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ABC News
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- ABC News
John & Yoko doco covers activism, music and life in 1970s New York
In 1971, John Lennon and his wife Yoko Ono swapped their Ascot mansion and 70-acre estate for a two-room loft in New York's Greenwich Village. They threw themselves headfirst into the political and social movements of the time, helping the counterculture pick up the pieces after what Lennon perceived as the failure of the 'Flower Power' movement in the years prior. It was a significant move for arguably the most famous singer of all time. Lennon turned his back on what could have been an enviable life as part of high society and instead invested his energy and money in ensuring the youth of America didn't become apathetic in the quest for non-violence and equality. "I'm happy as Larry," Lennon said at the time. "I feel like a student again. We're like a young married couple." One To One: John and Yoko is a fascinating, fast-paced collage of old footage and taped phone conversations that take us inside the couples' movements at this time. The phone calls are particularly compelling as we hear the couple scheming, cycling through a variety of causes, seemingly aching for places they can lend their celebrity clout to raise awareness. There are a few recurring narratives throughout that keep us engrossed. One of them involves capturing thousands of live flies for a Yoko Ono art exhibit, another sees them convince infamous Bob Dylan stalker A. J. Weberman to back off his target, while there are chilling moments where Lennon — who was shot dead in 1980 — ruminates about becoming a target when appearing at key demonstrations. Another through line revolves around the only full-length concert John Lennon gave after The Beatles's split and before his death. The concert, which happened across two sessions at Madison Square Garden in 1972, was a benefit for the children of the Willowbrook School — an institution caring for children with intellectual disabilities. Footage from the show is great, but even more interesting is learning how the couple arrived at the idea to play the show. Because there are so many individual examples of John and Yoko's activism, it makes for a fast-paced video diary with a frenetic energy that perhaps speaks to the couple's own chaotic momentum. "I thought: There's enough here that we could just let them speak for themselves, allow the audience to eavesdrop on them and allow that to be part of the fun of the film," director Kevin Macdonald said in publicity materials around the film. "I think that's much more interesting than a traditional biopic, where the filmmakers are trying to present a very coherent version of things. As we all know, life is chaotic and contradictory." Even if your interest in John and Yoko themselves is negligible, the film will still offer a captivating snapshot of the social and political climate of the time. Whether it's Carole Feraci's protest against Richard Nixon, the railing against inhumane conditions at Attica State prison, or the case of poet John Sinclair, who was jailed for 10 years for cannabis possession, the film covers plenty of historical moments that paint a riveting picture of the counterculture of the time. And people with a love for old New York City will revel in the way the film plops us right in that space and time. The treatment of Yoko Ono by Lennon's adoring fans and even his Beatles band mates is laid bare in some confronting conversations, where the artist bluntly recounts the comments and violence she'd been subjected to. Speaking of violence, Lennon's past behaviours are only vaguely hinted at. The takeaway message is that the John Lennon of the early 70s was a more enlightened man than the one who grew up scrapping in Liverpool and was violent towards his first wife, Cynthia, in the 1960s. "I fell in love with an independent, eloquent, outspoken, creative genius," Lennon says at one point. "I started waking up." While there may be a touch of hagiography about One To One, it's a rare example of a John Lennon documentary that offers something many fans might not have seen or even known about before. As far as history lessons go, it's totally compelling. As we learned in the eight-hour 2021 documentary Get Back, which took us inside the recording of The Beatles's final album, being a fly on the wall for historical moments is a captivating prospect. This film moves far quicker, but the same idea applies: we're always shown what John and Yoko do rather than merely told about it. "Very early on, I decided I wasn't going to try and chase old men on their deathbeds to get their last John Lennon anecdote — which they've probably told before," director Macdonald said. One To One: John & Yoko is a truly intimate capture of what drove this couple at a key point in their life, and how their very presence at this key moment had an impact on the countercultural movement of the time. One To One: John & Yoko screens at the Sydney Film Festival this weekend.
BBC News
25-05-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
John Lennon and Yoko Ono holiday hotel set for demolition
A hotel where John Lennon and Yoko Ono spent a holiday as newly-weds when The Beatles were top of the charts with their final number one before splitting up is in danger of being Beatles star and his wife stayed at the Georgian Grade II listed Corbett Arms in the seaside town of Tywyn, Gwynedd, in the summer of 1969 during a turbulent time in the band's historyLennon and Ono were pictured by 13-year-old Alan Finlay, who also washed the superstar's car, while sat in the hotel's garden. The hotel has been shut for a decade, and after attempts to find the owner, the local council has applied for the 19th Century hotel to be knocked down as parts have already collapsed. The run-down Corbett Arms, which dates back to the early 1800s, is now a far cry from being the landmark hotel which attracted stars like Lennon and Beatles were on a break during the recording of what would become Abbey Road - which includes songs like Come Together, Something and Here Comes The Sun - when Lennon visited north was just months after his marriage to Ono in March 1969 and the singer wanted to show his new wife special places that meant a lot to him. They arrived on the north-west Wales coast as The Beatles song about them, The Ballad of John and Yoko, was number one - the 17th time they had topped the UK singles visit to Tywyn was also between the recording of Lennon's first solo single Give Peace a Chance, which the pair recorded three weeks earlier in their second week-long anti-war bed-in in Montreal, and its Corbett Hotel's odd-job boy Alan Finlay, then 13, greeted the superstars as they arrived."Dad would tell us about this real fancy car pulling outside the hotel and John Lennon got out," remembered daughter Gaby, 26."He was a huge music fan and was like 'oh my god', he couldn't believe it. "John Lennon then asked dad to clean his car. So he did with pride and couldn't believe it when John Lennon paid him, he said he'd have done it for free! But John paid dad quite a lot of money!"According to local folklore they had been turned away from another hotel, the Trefeddian Hotel in nearby Aberdyfi, before spending the night in grandmother Jean also worked at the four-storey hotel and said the couple, accompanied by Lennon's six-year-old son Julian and Ono's five-year-old daughter Kyoko Cox, did not have a booking."They asked to book out the whole top two floors for privacy," added Gaby."After dad washed the car, he saw them as a family sitting out in the garden and asked them for a picture and they agreed." Welsh rugby fan Alan went on to have three children, worked in the Royal Air Force and later as a mortgage advisor and taxi driver, and was a grandfather when he died aged 69 in 2022."That was dad's claim to fame, he loved telling people about that story," said Gaby. After a brief pit stop in Wales, Lennon and Ono went on to his home-town of Liverpool and on holiday in Scotland in his white British Leyland Austin Maxi car."This was downtime for them in a very busy time and it was an attempt to be discreet," said Mark Lewisohn, a historian, biographer and well-respected authority on the Beatles."But everywhere they went, they were recognised because nobody on the planet looked like John Lennon and Yoko Ono."Yoko was John's new partner and she wasn't British so he wanted to show her places important and special to him." "He had a life-long affinity to Wales after going there as a child and John Lennon's mother's family had a Welsh connection," Mr Lewisohn said. "He told the South Wales Argus in 1965 that 'Wales seemed full of green grass, beautiful mountains and such friendly people' so he always had a feeling for Wales."Following his UK road trip, Lennon returned to the studio with bandmates Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr in the July of 1969 to finish off Abbey Road in what proved to be their last recording then quit what is widely-regarded as the UK's most famous and successful band in the September, days before Abbey Road's release. "At no point when the picture in Tywyn was taken was John thinking The Beatles were going to break up," added Mr Lewisohn."But he wasn't adverse to it because what he thought about The Beatles and what we thought about The Beatles were two different things."Lennon and Ono's visit to north Wales was just days before Prince Charles' investiture as the Prince of Wales at Caernarfon Castle in the north of the couple sent a postcard of the 20-year-old prince to Starr and his family to the Apple offices in London, containing the simple message: "Hello".That postcard, bearing the postmark of Tywyn and dated 23 June 1969, was included in drummer's 2004 book Postcards From The Boys. From hello, it could be goodbye to the Corbett Arms for good unless help is found to save the once grand building that was described by locals as the "gateway into the town".It could be demolished within months because it is dilapidated and unsafe, with parts of it having already Corbett Arms is considered one of the UK's most endangered buildings, according to conservation charity SAVE Britain's Heritage. Campaigners, including Catherine Evans who remembers Lennon's visit to her home-town, want this important part of Tywyn's history to be saved. "The history is unbelievable, going back to the 1800s, and it's a shame it got to this state and pulled down when it could have been saved," added Ms Evans, whose parents both worked at the Corbett local authority has issued 11 notices to force repair works by the owner but emergency demolition now seems likely in order to protect public safety. Scaffolding has been put up to secure the building with an application in place for listed building consent to carry out the demolition work."We understand the significance of this historic building and concerns of the local community," said Gareth Jones, of Cyngor Gwynedd."However, the condition of the building has deteriorated to a point where immediate action is now required to protect public health and safety. Sadly there is no other option."
New York Post
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Post
Yoko Ono's daughter was kidnapped, raise in cult — and didn't reunite with her mom for decades
Kyoko Ono is speaking out over a traumatic time in her life. After she was kidnapped at seven years old by her dad, Anthony Cox, her mom Yoko Ono and her step-father John Lennon moved to New York City in hopes of locating her. However, it wasn't until she was 30 years old that she picked up the phone and called her mother, now 92. 'When people hear about my story, they don't understand what it was like before Facebook,' Kyoko, 61, revealed to the Daily Mail. 'There's my mom and John doing all these things to appeal to me.' 9 John Lennon, Yoko And Kyoko. Getty Images 9 Yoko Ono, Anthony Cox and Kyoko. Getty Images However, she had no idea about the search that was underway for her, and instead, grew up in a cult. Cox, who was Ono's second husband, kidnapped Kyoko during their custody battle when he violated a court order. 'It makes me sound heartless. But I was living on a farm in Iowa,' Kyoko continued to the outlet. 'We didn't own a TV. And a lot of people don't understand that there's a lifestyle like that.' 9 John Lennon with his wife Yoko Ono and her daughter Kyoko at London's Heathrow airport. Getty Images By that time, Ono had remarried Lennon, the Beatles singer and guitarist who was assassinated in Decemebr 1980. In 1971, Cox and his new wife Melinda Kendall took Kyoko to Spain, and enrolled her in a meditation preschool in Majorca. Ono found out about the move through her lawyers, in which she and Lennon immediately flew to Spain to pick up Kyoko from school. They were then arrested in their hotel room for kidnapping. Kyoko and her parents ended up going to court, in which the judge asked the child who she wanted to live with. Although she didn't want to chose, the judge insisted. 9 Yoko, Kyoko and John. Getty Images 'So, I said my dad, and my mom was upset… I felt like I had an impossible choice to make.' As for her reasoning, Kyoko said, 'My mom and John were incredibly busy people. Usually when I went and stayed with them, I had a nanny, and I sometimes wouldn't see them all day long. And [with] my dad and my stepmother, I'm their only child.' Cox eventually took Kyoko back to the United States. and on Christmas Eve 1971, despite Ono having visitation rights, he refused to bring Kyoko to her mother. 9 Yoko Ono, with her son, Sean Lennon (left) and stepson, Julian Lennon, March 1988. Getty Images 'When we left Houston, we were on the lam,' Kyoko admitted. 'And we went to Los Angeles and we went to a church connected with our church in Houston… and they took us in for a short period of time.' 'Then [the congregation] told us, 'We've prayed about it and you really need to return Kyoko to her mother,' which was not what my dad wanted to hear.' Cox then moved his family into The Living Word Fellowship – which was cult dismembered in 2018 due to sexual misconduct allegations. 9 Yoko Ono poses with Sean and Julian Lennon. Bettmann Archive 'Today, as an adult, the biggest irony to me is we left a cult, in a way, when we left the Beatles and John and Yoko. People are fanatical [about them] on the level of being cult members,' explained Kyoko. 'I was very scared by that fame,' she remembered. 'So being in this very simple Christian community seemed very safe, like an easier life.' During that time in her life, Kyoko said they never talked about her mom or Lennon, but she said 'there were so many times that I said to my dad, 'I really want to get back in touch with my mom.'' 9 Kyoko Chan Cox, daughter of Yoko Ono, attends the opening of the musical 'Lennon' at the Broadhurst Theater August 14, 2005 in New York City. Getty Images Then, after growing up, getting married in 1992 to Jim Helfrich and becoming a teacher, Kyoko decided to call Ono. 'By that point, I'd been teaching at public school for six years,' she recounted. 'And I really understood kids and families better than my parents ever had. She wanted to see me right away and then we just started spending time together.' These days, Kyoko lives a quiet life outside of the spotlight. She and Helfrich, who she divorced in 2018, share kids Emi, 27, and John, 25. 9 John Lennon and Yoko Ono. AP However, Kyoko wants to be able to set the record straight on her life, and her mom and step-dad's relationship. Ono and Lennon went on to have one son together, Sean, 49. He was also dad to son Julian, 62, with ex-wife Cynthia Lennon. 'I'm not really interested in being a public figure,' admitted Kyoko. 'But I am also my mom's daughter, and I want the story to be told properly.' She has also forgave the adults who were supposed to protect her. 9 Yoko Ono attends the World Premiere of 'The Beatles: Eight Days A Week – The Touring Years.' David M. Benett 'They were all such kids,' stated Kyoko. 'They were just like little children, all of them. It's really crazy. Being a parent – it's a hard thing to do.'
Forbes
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
The Spirit Of Rene Ricard Lives On In A New Collection Of Rugs
'Flower Beneath the Foot' installation view © Joe Kramm, Courtesy of Emma Scully Gallery, New York Madeline Weinrib vividly recalls the day she first met the renowned poet, painter and art critic Rene Ricard, who is widely credited with putting Jean Paul Basquiat, Julian Schnabel, and Keith Haring on the proverbial map, in his apartment in the Hotel Chelsea. 'My friend Cody Franchetti knew him and asked if I wanted to meet him. I was very aware of his art criticism and intimidated by him. I was going as a groupie, I never thought we'd be friends.' Yet they did become fast friends and, for the most part, remained so from that time (which was around 1999) until his death in 2014 at the age of 67. Rene Ricard, Madeline Weinrib== Art Production Fund's I Dream Of… Gala honoring Yoko Ono and Richard Pandiscio== ABC Carpet & Home, NYC== April 15, 2013== ©Patrick McMullan== Photo - Paul Bruinooge / Paul Bruinooge/PatrickMcMullan. Earlier this month, Weinrib, an artist and long-time textile and carpet designer, introduced five rugs that she and Ricard had designed together, in a show titled 'Flower Beneath the Foot' at Emma Scully Gallery in New York City. Those familiar with Ricard's paintings will recognize his contribution. His paintings often featured text layered over imagery; the rugs feature his own handwriting laid over Weinrib's designs, in a process that started in 2009. 'It was about a creative person layering another creative person's work and that they come together. He had written poems on my rug drawings. We looked at them and thought they would be beautiful and a natural collaboration, as opposed to a transactional collaboration or a business.' 'The Flower Beneath the Foot,' Rene Ricard X Madeline Weinrib Courtesy of Madeline Weinrib Weinrib brought a wealth of experience and knowledge to that collaboration. Her grandfather founded ABC Carpet in the late 1800s, with a shop on 28th Street and Third Avenue in New York City. In 1960 the store moved to 19th Street and Broadway where it ultimately occupied six floors, plus a space across the street, and became the destination for all things home. Weinrib was already an established painter when she began exploring rug design; she launched her first carpet collection in the late 1990s and in 2004 opened her namesake atelier on the 6th floor of ABC Carpet & Home. 'The art world at the time looked down on design. When I started working in design, Rene loved it. We both thought it was irreverent.' (Today, ABC Carpet & Home still exists, albeit greatly diminished; Weinrib's rug and textile business flourished, but in 2018 she decided to close it and focus on other creative pursuits, including these rugs). Madeline Weinrib with her decorative pillow designs (Photo by Fairchild Archive/Penske Media via Getty Images) Penske Media via Getty Images There are several reasons it took over a decade to birth the rugs. Ricard was very particular. He wanted the Nepal-based weavers, who Weinrib had worked with for decades, to properly understand and recreate his hand writing in hand spun Tibetan wool. 'We worked for years, going back and forth with just the word 'Madeline,' noted Weinrib. 'They ultimately used ten different shades of grey to make his writing to his specific asks. He finally signed off on his text, we started to make the rug, and he died two weeks before it came in. I was heartbroken and put them aside.' 'Madeline,' Rene Ricard X Madeline Weinrib Courtesy of Madeline Weinrib In 2021, Vito Schnabel (son of artist Julian Schnabel) presented Rene Ricard: Growing Up in America in his eponymous Chelsea gallery. Weinrib chose to debut the rug 'You're Stepping All Over Me,' at that show. 'You're Stepping All Over Me,' Rene Ricard X Madeline Weinrib Courtesy of Madeline Weinrib Last fall, at the New York City edition of Brussels' Collectible Design Fair, Emma Scully Gallery presented two additional rugs: 'The Flower Beneath the Foot' and 'Now I Lay Me Down.' The current show at Emma Scully includes all of the aforementioned, plus 'Just Get Over Me' and 'Madeline.' 'Now I Lay Me Down,' Rene Ricard X Madeline Weinrib Courtesy of Madeline Weinrib Will there be more? 'I started to think about making another one,' she admits. 'For me, this is a creative project I do for the love of doing it, to engage my creativity, and to keep my conversation with Rene going. It's a really beautiful way to stay connected to him.' 'Just Get Over Me,' Rene Ricard X Madeline Weinrib Courtesy of Madeline Weinrib Flower Beneath the Foot is on view by appointment at Emma Scully Galllery, 16 East 79th Street, Suite 21, New York City (through June 20); The rugs are also available at Christopher Farr, 748 N. La Cienega Blvd, in Los Angeles;
Daily Mail
17-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Let It Be! Locals lose fight to save Grade II-listed hideaway seaside hotel where John Lennon stayed with Yoko Ono
Locals have lost a last-minute bid to save a hideaway seaside hotel beloved by John Lennon and Yoko Ono. Campaigners fought to restore The Corbett Arms where Beatles fans have made pilgrimages to follow in the footsteps of a Lennon family holiday. But council chiefs have ordered the fans to 'Let it Be' because the hotel is too dangerous to be saved. Safety chiefs says the site is a danger to the public after hotel has been allowed to crumble away in Tywyn, North Wales. The authority was accused by locals of 'cultural vandalism' for failing to save the grade-II listed structure which has been closed for 14 years. Music icon Lennon visited the 3,000-population seaside town with his son Julian, wife Yoko and her daughter Kyoko in 1969, just before the band split. He stayed at the hotel with his family before they headed north to Scotland for a driving holiday and even sent a postcard to fellow bandmate Ringo Starr. The postcard sent from the resort was included in bandmate Starr's 2004 book Postcards From The Boys. But the Grade II listed property has since fallen into disrepair after it was left empty and the iconic former ballroom's roof collapsed. It had been sealed off to protect the public with even 999 crews banned from going inside in January. A Gwynedd Council statement said: 'The condition of the Corbett Arms Hotel in Tywyn has been a cause for concern for Cyngor Gwynedd and the local community for years, and we have taken action to protect the public and safeguard this listed building. 'Despite efforts to protect and ensure the long-term use of this Grade II listed building, its condition has continued to deteriorate with a significant collapse at the rear of the building at the end of January, along with a further collapse on the roof of the ballroom at the end of February.' The council said scaffolding was put up to protect the public along with street closures next to the building. It added: 'Unfortunately, the condition of the building has deteriorated to the point where there is a risk of another collapse and the Council need be in a position to take immediate action to protect public health and safety. 'This is why we have commissioned a specialist company to erect the scaffolding along Maengwyn Street and part of Corbett Square and carry out pre-preparation work on site for specialist machinery. 'This means that we will be in a position to react immediately if further emergency work is required due to another collapse or evidence arising from the ongoing monitoring work.' The council continued to say that it 'has no choice but to submit application for listed building consent, to include demolition, under Section 90 of the Historic Environment Act (Wales) 2023.' 'This process is being conducted transparently, with due regard to historic environment policy for Wales and the guidance of Cadw,' it added. 'Arrangements for submitting this application are progressing and it is expected that the application will be submitted in the coming days. 'As part of the listed building consent process, all interested parties will have the opportunity to make representations during the consultation period. 'These representations will be considered by Welsh Government Ministers prior to the determination of the application. 'Unless there is another collapse or evidence that the condition of the building is deteriorating to such an extent that the Council must respond urgently, other than preparatory works, the Council will not carry out demolition work until listed building consent has been approved by Welsh Government Ministers.' Campaigner Glyn Evans, who was born in the town, launched a petition in 2020 for the council to buy the hotel with a compulsorily purchase. The petition was signed by over half of people living in the town - but Glyn says 'nothing was ever done.' Gwynedd Council's enforcement notice is addressed to the 'representatives of Susan Helen Holmes'. She ran two businesses from the hotel - Helenian Holdings, dissolved in 2010, and ROAC Ltd which dissolved in February 2022. Helen, an icon of the West Midlands soul scene in the 1970s, died in 2012 after battling cancer aged 58. The hotel was first recorded in 1827 and was part of the Corbett family's estate.
