Saturday, January 09, 2010

Yoko Ono to write book about John Lennon

The Fab Four widow is to publish her autobiography in 2015, dishing the dirt on life with Lennon and the myths surrounding her role in the Beatles' break-up
Sean Michaels, guardian.co.uk, Thursday 7 January 2010

Left -So, Yoko Ono, how did John take his tea? ... With a twist of Lennon! (sorry). Photograph: Christopher Furlong/Getty

Yoko Ono is to finally put pen to paper and tell us why the Beatles broke up. The Fab Four widow said this week that her "next book" will be a set of memoirs, to be published by 2015.

"I would love to [write my memoirs]," Ono explained in a Q&A with fans. "I just need to find the time." When another fan asked about her upbringing, Ono suggested they read her forthcoming book, "which will be written in five years or so". According to Rolling Stone, the autobiography will focus "on the duo's intense relationship, the myths surrounding her role in the Beatles' break-up, the bed-in for peace, Lennon's infamous 'Lost Weekend' and more".

So far, the 76-year-old artist has avoided commenting on the Beatles' final days. "There are things that I can't write because it may hurt someone," Ono told Reuters in 2007. "I think about how it might hurt [their] children, and I don't want to do that." Though perhaps there's some secret Ringo-related scoop, most assume the "someone" is Cynthia Lennon, who John divorced in 1968. Cynthia has already written two memoirs, 1978's A Twist of Lennon and 2005's John.

Ono and John Lennon were together for 14 years, until his murder in 1980. And yet their relationship's intimate details may not be as exciting as Beatles fans would hope. Asked by a fan about John's "quirks", Ono spent almost 150 words talking about the way he took his tea:

"John was very particular about how to make English Breakfast tea. He told me that you are supposed to put the tea bag in first and the hot water over it, so the tea would not get cold. I thought it was logical, and followed it for quite a few years. When I made a mistake and put the tea bag in after the hot water, he would recognise it. In early 1980, he told me that that was not how you were suppose to make tea at all! Mimi over the phone, [had] just told him that the tea bag was to be put in after the hot water was in. We had a laugh. Just shows you how meticulous he was about everything, how he didn't mind confessing to me that he was wrong, and how we laughed a lot."

What a cliffhanger!

Ono also announced yesterday that she will pledge approximately £34,000 toward the survivors of tropical storm Ketsana, which hit the Philippines in September. Flooding there left almost 500 people dead and thousands homeless. Besides a "deep sympathy and love for suffering children", Ono described a special bond with the Philippines, as her childhood home is now the Philippine embassy in Tokyo. The manor, which was built by Ono's uncle, is "my home sweet home in Japan", Ono said. "I am therefore very grateful to the Philippine government for maintaining the house in a good condition all these years."
Story from The Guardian.

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