Yes, he would have been 80 on Friday. Where did the time go? It doesn't seem five minutes since I first heard the Beatles on Radio Luxembourg in late 1962. I can vividly remember the announcer saying - here they are John, Paul, Geo....and then being drowned out by hordes of screaming girls!
It is hard to believe that today would have been John Lennon's 80th birthday. Equally hard to believe that it is 40 years since he was murdered. And yet he still has a powerful, almost megnetic attraction to the point where the TV companies have devoted one channel exclusively to him and his music and probably stories both true and false about his life:
There are a lot of people who hate Lennon with a passion (see the reaction of left wing 'activists' to the song Revolution for example) and there a lot of people who 'worship' him, fans who often become besotted with everything about him and his music.
Both sides are wrong of course because the extreme reaction on both sides comes from those who have never met the man. You need to meet a person and spend time in their company to even begin to understand another person. Of the two opposing viewpoints, it is the besotted fans who present the more disturbing picture. It was a dedicated fan who murdered him and I have included below a video of Cesare 'Curt' Claudio, a fan who turned up on Lennon's doorstep hoping for who knows what but in reality he was unable to explain why he was there. Clearly a troubled young man but it illustrates the dark side of fame.
In time, all of the above will fade into the past but the music will endure and that is the important thing.
Cesare Curtis 'Curt' Claudio was a confused, vulnerable, shell-shocked Vietnam veteran (? - see link) who turned up on John's doorstep in Ascot in May 1971 and is featured in the 'Gimme Some Truth' documentary. He was convinced that John was sending him messages in his lyrics that were asking him personally to come and meet him. John and he spoke outside, and then John invited Claudio into the kitchen to have something to eat, after which he went on his way. http://www.meetthebeatlesforreal.com/2019/04/claudio.html
By way of conclusion it is worth watching this again.It is a brief interview from june 1968, recorded in the National Theatre in London. It was true then and is currently, in 2020, being shown still to be true, unfortunately.
John Lennon, The World Is Run by Insane People
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