D V D B L U R Y & T V
112 • UNCUT • OCTOBER 2019
JOHNLENNON
knewexactly
whathewas
doing.Hewas
goingtomake
analbumthat
wouldestablish
himasa fully
fledgedsoloact,
onetoprovethatgoingprimalon
PlasticOnoBandandbecoming
a “conceptualartist”likeYoko
didn’tmeanhe’dlosthistouchasa
mainstreamhitmaker.He’dalready
writtenthesongs.
Thealbumwouldbemadeat
homeinTittenhurstPark,his
andYoko’sAscotpile,usingits
recently completed home studio.Andit wouldbefilmed,allofit,
boththerecordingsessionsand
John’n’Yoko’slifetogether.
Amongtheresultantfootagewas
theshootfor“Imagine”,oneofthe
world’sfirstandstillmostfamous
popvideos,showingJohnathis
whitepianoinTittenhurst’s“big
whiteroom”whileYokodriftsround
openingtheshuttersofitshuge
windows,usheringinthelightof
w o r l dp e a c e.
Therestofwhatcameraman
DouglasIbolddescribesas
“thousandsofhours”offootage
hasemergedinstages,beginning
with1988’sImaginedocumentary,
butthere’sbeennothinglikethe
treasure trove revealed in MichaelEpstein’sAboveUsOnlySky.
Here’sGeorgeHarrisonhelping
outJohnwithchordsfor“How”;
a saucer-eyedNickyHopkinsat
thepianowithJohn;PhilSpector,
perpetuallyinshades,hoveringlike
a malevolentimp;Lennonhimself
writhingashespitsoutthewordsof
“GimmeSomeTruth”orcrooning
“JealousGuy”tobackingswecan’t
hear,justhisvoice,booth-strong
andvulnerable.
It’sa motherlodeforfans,enriched
bytheoff-dutylarksaround
Tittenhurst’s 99 acres,caughtinthe
mellowglowofEnglishmidsummer:
LennonrowingJulianaroundthe
lake;readingaloudnewspaper
reportsofthecouple’sexploitsover
breakfast;thepairdresseduplike
ErrolFlynnandThedaBara,rich
kidsatplay.
Althoughsubtitled‘TheMaking
OfImagine’,Epstein’sdocumentary
extendsbackoverthecouple’s
romanceandforwardstoNew
YorkCity,wherethepairmoved
inautumn’71,asthealbumwas
released.Mostofthesupporting
footageis wellknown– thebed-
ins,theTorontoPeacefestival,
theOz march, the Times Squarebillboardsfor“WarIs Over”– with
theemphasisonthecouple’sroleas
culturalrevolutionariescaughtup
intumultuoustimes.TariqAliis on
handtoremindusoftheradicalising
effectoftheAmericanwarin
VietnamandCambodia.
Thereareotheragendasofcourse,
notablyYoko’spromotionofherself
asJohn’screativeequal.Atthis
pointthetwowerecertainlyinhappy
fusion.Lennonwasbyallaccounts
a changedman.KlausVoormann,
whoplayedonthealbumandwho
hadshareda foxholeortwowithJohn
backinHamburgdays,provides
testimonytothat,contrastingthe
Beatlehe’dmetonthe“Strawberry
Fields”shoot(“I’msounhappy,”
confideda tearfulJohn)withthe
ebullientpresencehere.
Otherstestifytothehostility
directedatYoko,a racist
punishmentbeatingfromthemedia
fortheimpertinenceoffallingin
lovewithJohnand“stealinghim
fromtheBritishpublic”,aswriter
RayConnollyputsit.WithYokoby
hisside,Johncouldbecomewhat
hehadalwayswanted– anartist,
entwinedincreativeandemotional
communionwiththeultimate
art-schoolgirl.
AsJohnfreelyadmitted– atleast
lateron– “Imagine”itselfwas
bornunderYoko’sinfluence,the
imperativeto“imagine”taken
fromherbookofpoeticwhimsies,
Grapefruit(thesceneinthelimoen
routetoitslaunchis hilarious).Alas,
Yoko’smusicaltalents,previously
latent,couldnevermatchthose
ofthatotherLennonequal,Paul
McCartney,nevershortofa concept
ortwohimself.
ImaginedidwhatLennon
intended,becamea massive
internationalsuccessandspawned
ananthem,makinghima hitmaker
again.Thealbum’sstarhasfallen
overtheyears,Johnadmittinghe’d
“coveredit inchocolate”,while
severaltracksnowsoundlike
B-sides,notleasttheself-demeaning
“HowDoYouSleep?”.Onthe
otherhand,“GimmeSomeTruth”
hasrarelysoundedsotimely,the
pastoralquietudeof“OhMyLove”
soenchanting.
Thesacralisedtitletrack
endures,despiteitsconfectionand
contradictions,remainingwhatAli
describesasa “utopianmanifesto”.
Here’sa reminderthatitscreatorwas
notjusta dreamerbuta charismatic,
well-informedactivist“sellingpeace
liketheyselltheirwars”.Forthereal
behind-the-scenesdramas– the
drugs,arguments,cruelty– you
havetoreadthebooks.
IAIN MACMILLAN © YOKO ONO LENNON Extras:5/10. Bonus studio footage.
JOHN & YOKO:
ABOVE US ONLY SKY
EAGLEVISION
8/10
Imaginethat a pricelessinsightintothe
couple’s private life.By Neil SpencerAnti-war
heroes:John
andYokoin
the early ’70s