John Lennon's ‘smutty and funny' letter to future first wife to be sold at auction
John Lennon is considered by many to be a poet.
But the Beatle revealed his more prosaic side in a letter penned in 1962 to his future wife Cynthia Powell, in which he declared: 'I wish I was on the way to your flat with the Sunday papers and chocies and a throbber.'
The intimate missive, which includes a complaint about his bandmate Paul McCartney's snoring – is now being sold at auction by Christie's with a £30,000 to £40,000 estimate.
Written over five nights after concerts in their Hamburg residency in April 1962, Lennon, then aged 21, wrote: 'I love love love you and I'm missing you like mad … I wish I was on the way to your flat with the Sunday papers and chocies and a throbber.
'I wonder why all the newspapers wrote about Stu … I haven't seen Astrid since the day we arrived I've thought of going to see her but I would be so awkward.
'Paul's leaping about on my head (he's in a bunk on top of me and he's snoring) … Shurrup Mcarntey [sic]!'
He then tells Cynthia he does not like the idea of McCartney's then girlfriend, Dot Rhone, moving in with her, adding 'we would never be alone really … imagine having her there all the time when we were in bed – and imagine Paul coming all the time'.
'I love you please wait for me and don't be sad and work hard be a clever little Cyn Powell,' he wrote.
Lennon and Cynthia, who was a year older than him, had been in a relationship for four years, having met at Liverpool College of Art.
They married in August 1962 and their son Julian was born in April 1963, weeks after Beatlemania exploded with the release of their chart-topping first album, Please Please Me.
They divorced in 1968 and she later claimed that he inflicted physical abuse on her throughout their relationship, including slapping her face in a fit of jealousy.
The handwritten letter was sold by Cynthia to a Swedish collector in 1991 and changed hands to the Swedish vendor in 1993.
Thomas Venning, head of books and manuscripts at Christie's, said:'There are some smutty and funny bits and you sense his personality on the page, unlike his later letters which are more guarded and preachy. It provides an early insight into the Beatles from their time in Hamburg which was so important to their development as a band.'
Lennon was murdered by Mark David Chapman in New York in 1980.
The sale takes place on 9 July.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
29 minutes ago
- BBC News
Pete Wicks 'on a mission' to rehome poorly Kenilworth dog
TV personality Pete Wicks says he is "on a mission" to help rehome a dog who does not have long to live. The Only Way is Essex and Strictly Come Dancing star met Theo, a Neapolitan mastiff, during his visit to the Dogs Trust centre in Kenilworth, Warwickshire, while filming for his latest series of Pete Wicks: For Dogs' Sake. Wicks said he "instantly fell in love" with Theo, who has dilated cardiomyopathy, a life-limiting heart condition and is expected to only live for one more returned to the centre on Thursday and said: "It is a genuine, genuine mission, he needs to live out the rest of his life happy." Tristan Smith, who cares for Theo at the dogs home, said his condition had not been well treated when he was taken in at the centre."He's now on medication but he won't lead a life of a normal length," Mr Smith said."Nobody knows how long he's got left," Wicks added. The TV star described Theo as a "gentle giant"."He's goofy, he's clumsy, his temperament is incredible, he's got so much love to give," Wicks said."He deserves to be part of family and have as much love as any other dog. "We are in rush to get him that happy feeling where he knows he's safe and content." Wicks previously took in two rescue dogs and said it was so important to give dogs that had not had the best start in life a second chance. "Every dog deserves to know not every human is bad and that is exactly what Theo deserves," he added. Follow BBC Coventry & Warwickshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
The Sun
36 minutes ago
- The Sun
Hollyoaks star Ali Bastian reveals heartbreaking moment she was cruelly mum-shamed by another actress while on a job
HOLLYOAKS actress Ali Bastian has opened up about the time she was cruelly mum-shamed by a fellow actress whilst at work. The star, who played Becca Dean in the Channel 4 soap between 2001 and 2007, admitted a fellow mum made a thinly-veiled dig at her after she revealed she was still breastfeeding her child at 18 months old. 4 Ali, 43, who has been open about her recent cancer battle, took to Instagram to share her story in which she admitted she felt shamed for her choices with her child. Speaking to the camera, the actress said: "I went on a job and it was the first time that I'd been away from Isla [her daughter]. "She was a really allergic baby - we'd had about seven blue light runs with her. "It had been a real nightmare. "I'd breast-fed her for about two and a half years but in the middle of that, I got a job for a couple of days of filming. "I decided to do it and I got talking to a slightly older actress and I said, 'it's the first time away from my baby'. "She asked how old was my baby and I think I said, 'oh 18 months', and she was like, 'oh...' "I said to her I'm still breastfeeding so I'm pumping and everything and she was like, 'oh, you are not going to be one of those mums, are you?'." Reacting with a shocked look, Ali continued: "Me being me, I just froze and I didn't say anything!" Ali did not name the actress that she was referring too. Hollyoaks star Ali Bastian shares emotional update as she recovers from her gruelling cancer treatment The popular star has had a difficult twleve months following her breast cancer battle. was diagnosed with stage two breast cancer in June 2024, and underwent a mastectomy in January before getting the all clear two months later. Now, the Strictly star - who has inspired fans with her candid and powerful updates about her treatment journey - has opened up about the next steps in her recovery and revealed she is still weighing up reconstruction surgery. In a new interview with Giovanna Fletcher on the Happy Mum Happy Baby podcast, she explains how she is now turning her attention to removing a tumour the size of a "tennis ball" that developed after the birth of her daughter, Isla, five years ago. Ali has two daughters Isla, five, and Isabella, two, with husband David O'Mahony. She was diagnosed with cancer after discovering a lump she initially thought was a blocked milk duct while breastfeeding her youngest daughter. 4 4
The Independent
41 minutes ago
- The Independent
Cherie Blair says Barbara Taylor Bradford was ‘inspiration to me and millions'
Writer and barrister Cherie Blair has described Barbara Taylor Bradford as 'an inspiration to me, and to millions' at a memorial service for the author. The 70-year-old told the PA news agency she 'clicked' with the A Woman Of Substance writer when they first met in the early 2000s in New York. She paid tribute before the service at St Bride's Church in Fleet Street, London, on Thursday, which was attended by about 100 people, dressed in an array of colours, including actors, authors and fans of the novelist. Taylor Bradford died at the age of 91 on November 24 last year following a short illness, 'and was surrounded by loved ones to the very end', a spokeswoman said at the time. Mrs Blair, who is married to former British prime minister Tony Blair, said of the author: 'We're two northern girls of similar backgrounds, and we were friends ever since. 'Barbara was the woman of substance, she was elegant, she was warm, she was intelligent, she was feisty, she was an amazing person and a really good friend. 'Every time she wrote a new book, she would send one to me, but she also sent one to my mum too. 'She was a great novelist because she absorbed knowledge from all around her, she gave back so much, she never forgot her northern roots. 'She was my friend, and she's an inspiration to me, and to millions.' The ceremony began with the theme to the TV adaption of A Woman Of Substance, before a choir sang In Paradisum from Gabriel Faure's Requiem. The choir's performance was followed by a welcome and opening prayer from reverend canon Dr Alison Joyce, who spoke about Taylor Bradford's roots as a journalist at the Yorkshire Evening Post. Actor Liam Neeson, 73, who starred in the Channel 4 adaption of Taylor Bradford's book, also paid tribute to the novelist during the service, in a message read out by actress Jenny Seagrove. Neeson said in his message: 'In 1984, I had the great honour of playing Blackie O'Neill in the television adaptation of Barbara Taylor Bradford's A Woman Of Substance, and again in its sequel, Hold The Dream. 'It was a landmark moment — the first television drama series to reach more than 13.8 million viewers on Britain's Channel 4 — and something we were all incredibly proud of. 'But more than the numbers, it was Barbara's vision, her storytelling, and her fierce dedication to her characters that made the work so special. 'She was a force — elegant, brilliant and unstoppable — and I feel deeply privileged to have been part of bringing her words to life.' Seagrove, 67, who played Emma Harte in the adaption, told PA: 'Barbara championed women before a lot of other people. It's now fashionable to give women a voice, but Barbara fought for strong women. 'She wrote strong women. She was a strong woman.' The actress continued: 'Barbara was a force of nature, she didn't suffer fools, she had great attention to detail, she always had a chuckle, and always saw the funny side of things. 'She was deeply, deeply in love and loved by her husband, it was one of the most extraordinary relationships. 'She loved her dogs, I used to ring up because I love dogs, and we talked about whatever Bichon Frise she'd got at the time. 'She used to say, 'I put my makeup on as a mask, and then I go to battle', she went out there and took on the world, and boy, did she succeed. 'She was a friend, she meant a lot to me, her work changed my life. But more than anything, I'm here because I loved her, and I think probably everybody here was here because they loved her, because she was a remarkably loyal woman. 'If she loved you, she stood by you. That was it.' Also in attendance was TV presenter Fern Britton, 67, who told PA the 'moving, yet rich and warm' ceremony had brought her to tears. She said: 'The books will obviously stand as her legacy. 'But for me, it is seeing her walk into a room with a beautiful suit on, carrying an Hermes bag with an Hermes scarf tied around it and fabulous jewellery and her big smile – that for me, is her legacy.' Taylor Bradford's best known book A Woman Of Substance is a rags-to-riches tale set in the 1900s that follows the life of Yorkshire servant Emma who later heads up a business empire. Other TV adaptations of her books included ITV's Act Of Will starring Elizabeth Hurley and Victoria Tennant, and To Be The Best, a sequel to A Woman Of Substance with Lindsay Wagner and Sir Anthony Hopkins. The former US editor in chief of Elle magazine, Eve Pollard, who is the mother of Claudia Winkleman, told PA she felt her long-time friend had been in the church with her. The 81-year-old said: 'I found the service very moving and very Barbara, that was what was wonderful. 'I think Jenny Seagrove said she's in the room and you more or less felt she was and I said to somebody, 'can't we all go to our memorial services and then die quietly later?' because it was perfect. 'It had everything, it had New York in it and the Yorkshire side of it.' The author was often labelled 'the grand dame of blockbusters', with her books selling more than 91 million copies and having been published in more than 40 languages and in 90 countries. In April it was announced that Vera actress Brenda Blethyn will lead a new Channel 4 adaptation of A Woman Of Substance, playing protagonist Emma.
