A deep dive into the music and complex psychology of John Lennon, featuring interviews with such noted authors and podcasters as David Bedford, Dan Richter, Jud...
Episode 106- The Gospel According To John Lennon (Part 2 of 4)
We kick off 2025 with the continuation of our lengthy exploration of John Lennon’s religious, spiritual and philosophical journey. Part 2 starts with more of John and the Beatles’ general beliefs about the world before starting a chronology of the Beatle years from the particular perspective of Steve Turner’s book ‘The Gospel According To The Beatles’ We go back to John’s Sunday School grounding and his always ambivalent attitude to Jesus Christ and the religion he spawned, through the school years, his ‘religious’ (so to speak) devotion to rock and roll, Stu and Astrid, Hamburg, existentialism and finally the freedom-loving philosophy and behaviour of the Beatlemania-era foursome in 1963 and 64. Ref- the intro clips come from John Lennon’s Playboy interviews shortly before his death in 1980. The outro song is by ‘The Fab Four’ Beatles tribute band Enjoy!  Feedback to [email protected]  Support the show at https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/antonyrotunno OR https://www.buymeacoffee.com/antonyrotunno  Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/glassonionjlpod  Twitter handle https://www.twitter.com/OnionLennon  Antony's website (music, podcasts, blog, life coaching) https://www.antonyrotunno.com  Antony's 'Life And Life Only' podcast (on Psychology and Alternative media) https://www.lifeandlifeonly.podbean.com  Jon Stewart’s book ‘Dylan, Lennon, Marx & God’ https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59593530-dylan-lennon-marx-and-god  Steve Turner’s ‘A Hard Day’s Write’ book https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35666.A_Hard_Day_s_Write  episode links Royston Ellis on the 1960 Beatles https://www.ibtimes.com/beatles-1960-liverpool-royston-ellis-remembers-996876  The original ‘Beatnik Horror’ article from 1960 https://www.flickr.com/photos/29873672@N02/6897934379  Jude Kessler on John & Stu’s relationship (‘Pop Goes The 60s’ channel) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbED8SRpUoI  ‘Angry Young Men at the Kitchen Sink’ (linking 2 genres) https://literaturestudies.co.uk/angry-young-men-at-the-kitchen-sink/  Existentialism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Existentialism  Did Lewis Carroll’s migraines inspire his ‘Alice’ books? https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(05)74368-3/fulltext  ‘Looking For Lennon’ documentary https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVpyOa2Kn1Y  ‘The Art & Music of John Lennon’ by Peter Doggett https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/798473.The_Art_And_Music_Of_John_Lennon  The religious views of The Beatles https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_views_of_the_Beatles  Liverpool’s Anglican cathedral https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liverpool_Cathedral
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1:20:23
Episode 105- The Gospel According To John Lennon (Part 1 of 4)
We end Glass Onion’s 6th year with the start of another multi-part series, the first 4-parter in the history of the podcast. Using (mostly) the John Lennon parts from Steve Turner’s excellent 2006 book ‘The Gospel According To The Beatles’, we trace our hero’s religious, spiritual and philosophical journey through its many twists and turns in his intense four-decade ride through life. Antony also comments on his own journey in these areas, some of which overlaps with that of John Lennon and The Beatles. Part 1 looks at the first two chapters of Steve’s book, focusing a lot on the ‘Bigger Than Jesus’ controversy of 1966. This is preceded by an attempt to lay some groundwork for this series by defining ‘religion’ and ‘spirituality’ and pondering what the differences (if any) between them are. There are multiple audio clips at the start to help us along, and you will find many useful web links in the show notes below  Enjoy! And see you in January 2025 for part 2. Best wishes from Antony  Feedback to [email protected]  Support the show at https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/antonyrotunno OR https://www.buymeacoffee.com/antonyrotunno  Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/glassonionjlpod  Twitter handle https://www.twitter.com/OnionLennon  Antony's website (music, podcasts, blog, life coaching) https://www.antonyrotunno.com  Antony's 'Life And Life Only' podcast (on Psychology and Alternative media) https://www.lifeandlifeonly.podbean.com  episode links Steve Turner’s book https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22515.The_Gospel_According_to_the_Beatles  Jon Stewart’s book ‘Dylan, Lennon, Marx & God’ https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59593530-dylan-lennon-marx-and-god  Steve and Jon on the ‘Unbelievable ?’ podcast https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COHA7qRQX5o  John defends ‘Bigger Than Jesus’ in Chicago https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZaI7m1xpAg  Brian Epstein speaks about the controversy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsqdzC2kFeA  John Lennon- God ‘video’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SX7GsonWTJA  Andrew Hickey’s podcast on the Beatles in 1966-67 (including ‘Bigger Than Jesus’) https://500songs.com/podcast/episode-150-all-you-need-is-love-by-the-beatles  Beatles interviews database http://beatlesinterviews.org/  Joe Goodden’s superb book on the Beatles and drugs https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36379732-riding-so-high  ‘The Rest Is History’ podcast about Jesus’s existence (2 parts) https://therestishistory.com/287-jesus-christ-the-mystery/ https://therestishistory.com/288-jesus-christ-the-history/  John Cleese and Michael Palin defend ‘The Life of Brian’ in 1979 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYMpObbt2rs  Band Aid 40th anniversary documentary https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6_6PzRQ9sQ&t=1s  William Mann ‘oustanding composers’ article in The Times in 1963 https://www.beatlesbible.com/1963/12/27/the-times-what-songs-the-beatles-sang-by-william-mann/
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1:21:30
Episode 104- John Lennon The Actor with Ross Marshall (Part 2 of 2)
We conclude our look at John Lennon as an actor, starting from 1965’s ‘Help!’ and with particular emphasis on what was arguably his only ‘serious’ role, albeit in an anti-war satire ‘How I Won The War’. He also voices a famously sprawling Beatles TV film about a bus, and there’s a film cameo and brief comedy sketch in amongst it all as well. Antony is joined once again by professional actor Ross Marshall, and there are multiple audio clips to complement the conversation. Glass Onion will return in December for 1 or possibly 2 more episodes looking at John Lennon’s religious and spiritual life.  Enjoy!  Feedback to [email protected]  Support the show at https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/antonyrotunno OR https://www.buymeacoffee.com/antonyrotunno  Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/glassonionjlpod  Twitter handle https://www.twitter.com/OnionLennon  Antony's website (music, podcasts, blog, life coaching) https://www.antonyrotunno.com  Antony's 'Life And Life Only' podcast (on Psychology and Alternative media) https://www.lifeandlifeonly.podbean.com  Ross’s acting page and his new film, currently streaming on A***** Prime https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6892498/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1 https://www.imdb.com/title/tt19632160/?ref_=nm_flmg_knf_t_1  episode links John’s scenes in ‘Help!’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FesTTkMcSd4  How I Won The War (filmed in 1966, released in 1967) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_I_Won_the_War  John’s scenes in ‘How I Won The War’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEZFe94xpkk  Our original review of the film https://glassoniononjohnlennon.com/episode-38-how-i-won-the-war-reel-britannia-film-podcast  John is interviewed on the set of the film in Almeria, Spain https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8u5Ct8cdpQ&t=137s  John as the doorman of the ‘Ad Lav’ (‘Not Only But Also’, Nov 1966) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qAo0wx--C0  James Hargreaves’s very imaginative interpretation of the ‘Magical Mystery Tour’ film https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3CTIlgC0P0Q  John riffs with Little Nicola on the bus https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTjP74avEpQ  ‘I Am The Walrus’ in 4k (glorious!) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMOrBbcoFbo  Mr Creosote scene (somewhat influenced by Magical Mystery Tour) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aczPDGC3f8U  The Beatles’ cameo in the ‘Yellow Submarine’ film https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SM8S4Y7FPMk  John needles Peter Sellers in Twickenham https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpcAUdgCChc  ‘Daytime Revolution’ trailer (new doc about John & Yoko) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkjiRlTVVnQ  John at his charismatic peak playing DJ in 1974 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCq-kdYEvT4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_G7PN9Yovw
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1:21:42
Episode 103: John Lennon The Actor with Ross Marshall (Part 1 of 2)
The show keeps rolling with a look at John Lennon as an actor, both in films and TV sketches and also in his persona as Beatle John with the press and on stage. Antony is joined in this endeavour by professional actor Ross Marshall, and the conversation also looks at the craft of acting itself in terms of styles and John Lennon’s (un)suitability for it. Part 1 reaches the end of 1964, including discussion of John’s performance in ‘A Hard Day’s Night’. Part 2 will be out in a few weeks  Enjoy!  Feedback to [email protected]  Support the show at https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/antonyrotunno OR https://www.buymeacoffee.com/antonyrotunno  Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/glassonionjlpod  Twitter handle https://www.twitter.com/OnionLennon  Antony's website (music, podcasts, blog, life coaching) https://www.antonyrotunno.com  Antony's 'Life And Life Only' podcast (on Psychology and Alternative media) https://www.lifeandlifeonly.podbean.com  Ross’s acting page and his new film, currently streaming on A***** Prime https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6892498/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1 https://www.imdb.com/title/tt19632160/?ref_=nm_flmg_knf_t_1  episode links John’s scenes in ‘A Hard Day’s Night’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjkYjI4Mjd0  John on ‘Not Only But Also’ in Jan 1965 (2 appearances, both filmed in Nov 1964) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7P2j24WMzbg  Eoghan Lyng analyses and discusses John’s acting https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/exploring-john-lennons-foray-into-acting/  Antony discusses A Hard Day’s Night on the ‘Classic Film Jerks’ podcast https://player.fm/series/classic-film-jerks-2394703/a-hard-days-night  Marlon Brando talks about acting and has a friendly disagreement about it with Dick Cavett https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0yo5xKqt0o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tvca0FcuSs  David Mamet’s book on acting https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/True_and_False:_Heresy_and_Common_Sense_for_the_Actor  Michael Caine’s acting masterclass and Peter Serafinowicz’s parody of it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZPLVDwEr7Y https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdaLhOODouI&t=1s
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1:13:40
Bonus Episode #15- Antony interviewed by James Jarman in 2016
For our latest bonus episode, we offer a diversion and a trip back to the past as your humble host is interviewed about his and other people’s music by a friend in Madrid in 2016. Topics touched upon include songwriting, creativity, performance, recording and (no surprise) The Beatles and John Lennon. Preceding the interview are Antony's thoughts after a reread of the Ray Coleman revised and updated 'Lennon' biography. The next regular episode will be out at the start of November Enjoy!  Feedback to [email protected]  Support the show at https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/antonyrotunno OR https://www.buymeacoffee.com/antonyrotunno  Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/glassonionjlpod  Twitter handle https://www.twitter.com/OnionLennon  Antony's website (music, podcasts, blog, life coaching) https://www.antonyrotunno.com  Antony's 'Life And Life Only' podcast (on Psychology and Alternative media) https://www.lifeandlifeonly.podbean.com  episode links James Jarman in action with the Gines in 2015 TTFN- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nkbYIWzLdc iAddict- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqqlttrSp_Y  Antony interviews James in Madrid in 2015 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPCHg7BOc34&list=PLJHwepa7LNQ2oXU3H7zDFwmW4iUsXHc_h&index=1  Creativity, Communal Experience & Mental Health ('Life And Life Only' episode 19 - relevant part starts at 10.30) https://lifeandlifeonly.podbean.com/e/episode-19-life-coaching-creativity-communal-experience-mental-health/  ‘Lennon: The Definitive Biography’ by Ray Coleman https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52247.Lennon  John & Yoko: A Love Story (1985 TV film) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7u_FUvmmrPg&list=PLxzkNx9uq6gjgbNne6prJSQNH6YcC0xmr  Imagine: John Lennon (1988 documentary) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095360/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
A deep dive into the music and complex psychology of John Lennon, featuring interviews with such noted authors and podcasters as David Bedford, Dan Richter, Jude Kessler, Kit O'Toole and Ken McNab, as well as ex-Quarrymen bandmates Rod Davis and Colin Hanton
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