Tag: John Lennon

Eyes of the Storm – Beatlemania

On By ResaIn Paul McCartney, The Beatles146 Comments

Featuring Photos by Paul McCartney – 1963 – 64

The exhibition began at The National Gallery in June 2023. In early June, 2026, after Toronto, it heads to Aix-en-Provence (France) until January 2027.

With Special Guest Matt Snyder

GEORGE

RINGO


JOHN

NO PAUL? Well, he’s behind the camera. NO selfies back then!

Resa – So Matt, what drew you into the Beatles? I seem to remember you saying you had watched the cartoons when you were a kid.

Matt – No, I’d say my first exposure to the Beatles was their Animated Film, The Yellow Submarine, which I caught shown on tv as a kid in the 70’s & 80’s.

Resa – Oh, the movie, not the cartoon series!

MATT – First off, I forgot about that cartoon. My Father-In-Law who is a huge Beatles fan raves about that cartoon.

Matt – Having been born in April of 1970 I sure didn’t catch Beatlemania while it happened. The animation is very quirky and reminiscent of the French Film Fantastic Planet. I love animation, I love musicals..put em together and ya got a fan.

Resa – Did you have a fave Beatle in those early days? 

Photo by Astrid Kerchherr (1938 – 2020) 1962 – Ringo had just replaced Pete Best as drummer.

Matt – As a band I prefer them in the following order by favorite song: 

Paul: Let it Be

Photo from when he was dating Jane Asher – At the Ashers – 1963

John: Nowhere Man

In Paris – 1964

Ringo: Yellow Submarine

Paris – 1964

George: Here Comes the Sun

Backstage at the London Paladium – 1964

Matt – Nowhere Man was the first 45 rpm single I bought when I was 12 in 1982 and began to immerse myself into artists from the 1960’s.

The Beatles pose with sculptures by artist David Wynn – Paris, 1964

Resa – Did you have a fave Beatle after they broke up?

Matt – I equally enjoyed the post- Beatles work of –

John Lennon: Nobody Told Me (I had this song on 45 rpm it was released post humously in 1984), Imagine, Instant Karma, Give Peace a Chance & Beautiful Boy 

I was 10 when Lennon was assasinated and vividly recall all the news surrounding it on the tv.

Paul McCartney: The only McCartney LP I ever had was Give my regards to broad street having seen the film of the same name in 1984. Song wise My love & Silly Love Songs (Both with the band Wings), Ebony & Ivory (With Stevie Wonder)…

…The Girl is Mine & Say Say Say (Both with Michael Jackson), The Pipes of Peace, No more lonely nights, My brave face & FourFiveSeconds (With Rhianna & Kanye West)

Through the Limo’s Windows

Many of my fave pics were ones Paul took when they were in a limo, driving through cities.

New York City

Resa – So Matt, I feel somewhat nostalgic about the USA when I see the images from NYC, Washington DC & Miami in the early 60’s. I’d like to know what you think of the America Paul captured.

Matt – Commercialized

Washington

The following images from Washington and Miami are some of Paul’s personal favourites.

Christine Keeler (1942-2017) An escort embroiled in major political scandal in 1963

Matt – Grimy, Easy & Willing, Stark

Miami

Resa – This police officer was one of many escorting The Beatles in an open top car transporting them from the airport to Miami Beach. I’m fascinated by this shot.

“It was slightly shocking for us to see a gun in real life, as we didn’t have armed police officers back home.” -Paul McCartney

Arriving at The Deauville Beach Beach Resort in Miami Beach, was a crowd of hundreds.

Matt – Fear, Fascination, Overwhelming.

From the Train

Train is my fave mode of travel. I adore what one sees from the coach. I find these pics fascinating.

Matt – The Working Class, perhaps reminiscent of home.

Pics of Paul by Others

Reading the Toronto Star on the plane to Montreal.

Seems he liked reading newspapers. The pic below was taken by his brother, Mike McCartney in 1960.

Miami – Colour Film and R&R

At some point during the stay in Miami, Paul switched to colour film.

Before Paul switched to colour film, there were some black and white Miami shots.

  • Cynthia Lennon, John’s wife at the time

Matt – I will say that photo of Cynthia Lennon definitely captures loneliness in contrast to the fun being captured in colour.

Resa – Interesting comment, Matt. I have to think it was an unnerving experience for her, to see all of the unbridled attention aimed at her husband. A “Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin” moment.

Presentation

Some of Paul’s photos were made larger than life. As I walked into the rooms, I felt immersed in Beatlemania. Their appearances on Ed Sullivan ran on a loop.

  • Fans, press and police await The Beatles’ arrival at the Plaza Hotel. (taken from limo) Hotel staff were “horrified by all the hullabaloo” – Paul McCartney

Resa – Matt, would you please compose a Cento Poem of lines from Beatles songs from that 1960-1969 era? Your choice of songs & lines. 

Matt – All the songs from 1960-1962  are cover songs. I am only taking original compositions from their albums released. I used lines from the following songs to compose this cento:

And I love her, Eight days a week, You’ve got to hide your love away, Nowhere man, Eleanor Rigby, With a little help from my friends, A day in the life, Happiness us a warm gun, Golden Slumbers, Carry that weight, I’ve got a feeling & Let it be.

OBSESSION

(A Cento by: Matt Snyder)

A love like ours

Could never die

As long as I

Have you near me

Guess you know

It’s true

Hope you need

my love babe,

Just like I need you.

…How can I even try?

I can  never  win

Hearing them,

Seeing them,

In the state

I’m in

“Nowhere man, The world is at your command”

All the lonely

       – people

Where do they all 

come from?

Does it worry you

to be alone?

How do I feel

by the end of the day?

A crowd of people stood and stared 

I need a fix

‘cause  I’m going  down

Down to the pits

that  I left uptown

Sleep,

pretty darling

Do not cry

Boy,

You’re gonna

Carry that

Weight

Carry

that weight

A long time

Everybody had a hard year..

 Everybody had a good time

Everybody had a wet dream

Everybody saw the … …….

…And when the 

broken hearted people

Living in the world 

agree ?

There will be

an answer…

Pics inline blow up if clicked

Backstage
A Promo with all but Ringo’s face in shadow
Rear seat in Limo
The day they went to Central Park, George had tonsillitis.
Christmas show – London Dec. – Jan. 1963-64
A personal fave of mine

Resa – I love your Beatles Cento!

There was lots of memorabilia, as well as pics of other celebrities they worked with or met along the way and people who worked for them. All in all, a fascinating experience.

From when they wrote I Wanna Hold Your Hand

THANK YOU, MATT!

Resa – It’s been great having you here today!

Matt – Always a pleasure to collaborate with you Resa. I kinda hope this exhibit travels to any of the museums my wife & I frequent in Pennsylvania, New Jersey & Delaware. 

Resa – I hope so, too! You will love it! I did see it listed on line a few weeks ago, as going to Philadelphia, but now I can’t find it.

Visit Matt on his blog!

Pics taken by Resa – March 4, 2026

Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Canada

POSTSCRIPT: Shey adds in her comment – “my home city, Dundee, is recognized as the place where the term Beatlemania was coined after a concert at the Caird Hall there where seats got torn up and eardrums did too by the screaming frenzy of the fans.”

Imagine – Discussing John Lennon

On By ResaIn Famous People, Tributes276 Comments

With Trent P. McDonald

John Lennon rocks my socks. When I found this street art, Trent raced to mind.

We did 2 joint Lennon posts just over a year ago. We both have an abundance of respect and love for him. Trent wrote a song for John and everything.

Resa – I knew you were taking some voice lessons, but I had no idea you were studying a song, let alone Imagine. Did you pick Imagine right away, or did that come later? Why did you pick Imagine?

Trent – My instructor picks the songs for me, mostly late 60s, early 70s songs.  He plays them on his guitar and I sing along.  He chooses the key that he feels is best for me.  Imagine was a relatively early pick, so it has been at least 8 months and maybe close to a year.  I think I had played my song about John for him which is why he chose it. 

Trent’s Cover of Imagine

Not only do I love Trent’s cover of Imagine, I adore his drawing of John.

Resa – There are many John Lennon quotes. Some are profound, Some are hilarious.
Two of my faves (of many) are – “Time wounds all heels” & “One thing you can’t hide is when you’re crippled inside”

What are a few of yours?

Trent – John was pretty witty, but I can’t think of quotes right off the top. 

Trent – I just looked up “John Lennon Quotes”, and there are so many to choose from!  

Perhaps – We all have Hitler in us, but we also have love and peace. So why not give peace a chance for once?”  Of course, for me his song lyrics are worthy of quoting.

Resa – I completely agree!

“I’m Shot”

Were Lennon’s last words.

Resa – I was shattered when I heard the news that John had been shot and died. I honestly believed in his message of love and peace being a way forward for the world and its people. I felt that die with him.
Do you have any memory of hearing the news? Do you understand why I felt the way I did?

Trent – I had pretty much just rediscovered the Beatles just a short time before he was murdered.  When rediscovering the Beatles, I gravitated towards John and his message more than towards the others.  Peace and Love, the brotherhood of Man.  These were huge themes for me.  I was pretty much devastated when I heard the news.  I sat and listened to Beatles’ songs nonstop for two days. 

Trent – Did I feel John’s message was killed with the messenger?  Yes and no.  I understood that we had entered a new era, but I tried to believe that his violent death would wake people up and that his message would grow.  Well, Ronald Reagan and all that he stood for took over the culture so that even kids my age went total right wing.  But the spark did remain.

Trent– Like many geniuses, John was a contradiction,

… and had a lot of bad qualities.  He said he was violent when he was young, fighting with boys and hitting girls and that a lot of his peace and love was to keep those tendencies at bay, to conquer the violence within himself.  He could be super petty and paranoid. 

Resa – I love the insight!

Trent – One of the saddest things is that I think after dropping out of public life for all of those years he had finally made peace with himself and was just breaking out again, ready to take on the 80s.  But all of that was nipped in the bud.

Favourite Songs

Resa – I think John Lennon is a brilliant songwriter.

My Fave John song from The Beatles’ days is Don’t Let Me Down.

John songs (excluding Imagine) are: Jealous Guy, Whatever Gets You Through the Night and Instant Karma.

So Trent, what are your favorite John Lennon songs? 

Trent – With the Beatles I loved: Strawberry Fields, I am the Walrus and Across the Universe. 

Solo? 

Hmm, maybe: Imagine, Mind Games and Watching the Wheels“- had to put that last one in because I wanted something from Double Fantasy and that was by far the most popular song from that album – it sounds so much like his earlier works.

Resa – I absolutely love the album cover for Double Fantasy. Yoko Ono is an interesting person. I’ve only seen her art in photos. However, as a performance artist she is brilliant in the video for Instant Karma, knitting with a blindfold on, while the band plays. John’s love for her is wonderfully obvious. Do you see it?

Trent – I think there is a huge love story between John and Yoko and is often very apparent.  So yes, I see it in the video you mentioned and also at the end of the one for Imagine where they are trying to keep straight faces but end up cracking each other up.  I think it is awful how much hate she has received from the world, though I think it has mellowed a lot in the last couple of decades.

Resa – I agree!

About –Let’s All Join In & Trent’s cover of Imagine

Trent wrote on YouTube

Resa thought she saw Lennon’s face from a trolley but didn’t’ find it again until recently. When talking about it, some said we need Lennon’s vision today more than ever and others said there should be a song about seeing Lennon’s face from a trolley…So here it is, both ideas in one. Yes, I drew my own picture instead of using the real street art – how could I without asking the artist? And, of course, I manipulated the drawing in a thousand and one ways.

Click pic to see post with “Let’s All Join In”lyrics

IMAGINE

Here is Trent’s blurb from YouTube, slightly edited for this post.

Yep, a quick take on John Lennon’s classic “Imagine”. Though very close, this is not an exactly note-for-note transcription of John’s original arrangement. Besides a few different notes and different drum fills, I recorded in Bb instead of C. I didn’t even listen to the original string arrangement, I just played. I had a few reasons for recording this song. One is that I sing this in my voice lessons.

Another was that Resa had told me she had found some street art featuring  Lennon’s “Imagine”.  Since I had been singing the song, why not do a recording?

Many thanks to Trent for joining me here today!

Pics of John Lennon art taken by Resa – July 2, 2025

Toronto, Canada

Painting by AOTR

Let’s All Join In

On By ResaIn Music, Tributes164 Comments

This is a post about Peace, Love, Smiles & a song Trent wrote & recorded..

It began with the John Lennon post I recently did. Trent had selected a Lennon song for the event.

Then it grew into a song and video written and produced by Trent.

The lyrics are poetic, and hold a message inspired by John.

V1
I thought I saw Lennon’s face
From a trolley rocketing by
It disappeared without a trace
Did the vision also die?

His words come tumbling back
From a far off distant land
A great message on each track
A utopian dream so grand

V2
I read the news today (oh boys)
Children-human shields were killed
Drones and bombs made some noise
More innocent blood was spilled

Why is making war so appealing?
Why is love considered quaint?
I think our attitude is revealing
Our devotion to guns a taint

Chorus

So let’s all join in
Sing of peace and love again
For we all belong
In a Lennon written song
It can’t be wrong
So sing along
Let us all join in
All join in

Bridge

Such an imagination!
He made us dream
The world stood as one
Our actions could redeem

Can we remember
Perhaps even enhance
And once again
Give peace a chance?

V3
Today people gave power to the rich
A billionaire grabbed more
We’re told advancing is a cinch
Just give the billionaires more

John trusted the People’s voice
Today that seems absurd
I think that we have no choice
But to make our voices heard

(Chorus)

V4
I found the face in a doorway
Faded into nostalgic hues
The simple picture’s seen better days
Reflecting Lennon’s views

Although the decades whizzed past
Never believe that it is too late
John’s message will always last
Hold my hand, let’s temp fate

(Chorus)
(Chorus)
(Chorus)


Once a week there is usually a Weekly Smile post on Trent’s Blog, He tells about something that made him smile. He asks what made you smile.

This week I’m smiling because a street art post of mine, inspired a beautiful song about “give peace a chance” to be written & video to be made.

I’ve always believed in peace and love.

John Lennon

On By ResaIn Street Art120 Comments

Several years ago I thought I saw John Lennon’s face painted in a doorway, as the streetcar I rode trundled by at full throttle.

Making a mental note of the area, I vowed to return and find it. Since, I have been in the area quite a few times, but could never find it.

One day last week was the last time I would search for it, having come to believe I dreamt it. Suddenly it was there, obvious for all to see and almost exactly where I thought it would be. Why hadn’t I seen it all those other times?

Thrilled to the point of growing an extra toe, I blathered the whole experience in the first comment I made when back on WP. The victim was Trent from Trent’s World, and I asked him to pick a song.

Trent’s reply the next day:

“Hmm, my first thought was Instant Karma, but I just went back and listened to a few and I think it has to be Mind Games”.

“Even when it was released, it was deemed nostalgic, a feeling that comes across even stronger now. And it has all of the classic Lennon philosophies about peace, love and being positive – “YES is the answer” with that it’s up to the individual to change the world philosophy. “

“Part of the nostalgia is that it has an almost Beatles feel to it while being 100% a Lennon solo work – almost like those two songs from The Beatles Anthology in the 1990s that were Lennon demos finished by the other three, only this is 100 times better. “

“It is also odd (to me) that it is a super simple song musically – the music is just the road John’s ideas ride on to get to their destination. Anyway, “Mind Games” is my pick “

Pics taken by Resa – June 3, 2024

Toronto, Canada

The Artist: Unknown at this time

Thinking about it today, the song is amazingly perfect. After all, the painting had been playing mind games with me for years. I actually came to believe I’d dreamt it. Maybe John is laughing?

🌟 THANK YOU TRENT 🌟