Cynthia Lennon > Quotes

“Most descriptions of Mimi that have appeared in print were based on interviews with her – she outlived John by eleven years. She loved to fuel the image of the stern but loving aunt who provided the secure backdrop to John’s success. But that wasn’t the Mimi I knew. She battered away at John’s self-confidence and left him angry and hurt.”
― Cynthia Lennon, John: The bestselling classic written by Beatles legend John Lennon's first wife Cynthia

“John's particular talents hadn't gone unnoticed but they weren't his artistic talents. They were his talents for having his fellow students fall about with shocked, uncontrollable laughter at his wicked, disrespectful wit. His ability to disrupt a lecture had to be seen to be believed and John's appearance was even worse than his humour. I think he was the last stronghold of the Teddy Boys - totally aggressive and anti-establishment. My first impression of John, as he slouched reluctantly into the lettering class for the first time, was one of apprehension. I felt that I had nothing in common with this individual and as far as I was concerned I never would. In fact he frightened me to death. The only thing that John and I had in common was that we were both blind as bats without our glasses.”
― Cynthia Lennon, A Twist Of Lennon

“Outside, the rain was bucketing down. We ran along the street, laughing at the madness of it all, and burst into Reece’s, where we had to queue for the set lunch of soup, chicken and trifle. Reece’s had no licence so, when we finally got a table, we toasted ourselves with water. But we didn’t care: we were on a high. A full church wedding with all the extras couldn’t have made me happier.”
― Cynthia Lennon, John: The bestselling classic written by Beatles legend John Lennon's first wife Cynthia

“I met Brian soon after he had signed the Beatles. He was charming, polite, well spoken and I liked him. He accepted that I was John’s girlfriend, but he told John that it would be better if all girlfriends kept a low profile. I didn’t mind because I had no interest in the limelight. As long as I could be”
― Cynthia Lennon, John: The bestselling classic written by Beatles legend John Lennon's first wife Cynthia

“Although George was quieter than the others too, when it came to banter he could give as good as he got. Just when you thought he wasn’t listening to one of John’s wicked teases he’d shoot back a withering line that had everyone in stitches.”
― Cynthia Lennon, John: The bestselling classic written by Beatles legend John Lennon's first wife Cynthia

“In March Brian heard that Decca weren’t interested. The chap he spoke to told him groups with guitars were on the way out and they didn’t like the boys’ sound.”
― Cynthia Lennon, John: The bestselling classic written by Beatles legend John Lennon's first wife Cynthia

“Those weeks in Hamburg were among the happiest times John and I had together. We were free and in love, life was full of promise and the sun shone.”
― Cynthia Lennon, John: The bestselling classic written by Beatles legend John Lennon's first wife Cynthia

“He took them to London on New Year’s Eve, while Brian went by train. Like the rest of the boys, Neil had never been to London.”
― Cynthia Lennon, John: The bestselling classic written by Beatles legend John Lennon's first wife Cynthia

“He was an extraordinary man: talented, flawed, a creative genius who sang movingly about love while often wounding those closest to him.”
― Cynthia Lennon, John: The bestselling classic written by Beatles legend John Lennon's first wife Cynthia

“George’s father was a bus driver and he was planning to buy him his own bus.”
― Cynthia Lennon, John: The bestselling classic written by Beatles legend John Lennon's first wife Cynthia

“Once again John and I kissed good-bye.”
― Cynthia Lennon, John: A Biography

“Then one morning the nightmare happened. John and I were in bed together when I heard the landlady calling up the stairs – she was coming to empty the meter, which was in my room. We panicked. I wrapped myself in a sheet and fled into Dot’s room, leaving John to his fate. I heard the landlady go in and, a few minutes later, come out and go back down the stairs. Baffled, I went back into my room. No sign of John. It took me a minute or two to work out that he was under the large pile of blankets, coats and clothing on the bed. He’d grabbed whatever he could see from around the room and piled it on top of himself. Gasping for air and red-faced, he crawled out, cursing the landlady. We thought we’d got away with it – until”
― Cynthia Lennon, John: The bestselling classic written by Beatles legend John Lennon's first wife Cynthia

“My feelings for John were very different from those I’d had for any other boy: more powerful, more exciting and totally unshakeable. And I sensed in John the same strong feelings. Perhaps each of us recognised and was drawn to a deep need in the other. But at the time I didn’t analyse it. I simply felt certain that this was no passing fling. It was real love.”
― Cynthia Lennon, John: The bestselling classic written by Beatles legend John Lennon's first wife Cynthia

“I met Brian soon after he had signed the Beatles. He was charming, polite, well spoken and I liked him. He accepted that I was John’s girlfriend, but he told John that it would be better if all girlfriends kept a low profile. I didn’t mind because I had no interest in the limelight. As long as I could be with John, I was content to stay in the shadows.”
― Cynthia Lennon, John: The bestselling classic written by Beatles legend John Lennon's first wife Cynthia

“was grateful, relieved and happy. I’d have understood if he had walked away, although it would have hurt. And although I hadn’t thought about marriage yet – believing we had years in which to make that kind of decision – I was certain that I loved him and wanted to be with him. So, on a summer’s night in my little room, John and I decided to marry, have our baby and become a family together. We loved each other and it was what we both wanted, even if it had been forced on us far sooner than we’d have wished.”
― Cynthia Lennon, John: The bestselling classic written by Beatles legend John Lennon's first wife Cynthia

“John and Paul always had a special link between them, a chemistry that added to the heat: they knew intuitively how to share the stage and the limelight, how to spar with each other and how to play the audience so that the girls went wild.”
― Cynthia Lennon, John: The bestselling classic written by Beatles legend John Lennon's first wife Cynthia

“Pete was getting on the others’ nerves. It wasn’t that he did anything wrong: he was a nice guy and a good enough drummer. It was simply that his personality was different: he preferred to sit on his own rather than join in with the others’ non-stop banter.”
― Cynthia Lennon, John: The bestselling classic written by Beatles legend John Lennon's first wife Cynthia

“I’ve come with a message from John. He is going to divorce you, take Julian away from you and send you back to Hoylake.”
― Cynthia Lennon, John: The bestselling classic written by Beatles legend John Lennon's first wife Cynthia

“So, on a summer’s night in my little room, John and I decided to marry, have our baby and become a family together. We loved each other and it was what we both wanted, even if it had been forced on us far sooner than we’d have wished.”
― Cynthia Lennon, John: The bestselling classic written by Beatles legend John Lennon's first wife Cynthia

“John couldn’t stand conflict or confrontation and his reaction was invariably to escape. It was in stark contradiction to his often aggressive manner, but in fact he was only confrontational when he had been drinking. He was often cutting and critical, but mostly he went out of his way to avoid direct conflict.”
― Cynthia Lennon, John: The bestselling classic written by Beatles legend John Lennon's first wife Cynthia

“The family dealt with pain by keeping it under wraps. If a subject was difficult, it was not aired. It was an attitude that hurt John, but which he often adopted as an adult. During and after our marriage I discovered that he had an astonishing ability to ignore anything that distressed him.”
― Cynthia Lennon, John: The bestselling classic written by Beatles legend John Lennon's first wife Cynthia

“His letters weren’t always so reflective, but that one wasn’t unusual. He found it easier, in many ways, to say what he really meant in a letter and, as he had since the Hamburg days, he used them to tell me how he really felt. A few years later, when John and I had divorced, I sold this letter, along with several others John wrote. I was touched and delighted when, some years afterwards, the owner put it up for sale again and Paul McCartney bought it. He had it framed and presented it to me and Julian as a gift.”
― Cynthia Lennon, John: The bestselling classic written by Beatles legend John Lennon's first wife Cynthia

“I flew back to England with Julian, who was happy and full of stories about John—he’d recorded Julian playing drums in the studio, then used the result on one of the tracks for his new album, Walls and Bridges. When it came out a few months later, Julian was credited, which thrilled him.”
― Cynthia Lennon, John: A Biography

“It seemed that John was willing to sacrifice his son to protect Yoko.”
― Cynthia Lennon, John: The bestselling classic written by Beatles legend John Lennon's first wife Cynthia

“I really miss him as a person now – do you know what I mean – he’s not so much ‘the baby’ or ‘my baby’ any more he’s a real living part of me now – you know he’s Julian and everything and I can’t wait to see him, I miss him more than I’ve ever done before – I think it’s been a slow process my feeling like a real father! I spend hours in dressing rooms and things thinking about the times I’ve wasted not being with him – and playing with him – you know I keep thinking of those stupid bastard times when I keep reading bloody newspapers and other shit whilst he’s in the room with me and I’ve decided it’s ALL WRONG! He doesn’t see enough of me as it is and I really want him to know and love me, and miss me like I seem to be missing both of you so much. I’ll go now cause I’m bringing myself down thinking what a thoughtless bastard I seem to be – and it’s only sort of three o’clock in the afternoon and it seems the wrong time of day to feel so emotional”
― Cynthia Lennon, John: The bestselling classic written by Beatles legend John Lennon's first wife Cynthia

“John grew up bouncing between these two very different women: Mimi, the firm ‘mother’, and Julia, the more playful ‘aunt’. With Mimi he was expected to be neatly groomed, dutiful and obedient. With Julia he could laugh, play and fool around.”
― Cynthia Lennon, John: The bestselling classic written by Beatles legend John Lennon's first wife Cynthia

“It was clear that they had arranged for me to find them like that and the cruelty of John’s betrayal was hard to absorb.”
― Cynthia Lennon, John: The bestselling classic written by Beatles legend John Lennon's first wife Cynthia

“While I realised that I was lucky compared to most women divorcing at that time, it still hurt to be dismissed so lightly. John was being meaner than I’d ever known him, which baffled me: typically he was generous to those around him. Why not now, to his wife and son?”
― Cynthia Lennon, John: The bestselling classic written by Beatles legend John Lennon's first wife Cynthia

“John’s erratic behaviour around Julian continued – fun one moment and violent anger the next. And he could be like this with Sean too, reducing the little boy to tears of terror. Fred Seaman, or sometimes Yoko, would act as a buffer when John lost his temper. Julian was constantly on tenterhooks, sensing that an eruption was coming and retreating to his room in the hope of avoiding it.”
― Cynthia Lennon, John: The bestselling classic written by Beatles legend John Lennon's first wife Cynthia

“But as time passed with no word Julian drew his own conclusions. ‘Dad’s always telling people to love each other,’ he said to me one day, ‘but how come he doesn’t love me?”
― Cynthia Lennon, John: The bestselling classic written by Beatles legend John Lennon's first wife Cynthia