Fred Seaman "The Last Days of John Lennon"

Wasn't he hard-pressed to deny a few of the stories?

 

The whole house husband thing always struck me as a bit of a myth. I've read several books on john's final years in NYC and it seems that he was taking copius amounts of drugs. I don't think for a minute that he was "happy" being with Yoko but she did give him what he needed as far as keeping him financialy secure. Seems like they were living in the same house and the whole JohnandYoko thing was more for the press.

The recordings of his final interview or two he sounds a bit manic to me. Maybe it was cocaine or maybe he was genuinely excited about the new album.

All conjecture of course

 

I don't see Douglas saying that Seaman was right to accuse Yoko of murder, or that Seaman's book is accurate, or anything like that. I see him saying that the theft conviction was unfair. And I've already explained back in post #19 exactly what's wrong with that. Douglas isn't "lying," no, but he seems to fundamentally misunderstand the situation: even if Seaman did have permission from Lennon to take some household electronics, it wasn't boom boxes and cassette machines that led to his legal woes. He'd already dug himself deep into a hole by stealing the diaries and other documents.

Seaman had the option, remember, of arguing that the accusations were false, and calling Jack Douglas as a witness. But apparently he didn't think that would be a convincing line of defence. He chose to plead guilty to larceny instead.

At least Douglas has the excuse that he gave that interview before Seaman made his 2002 confession. And I doubt that he was ever aware of Seaman's most outrageous stories in the first place. The same can't be said for Seaman's apologists here.

But I'm grateful that you've finally decided I was never an insider in Seaman's circle, when a little earlier today you thought I must have some personal grudge against him.

 

A-flick-men. The man is a ghoulish creep, a thief and a liar. Pretty much sums it up. Also one of Goldman's main 'sources'. And personally he is a belligerent ***.

His confession as noted above should have ended speculation about his veracity. Some people will only believe what they want, damn the facts. What he stole was boxes and boxes of things according to his roommate Bob Rosen (whose veracity is also questionable) that reached to the ceiling. A few boom boxes indeed.

 

I think everyone here needs to watch the LENNONYC documentary to see the musicians' memories of working with John on Double Fantasy. They all said he was "on his game" and that he was happy to be working.

John could have made an album at ANY time from 1976-1979. He chose NOT to. Were drugs an issue? They could have been, however, when you see film of him walking with Sean as a baby in his arms in Central Park, I have a difficult time seeing him as a "junkie". He was ALWAYS high stung - his mind was always on. I think he had no problem with doing the odd drug, but he was SO against his "Fat Beatle" period (around HELP) that I am sure losing weight was important to him.

I may be naive, but I believe the fact that John was happy and clean. I wish people like Jack Douglas and Bob Gruen were on this forum

 

This may sound worse than I mean it to, but it IS possible to take "copius amounts of drugs" and still be a happy person. John sounds very, very positive in his final interviews of 1980.

I also don't know how much stock to put into the theory that there was a "Johnandyoko" myth they wanted to desperately uphold, and thus stayed together for the publicity. That may be true, and they did now have a young son....but John didn't seem to worried about upholding this happy myth during the "lost weekend" of 1974-75. He didn't exactly keep May Pang hidden from the media. I also don't think John would've written such "mushy" love songs about Yoko during 1979-1980 if there was major trouble in the marriage. I feel he was too honest of a songwriter for that. I do think they had ups and downs such as with any couple....witness "I'm Losing You"...but I don't think they were about to divorce or seperate.

 

Bingo.

Nor would "Double Fantasy" have been released.

 

The Seaman and Goldman books belong in the same catagory, both writers capitalizing on their subjects with an axe to grind.

 

I found the book to be pretty realistic. In his last years, John seemed to be rather contented. It's definitely worth reading, if you can find it.

It will never be reprinted, not after that trial.

The Goldman book is a hatchet job, Seaman's is not.

 

This ISN'T any slur on John or implication of him personally, but a cheery demeanour and upbeat attitude can absolutely go hand-in-hand with heavy drug use.

Example: Jerry Garcia was a rampant cocaine user from the early 70's onwards, subsequently got into heroin around 1977 and yet never failed to put across a strong and positive vibe to fans and interviewers right through that period. Garcia really only clammed-up and shut down publicly around 1982/83, after many years of heavy and hard drugs use. From all accounts, one could say the same about david Crosby, who kept his (public) act together almost right up to the point of his prison term in 1986.

When judging John Lennon's physical and spiritual health in 1980, his physical appearance and attitude in interviews only tell part of the story, if that - the rest is yet (if ever) to be known or residing in the memories of those who were close to him.

 

There are the rumors that Lennon was suffering from some sort of serious disease, but that'll never be proven.

As for Seaman, he did steal cassettes of Lennon's demos, so it hasd been proven he did steal some things(plus he admitted it).

Evan

 

I agree that you can take all the drugs in the world and be happy. John just seemed unable to control himself (ton's o' marijuana, 1000's of LSD trips, heroin, lost weekend, final years in New York). A classic addictive personality.

The common story was that Yoko "chose" May Pang for John. John seemed very happy (albiet out of control) during his lost weekend with May and hanging out with his old pals. Even telling Macca he would come down to New Orleans for his upcoming recording sessions. Of course Yoko nipped all that in the bud after May and John came back to NYC. I don't think she viewed May as any real threat to her but when he wanted to pal around with Paul that may have been a bit threatening to Yoko. It does seem though that John was just having fun on the one hand while waiting for Yoko to take him back on the other. I think he needed her a lot more than she needed him.

I think that John got serious and sober while trying to get his green card and of course Sean was born in 1975.


Anyway, after Sean was born is when I think the drug use started again when he became bored @ home. In fact there are stories of he and Yoko stung out on heroin in the late 70's. I think he had a real life altering experience in Bermuda and again got himself together. I only wish we could have seen where that was leading...

Of course you are right that he wrote some amazing songs 'for" Yoko on DF like "Woman" and "Starting Over" and he was very involved in the recordings and seemed very happy in the studio.

Sorry for the disjointed nature of this. trying to type at work about john lennon and working don't seem to mix too well!!

And back to the subject at hand. Seaman's book was very readable and enjoyable (but depressing) and I would recommend it. If I had it to do over again i wouldn't buy the book but just get it from the library. The guy is a creep and I'm sorry i ever gave him a dime of income.

One of the few "tell-all" books I didn't buy after JL's death was Albert Goldman's. Never read it...never will. But that's a whole other ball of wax!

 

They were both hatchet jobs. But while Goldman went after John, Seaman stuck to attacking Yoko, and some people will go along with any amount of his nonsense to find confirmation for their prejudices.

 

Here's a bunch:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/1559720840/ref=cm_cr_pr_sims_un

 

I think like a lot of biographies, Seaman's book was written with a combination of truth and lies (and not always very skillfully). The most damning stuff to me was the stuff about Yoko doing heroin until well into the late 1970s.

I'd still like to see Yoko publish all of John's diaries in some form -- the ones that she got back from Seaman after he stole them in 1981.

 

Certainly not a cheerful article, but here is some info on the doctor who tried to save John's life and the emergency room where it took place:

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local...save_john_lennon_remembers_the_icons_dyi.html

 

Didn't Seaman steal some of the cassette demos of Grow Old Along With Me, which later surfaced on a bootleg? Google "Project Walrus."

 

I'm not a fan of Seaman but his book was excellent. One of the best ever written on Lennon. Regarding "speculation" on John's drug use in 1980 Seaman has stated other than pot/mushrooms John definitely wasn't taking any other drugs.
But that won't stop the "experts" from "guessing" otherwise

 

I find it amazing and somewhat sickening how many people find it impossible to believe that Lennon could've been happy in his final days. Jesus, the man is dead, just let him rest in peace. Regardless of whether it's true or not, why do you feel the need to destroy and tarnish his legacy?

 

Wow that article about the emergency room doctor is heartbreaking. Damn.

 

As far as what Lennon really was like during his self-imposed retirement is really anybody's guess. My impression of him now looking back at him is of man who looks like he's on the undernourished side. I've gotten the impression through interviews and photos of John that his weight was an issue for him throughout his life. In interviews with him, he openly alluded to bouts of overeating leading to becoming overweight (the "Help" days). It's been suggested that his strong interest in LSD caused the weight loss one sees in his frame from spring/summer of '66 on. And looking through photos, he also seemed to put on a good deal of weight after he kicked heroin in 1970, which he slowly took off through the mid 70's and looked neither heavy or too skinny in 1975. My guess is that he was quite the dieter throughout his life and took stronger control over eating intake during his house-husband years to the point of being too thin. Just my opinion.

 

I always wondered why Yoko felt threatened by Paul, if John wanted to hook up with him?
What was the big deal. She knew their history together they were like brothers. I must be missing something?

 

Reading Ken Sharp's book about the making of Double Fantasy, it's hard to reconcile any allegations of hard drug abuse with Lennon's behavior in the studio. What was John Lennon like on heroin? Anyone who's seen Let it Be can answer that question: apathetic, lazy, unenthusiastic, unfocused, negative. Lennon typically was an asss when he was using anything heavier than pot. Meanwhile the musicians involved in Double Fantasy all describe Lennon as energetic, filled with enthusiasm, cheerful and highly positive during the sessions.

 

I've seen it alleged that Lennon was still using cocaine during at least some of the househusband period, but not heroin.

I think it's most likely that he was a depressed man with an eating disorder who was having trouble staying close to his wife.