'John Lennon: The Life' has been touted as the definitive account of Lennon's life, practically from his birth to the grave. Shortly after it's release, both Sir Paul McCartney and Yoko Ono distanced themselves from the publication after first consenting to provide interviews.
The apparent cause of this controversy was that unsubstantiated claims seemed to be presented as a substitute for properly verifiable information.
Norman also seems to be a little reckless with his references regarding May Pang.
He presents Eliot Mintz's (who never bypasses an opportunity to take a swipe at May) recollections as acceptable research even though these recollections are a blatant affront to the generally accepted status of the John Lennon/May Pang relationship.
Norman's reference:
May Pang's precise role in the scenario would never be clear, least of all to May herself.
In the book she subsequently wrote, called Loving John, she portrayed herself as a young woman of strong Catholic scruples who was at first scandalized by the suggestion that she become John's mistress - even though, by her own account, they had already had a surreptitious fling in New York.
Everybody who came to know them as a couple remembers May as kind, sweet and almost supernaturally unselfish. She was a wholly positive influence at a time when John most needed it.
Yet as Mintz recalls, she never quite attained the status of a rock star's 'old lady'.
One day John would be all over her in public, the next she would seem no more than his PA. And there was never a moment when she did not feel that Yoko, back in New York, was watching, even directing, the plot's development.
May Pang is perfectly clear about her "role in the scenario". It's actually Philip Norman who's vague and a little unclear about what he's writing about.
May clearly demonstrates in her recent publication 'Instamatic Karma' precisely her "role in the scenario". She documents, complete with photographs, how she and John Lennon shared a very close and loving relationship.
It is accepted however, that unlike Yoko Ono, and to a lesser extent, unlike Cynthia Lennon, May Pang never became a household name. Even many Beatles fans are unaware of May's role in Lennon's life, and generally, of the fans who are aware of May, most are not familiar with the full extent of her role in the 'Lost Weekend'... mainly due to Lennon never publicly speaking about their relationship.
May Pang is the only person who was present with Lennon throughout most of the Lost Weekend... and her first publication 'Loving John' details her time in considerable detail with John Lennon.
How "clear" would Philip Norman like May Pang to be ???
Philip Norman also casually tell us of photographer Bob Gruen's private reckonings.
We're informed that Lennon had "dozens" of affairs during the Lost Weekend. Not just two or three other women, or even ten other women... but "dozens" of women!
Yet neither Norman, Gruen or the book's publisher provide the identity of even one of these women.
Norman's reference:
Another of John's friends, photographer Bob Gruen, said: 'It wasn't like he left his wife for the mistress. He left his wife for wild times that his secretary oversaw.'
May was indisputably John's only public female companion during the Lost Weekend. But privately, Gruen reckons, there were dozens of other women, who thereafter 'would really treasure that hour, that ten minutes, that night with John Lennon'.
Assuming Bob Gruen is correct, many of those women might indeed "treasure that hour, that ten minutes, that night with John Lennon".
But all of them ???
Of the "dozens", what would be the percentage of these women who'd race off to the tabloid press, armed with their gratuitous, steamy 'Kiss and Tell' expos�?
If these "dozens" had so little moral fibre to give themselves so readily to a rock star... they are hardly the type of women to turn their backs on an easy couple of grand.
And Norman flippantly quotes Elliot Mintz recalling that May Pang "never quite attained the status of a rock star's 'old lady'.
May Pang lived with Lennon, she slept with Lennon, she worked with Lennon, she produced albums with Lennon, she traveled with Lennon, she was present for Lennon, standing by him at both his professional and personal times... like the reunion with Julian and the signing of the documents that dissolved the Beatles, etc.
Lennon told May he loved her. Lennon told biographer Larry Kane that he loved May. Lennon wrote, and dedicated, the song 'Surprise Surprise' to May in which he told the whole world that he loved her!
Perhaps Norman and Mintz might like to point out what else May should have done to have achieved the status of a rock star's 'old lady'.
I hope the rest of Norman's book is more convincingly researched than the sections about May Pang, otherwise, other notable people, like Sir Paul McCartney, might consider Norman's publication not able to withstand the high degree of scrutiny that such an important biography demands.
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Although not related to the Lost Weekend, it is worthwhile noting that both Yoko Ono and Sir Paul McCartney agreed to be interviewed for Philip Norman's book. But both are now distancing themselves from the publication. Norman claims that not only did Lennon desire a homosexual affair with McCartney, he even claims that Lennon fantasized over his own mother. It's been reported by many sources (both in print and online) that Sir Paul McCartney was "furious" over Norman's outrageous claims. Yoko Ono has since withdrawn her endorsement. |
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Suggested Further Reading: Daytrippin' Magazine
This segment is taken from a review of 'John Lennon: The Life' written by Shelley Germeaux. (January 2009) The complete review: http://www.daytrippin.com/john-lennon-biography.htm "Myth and Fairy Tales" The tension between John and Yoko led Yoko to suggest that John take up with May Pang and leave the house for awhile to give them some space. John thus began his lost weekend with May Pang in August of 1973 and this is where the story veers off track into the land of myth and fairy tales. This is frustrating from the aspect that so much of the book is indeed so well researched and so up to date, that many readers will just assume that this part of the book is, too. It is not. Norman ignores the latest information from May Pang's latest book called Instamatic Karma as well as her previous book, Loving John and even John's own account in Larry Kane's book, Lennon Revealed to document the time period from August of 1973 to January of 1975, when John was separated from Yoko. He relies exclusively on the accounts of Yoko Ono and her long time confidants Bob Gruen and Elliott Mintz, both of whom tend to comment at times on events that they were not witness to. For example, Bob Gruen was never in L.A. with John and May and yet portends to be an expert on John's womanizing during that period, in order to discount May's relationship with John. And Mintz seems to have blocked May out of his memory altogether when recalling various times with John. Somehow Norman neglects to question the accuracy of their accounts of that time period, while May Pang herself was not interviewed. This would explain the lack of storied detail that shortens the solo years section of the book. Norman then makes it appear that John and Yoko reunited at the Elton John concert in Madison Square Garden on Thanksgiving of 1974. He fails to note that John and May remained together for two more eventful months, hosting Julian over Christmas and taking him to Disneyworld, even considering the purchase of a home in Montauk while on an outing with Mick and Bianca Jagger. He gives just scant reference to Paul and Linda's visits, even though May and John were planning on visiting them in New Orleans while Paul was recording Venus and Mars, which could have led to a songwriting reunion. Instead, from here on out, we are given a seamless transition from Elton John to resumed life at the Dakota apartments without mention of any of those events. Shelley Summarization: Shelley "enjoyed the book a great deal" and acknowledges Norman's "meticulous research". Shelley goes on to say 'John Lennon: The Life' is "a great reference book in many respects". She ends her review: "The inordinate attention given to unfounded or unimportant sexual allegations, as well as the mythical approach given to John's solo years, was disappointing and has the effect of somewhat reducing the book's credibility." Shelley Germeaux is Daytrippin's West Coast Correspondent. Email: [email protected]. Also read Shelley's interview with May Pang for Daytrippin' Magazine. |
| Acknowledgments | ||
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Info Wikipedia: Philip Norman
Philip Norman is the author of 'Shout! described by the New York Times as the "definitive biography" of the Beatles. In October of 2008 his book 'John Lennon: The Life' was released to some controversy. Norman has also published biographies of The Rolling Stones and Elton John. |
Info Wikipedia: Elliot Mintz
Elliot Mintz is an internationally recognized media consultant and public relations expert. His clients have included the John Lennon Estate, Yoko Ono, Bob Dylan, Paris Hilton, Nicky Hilton, Christie Brinkley, Diana Ross, Don Johnson, Melanie Griffith and dozens of others. |
Info Wikipedia: Bob Gruen
Bob Gruen is one of the most well-known and respected photographers in rock and roll. He has captured the music scene for over forty years in photographs that have gained worldwide recognition. Bob became John and Yoko�s personal photographer and friend. |
This website acknowledges the stature of people like Sir Paul McCartney and Yoko Ono... and both Elliot Mintz and Bob Gruen have each, in their own way, contributed greatly to the music industry over the decades and deserve the respect they have duly earned. But this unique status should not grant anyone the right to be quoted in controversial publications without the need to provide the necessary means of verification.
May Pang's book 'Loving John' was also a highly controversial publication, but it was not ambiguous... she clearly stated the nature of her relationship with John Lennon. Her account, if need be, can be cross-referenced with the people mentioned in her book. Furthermore, May's second book 'Instamatic Karma' was extensively backed up with her personal collection of photographs, unquestionably confirming the unique closeness of her relationship with John Lennon. The readers of such controversial publications, like Philip Norman's 'John Lennon: The Life' should be entitled to read Lennon's biography without ambiguity. |
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