Book description
The final word on music's greatest legend, in which Philip Norman
reveals a John Lennon the world has never seen. With ground-breaking
insight into the pain, beauty and frustration that shaped the genius of
modern music, John Lennon: The Definitive Biography redefines a legend.
John Lennon - the iconic songwriter, composer and one quarter of The
Beatles - was a giant of the twentieth century. As the founding member
of the world's most successful group ever, he changed lives. The
popularity and significance of The Beatles is beyond comparison in our
age - in the UK alone, they released more than 40 number one singles and albums.
But their impact extended well beyond their music. Their clothes,
hairstyles, statements, and even their choice of instruments made them
trend-setters from the 1960s to this day, while their growing social
awareness - reflected in the development of their music - saw their
influence extend into the social and cultural revolutions of the 1960s.
Following the painful collapse of The Beatles, John came out a wiser
but angrier person. Together with his wife Yoko Ono, he attempted to
transform the world through non-musical means. Their bed-in in Amsterdam
and Montreal, their black bag appearances on stage, their innocent
flirting with political activists and radicals, all received massive
media attention. These events were in search of world peace.
John Lennon was shot dead by a mentally disturbed fan outside his New
York apartment building on December 8, 1980.
Featuring previously unseen photographs, this truly is the definitive
John Lennon. 'Reading this book brings the John Lennon I knew vividly
back to life.' Bill Harry, founder of Mersey Beat
'This is the best Lennon book so far' The Word
'Norman has written about Lennon twice before but he has uncovered much
new material in his research for this impressive and highly readable
book… It is greatly to Norman's credit as a biographer that he does
justice to all of (Lennon's legacy) in a book whose 854 pages simply fly
by.' Sunday Times Culture
'Can there be more to find out (about Lennon)? And, can Philip Norman,
the author of the new 300,000 word John Lennon: The Life, be serious
when he tells The Word magazine, "Lennon deserves a real biography,
as if he were John Keats or Mahatma Ghandi. Not a pop person but a major
towering presence in his century?" The answer to both questions is
empahatically yes…And yes, Norman has unearthed some startling things.'
The Independent
'Although more than 800 pages long, this book is nicely paced, well
researched and will not disappoint.'
Glasgow Evening Times
'Reading this book brings the John Lennon I knew vividly back to life.'
Bill Harry, founder of Mersey Beat
'This is the first serious Lennon biography for 20 years and unlike
Albert Goldman's bilious effort in the 80s, Norman's style is
trustworthy, contextual, and plainly told, yet with enough splashes of
historical colour…'
The Times
'A well-written book and almost everything you could want to know
[about Lennon] is in there.'
Oxford Times
The New Statesman called the book 'magnetic'.
'Philip Norman's style is compelling', Irish Times
'Norman's mesmerising biography'. Irish Examiner
'Meticulously researched, compulsively readable book.'
Sunday Times Culture magazine
'The Rock biography of the Year.'
Metro
'The best all-round Lennon biography.'
Sunday Herald Magazine Philip Norman was born in London and brought up
on the Isle of Wight. He joined the Sunday Times at the age of
twenty-two, soon gaining a reputation as Atticus columnist and for his
profiles of figures as diverse as Elizabeth Taylor, P. G. Wodehouse,
Little Richard and Colonel Gaddafi. In 1981 he published SHOUT!, a
ground-breaking biography of the Beatles that was a bestseller in both
Britain and the US. He has also written the definitive lives of Sir
Elton John and Buddy Holly.
His journalism has been published in three collections, THE ROAD GOES ON
FOREVER, TILT THE HOURGLASS AND BEGIN AGAIN, and THE AGE OF PARODY. His
latest book is BABYCHAM NIGHT, a memoir of his childhood on the Isle of
Wight. He is married with a daughter and lives in London.
