 1972, when he seemed to associate himself with people who were considered to be very radical in terms of their political orientation. This period of time also coincided with a low ebb in his record sales following the release of the album “Sometime in New York City.”
Some Beatles fans have also suspected that a “Sometime in New York City” box set that had been planned and discussed has either been shelved or postponed due to its lack of commercial viability. All of this was in conjunction with his deportation problems and increasing tensions with Yoko who had her own ambitions and artistic pursuits and the couple began to face friction as they could see that their relationship was possibly having a negative effect on John’s record sales. John when he was with the Beatles was certainly used to being on the top of the charts. That was no longer the case. Some speculate that this friction contributed heavily to the 18-month “Lost Weekend.”
One of the individuals that the Lennons associated themselves within the early 70’s was a left-wing political activist named Tariq Ali. John told Tariq that he helped inspire John’s song, “Power To The People.” Tariq was also one of the first people to hear John’s classic song, “Imagine.”
I may be in the minority but I still want to see a “Sometime in New York City” box set one day as there is much material from that time frame like the “One to One” concert that deserves a good remix and presentation.
Here is my copy of Tariq’s signed book entitled “Street Fighting Years.” Published in 2005 by Verso.
The ultimate irony of a book like this is the following question: How do you sell a book that has a left-wing political orientation with a non-capitalist perspective? Well, the ironic answer is you try to sell more copies by putting a Beatle on the cover…LOL!
Tariq’s signature
Back Cover of the book:
John Lennon Interview: Red Mole 1/21/1971 – Beatles Interviews Database
Around the same time as the “Red Mole” Interview, Ramparts Magazine ran the following story:
Have you listened to the Tariq Ali interview with John Lennon? What did you think?
Buzz
John Lennon
Books about John Lennon
As there is a revisionist movement thats been afoot for quite a long time (try dating back to when Ronald Reagan got elected when Lennon was murdered) full of people who the 60s era really made uncomfortable, (and interestingly) when a Draft Notice was received by some of these folks, they conveniently found a way to avoid being drafted, and still does, a couple of decades later, a box set of Sometime In New York City is looking better and better.
Thanks for the info on this book. I will have to seek it out. I would also love to get my hands on a copy of that Ramparts magazine.