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John Lennon: In My Life
John Lennon's best friend tells his story of their thirty-year friendship with insight and affection, from boyhood in Liverpool through the rise of the Beatles, Lennon's fascination with Yoko Ono, and the tensions with McCartney. In addition to the text, there are numerous black & white photos throughout the book.
208 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 1983
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
July 30, 2023
This is a book complied by one of John Lennon's closest friends, Pete Shotton.
It gives an in-depth insight into the relationship between the two men, from their childhood days, until Lennon's final days in New York.
It follows the known John Lennon/Beatles' story with Shotton's own memories woven in. The included photos are great coming from Pete's personal collection, which probably won't appear elsewhere.
A must-read for John Lennon/Beatles fans.
It gives an in-depth insight into the relationship between the two men, from their childhood days, until Lennon's final days in New York.
It follows the known John Lennon/Beatles' story with Shotton's own memories woven in. The included photos are great coming from Pete's personal collection, which probably won't appear elsewhere.
A must-read for John Lennon/Beatles fans.
January 31, 2010
The paperback I have is called "The Beatles, Lennon and Me," previously published under the title "John Lennon in My Life." After all these years, it's surprising that another book about the Beatles could be so amazing. Pete Shotten knew John Lennon since they were six years old, and they remained lifelong best friends. Certainly the most personal of the many Beatles books I've read. The most hilarious part is when Pete became the director of Apple, and tried to bridge the gap between the realities of the business world and the acid-head lunacy of the Beatle's runaway imaginations. Thanks to my friend Rigo for loaning me his copy of this one.
October 29, 2022
This memoir started out as a really fascinating look into John Lennon's life that no other biographers have, but sadly it ended by rehashing the same old post-Beatle lies that the Ono estate likes to perpetuate. The ending was disappointing to say the least, but as the rest of this review would showcase, I got a ton out of it.
I loved the Liverpool childhood and Quarry Bank parts. I'm sure John would have been a nightmare as a student, but Pete made him seem delightfully rebellious and fun-loving in a Fred and George kind of way. He describes his buddy as the funniest kid in the world and the most clever wordsmith as an adult. They get into all kinds of hijinks and mack on all the birds. Their friendship was very sweet and uncomplicated. Actually I had heard from other sources that John's only uncomplicated friendship was with Ringo because he didn't think of him as a threat--competition clouded his deep closeness with Paul and even his friendship with George. But Pete is the ultimate in uncomplicated friendships because he is patently not a musician and he takes John back to simpler, more provincial times. It's clear why John kept him around, especially during Beatlemania. Pete very sweetly spent every weekend John wasn't touring with him at his home in Weybridge. Pete believes that he inspired the lyric in Help, "And I do appreciate you comin' round." He also thinks he and Stu inspired the lyric in In My Life "Some are dead and some are living." That really touched me. I have heard that In My Life was written for Cyn and/or Julian, which I really hope is true. But I like thinking that Pete found his way in there too as a little Liverpool shoutout. Then there was this quote: " 'You know Pete,' he said softly, 'I do love you... I love Stuart too.' " Aaaw.
Pete understood John's extreme vulnerability and sensitivity. He knew John could never really stand on his own two feet. He always needed a partner, a crony, someone to complete the duo. What John really needed was to have everything in one person, which for better or worse he found in Yoko. He also really gets John's constant search for meaning, for purpose, for some explanation or fix to his overwhelming struggles. First it was rock and roll, then it was drugs, then it was meditation and the Maharishi, then it was drugs again, then Yoko, then politics. He never really got there though. How sad.
BUT... and there's a huge but... Pete fell hook line and sinker for the pervasive breakup and post-Beatles narrative. It was maddening! He became pretty anti-Paul towards the end, calling him manipulative for things that are plainly not that manipulative. Paul telling the press that the Beatles were finished is a stunt to sell his solo album? John literally JUST told him he wanted a divorce. He also takes John's side in the A-Side/B-Side gripe, which just felt childish. I guess he would take John's side in the rift between him and Paul, and believe all the things John was saying about him. But that is such bullshit, and made Pete out to be this little crony that hadn't grown up. That to me also just proves that at that point, Pete was not close to John at all, and didn't understand his vulnerability and sensitivity in that period of his life. That he didn't pick up on the absolute mental breakdown John was having makes him seem a little dumb. The extreme anxiety and paranoia, the pushing away of the Beatles, the codependency of his relationship with Yoko, the lunacy of the Lennon Remembers interview...none of this was addressed or brought up as a point of concern. He also doesn't seem to acknowledge John's jealousy of Paul, just that Paul was being too much of a little peacock for John's taste. He seems to take John's word for it that he got more out of Yoko artistically than the Beatles, that the Beatles got "boring." My least favorite of the Ono Lennon estate's agenda!
I don't blame Yoko for the breakup of the Beatles (entirely) but I definitely blame her for the breakdown of Pete and John's friendship. Yoko HATED Pete for no reason other than that he was someone close to John. She made everything awkward and either stayed completely mute when he was around or yelled at him. Or she yelled at John to get rid of him, very much within earshot. Pete acknowledges that Yoko probably saved John's life in 1968 when he was in the throes of a deep depression. He talks about how drugs completely shattered John's ego by then. Pete had to play him all his old hits and go through them line by line to prove what he contributed to the Beatles and to prove he had any talent at all. Yikes.
During this time, Pete was in the uncomfortable position of being John's friend from back when AND his employee. John appoints him director of Apple (the business dealings of which were hilariously detailed as being totally nonsensical and not thought out at all.) Later, he becomes John's personal assistant and is just kind of at his beck and call to hang or fetch him something. Not a good idea to do that to your oldest friend.
Pete and John saw each other only once throughout the 70s. He devotes a mere three pages to the entire decade. One sentence to the Lost Weekend and May Pang. But what really shocked me was his assertion that "contrary to some reports, John was never by any stretch of the imagination a heroin addict." WHAT? Then why the hell did he write Cold Turkey? Why did he arrive at a Canadian television interview completely out of his mind, having to run off halfway through to barf?? Why was he so damn paranoid and skinny and unable to produce any work? A totally bizarre and unnecessary addition. I almost wonder if the Ono Lennon estate had something to do with this book because of that. Also in the treatment of Paul and the repeating of the oft trotted out mantra, "Paul is addicted to the limelight and he's a bossy little bitch." (Not a verbatim quote, but it's certainly the sentiment.)
This book was sorely lacking in Cyn stories. Pete barely mentions her from 1966 on. I found that so disrespectful. Even after John does her so dirty, Pete is just kind of like, hmm pity. But he doesn't seem to empathize with her or Julian! More worshipping at the church of Lennon. It just goes to show what charisma he had and what a pull he had over people that Pete (and George and Ringo!) just left Cyn in the dust and moved onto the next drama with John. Not Paul though, that standup guy. I can't actually remember what Cyn had to say about Pete in her memoir, I almost want to go back and check. I'm curious.
Another thing Pete didn't even scratch the surface of was the John and Paul relationship! Pete was firmly in the inner circle of the Beatles and was good friends with all of them. But he says that Paul was always kind to him but hard to get to know with obvious walls up. I have heard that critique before, that Paul is so aloof and genial that people don't really know how to act. But it was weird that in this book about John Lennon he doesn't really go into the indescribable bond those two men shared, which caused George Martin to say, "There have never been two men closer," or something like that. Maybe Pete felt a little jealous? Maybe he was kept more out of the Beatles' social circle than he implied? Who knows. But he does say George and Ringo were incredibly kind to him. George once comforted him when he felt sad about what a different life he was leading than his famous friend. When they were all meditating one day and Pete was a little bored, he noticed Ringo's eyes flitting over to the muted tv screen. Ringo caught his eye and winked at him. Ha! I cherish those little mundane anecdotes about these boys.
(Last critique, the experience of reading this book was so weird because the dimensions and texture of the pages made it like a book of sheet music and it was all written in newspaper-like columns. The template was like a very very long New Yorker article. Now why would the publishers ever do that? Just make it a 300-page normal book instead of a 200-page weird magazine-book!)
Overall, I'm really glad I read this. Despite my quibbles, there were still some really interesting insights into the early part of John's life. John Lennon was such a multifaceted person. Little prankster, fiercely anti-authority, codependent and deeply insecure, genius, softie.
I loved the Liverpool childhood and Quarry Bank parts. I'm sure John would have been a nightmare as a student, but Pete made him seem delightfully rebellious and fun-loving in a Fred and George kind of way. He describes his buddy as the funniest kid in the world and the most clever wordsmith as an adult. They get into all kinds of hijinks and mack on all the birds. Their friendship was very sweet and uncomplicated. Actually I had heard from other sources that John's only uncomplicated friendship was with Ringo because he didn't think of him as a threat--competition clouded his deep closeness with Paul and even his friendship with George. But Pete is the ultimate in uncomplicated friendships because he is patently not a musician and he takes John back to simpler, more provincial times. It's clear why John kept him around, especially during Beatlemania. Pete very sweetly spent every weekend John wasn't touring with him at his home in Weybridge. Pete believes that he inspired the lyric in Help, "And I do appreciate you comin' round." He also thinks he and Stu inspired the lyric in In My Life "Some are dead and some are living." That really touched me. I have heard that In My Life was written for Cyn and/or Julian, which I really hope is true. But I like thinking that Pete found his way in there too as a little Liverpool shoutout. Then there was this quote: " 'You know Pete,' he said softly, 'I do love you... I love Stuart too.' " Aaaw.
Pete understood John's extreme vulnerability and sensitivity. He knew John could never really stand on his own two feet. He always needed a partner, a crony, someone to complete the duo. What John really needed was to have everything in one person, which for better or worse he found in Yoko. He also really gets John's constant search for meaning, for purpose, for some explanation or fix to his overwhelming struggles. First it was rock and roll, then it was drugs, then it was meditation and the Maharishi, then it was drugs again, then Yoko, then politics. He never really got there though. How sad.
BUT... and there's a huge but... Pete fell hook line and sinker for the pervasive breakup and post-Beatles narrative. It was maddening! He became pretty anti-Paul towards the end, calling him manipulative for things that are plainly not that manipulative. Paul telling the press that the Beatles were finished is a stunt to sell his solo album? John literally JUST told him he wanted a divorce. He also takes John's side in the A-Side/B-Side gripe, which just felt childish. I guess he would take John's side in the rift between him and Paul, and believe all the things John was saying about him. But that is such bullshit, and made Pete out to be this little crony that hadn't grown up. That to me also just proves that at that point, Pete was not close to John at all, and didn't understand his vulnerability and sensitivity in that period of his life. That he didn't pick up on the absolute mental breakdown John was having makes him seem a little dumb. The extreme anxiety and paranoia, the pushing away of the Beatles, the codependency of his relationship with Yoko, the lunacy of the Lennon Remembers interview...none of this was addressed or brought up as a point of concern. He also doesn't seem to acknowledge John's jealousy of Paul, just that Paul was being too much of a little peacock for John's taste. He seems to take John's word for it that he got more out of Yoko artistically than the Beatles, that the Beatles got "boring." My least favorite of the Ono Lennon estate's agenda!
I don't blame Yoko for the breakup of the Beatles (entirely) but I definitely blame her for the breakdown of Pete and John's friendship. Yoko HATED Pete for no reason other than that he was someone close to John. She made everything awkward and either stayed completely mute when he was around or yelled at him. Or she yelled at John to get rid of him, very much within earshot. Pete acknowledges that Yoko probably saved John's life in 1968 when he was in the throes of a deep depression. He talks about how drugs completely shattered John's ego by then. Pete had to play him all his old hits and go through them line by line to prove what he contributed to the Beatles and to prove he had any talent at all. Yikes.
During this time, Pete was in the uncomfortable position of being John's friend from back when AND his employee. John appoints him director of Apple (the business dealings of which were hilariously detailed as being totally nonsensical and not thought out at all.) Later, he becomes John's personal assistant and is just kind of at his beck and call to hang or fetch him something. Not a good idea to do that to your oldest friend.
Pete and John saw each other only once throughout the 70s. He devotes a mere three pages to the entire decade. One sentence to the Lost Weekend and May Pang. But what really shocked me was his assertion that "contrary to some reports, John was never by any stretch of the imagination a heroin addict." WHAT? Then why the hell did he write Cold Turkey? Why did he arrive at a Canadian television interview completely out of his mind, having to run off halfway through to barf?? Why was he so damn paranoid and skinny and unable to produce any work? A totally bizarre and unnecessary addition. I almost wonder if the Ono Lennon estate had something to do with this book because of that. Also in the treatment of Paul and the repeating of the oft trotted out mantra, "Paul is addicted to the limelight and he's a bossy little bitch." (Not a verbatim quote, but it's certainly the sentiment.)
This book was sorely lacking in Cyn stories. Pete barely mentions her from 1966 on. I found that so disrespectful. Even after John does her so dirty, Pete is just kind of like, hmm pity. But he doesn't seem to empathize with her or Julian! More worshipping at the church of Lennon. It just goes to show what charisma he had and what a pull he had over people that Pete (and George and Ringo!) just left Cyn in the dust and moved onto the next drama with John. Not Paul though, that standup guy. I can't actually remember what Cyn had to say about Pete in her memoir, I almost want to go back and check. I'm curious.
Another thing Pete didn't even scratch the surface of was the John and Paul relationship! Pete was firmly in the inner circle of the Beatles and was good friends with all of them. But he says that Paul was always kind to him but hard to get to know with obvious walls up. I have heard that critique before, that Paul is so aloof and genial that people don't really know how to act. But it was weird that in this book about John Lennon he doesn't really go into the indescribable bond those two men shared, which caused George Martin to say, "There have never been two men closer," or something like that. Maybe Pete felt a little jealous? Maybe he was kept more out of the Beatles' social circle than he implied? Who knows. But he does say George and Ringo were incredibly kind to him. George once comforted him when he felt sad about what a different life he was leading than his famous friend. When they were all meditating one day and Pete was a little bored, he noticed Ringo's eyes flitting over to the muted tv screen. Ringo caught his eye and winked at him. Ha! I cherish those little mundane anecdotes about these boys.
(Last critique, the experience of reading this book was so weird because the dimensions and texture of the pages made it like a book of sheet music and it was all written in newspaper-like columns. The template was like a very very long New Yorker article. Now why would the publishers ever do that? Just make it a 300-page normal book instead of a 200-page weird magazine-book!)
Overall, I'm really glad I read this. Despite my quibbles, there were still some really interesting insights into the early part of John's life. John Lennon was such a multifaceted person. Little prankster, fiercely anti-authority, codependent and deeply insecure, genius, softie.
July 19, 2010
A really tender and humorous memorial to a complex person, written by someone who clearly loved him.
January 4, 2024
I've bought this book twice and the 2nd time was very expensive and made me annoyed that someone I lent it to had lost my first copy. Great book. I don't feel anyone but Lennon's best mate would be able to write such a fascinating book about Lennon growing up in Liverpool and then the success after that. He lost touch with him for most of the 70s but did manage to catch up with John and Yoko a couple of times before the inevitable. It loses a star because in between Shotton's anecdotes Nicholas Schaffner inserts boring elements that aren't really needed, or that couldn't have been done by Shotton himself. Regardless, it seemed Lennon did appreciate Shotton being around, right up to the point that Yoko enters the story ha. I once got an email from Pete where he admitted that after the book was published he remembered more anecdotes he could've put into the book but it was too late to include them. That's a bummer, but I'm grateful that this book was written and it surely is a must- have for any Lennon fan.
July 19, 2008
In 7th grade we had to do biography reports and, being a Beatlemaniac, my choice was John Lennon. Pete Shotton, one of John's lifelong best friends, did a wonderful job in writing this. He'd known John since they were young children and was around during the Beatles' entire career and beyond. Even so, it is unbiased and thus does not read like a seedy 'tell-all' exploit (as other biographies written by "insiders" often do), or like an obituary full of nothing but praise and worship. This book is out of print but of you can find it, do read it!
August 8, 2008
criminally out-of-print, an affectionate & often hilarious memoir. my favorite john lennon book.
October 14, 2010
Good bio of the early years by someone that knew John
April 2, 2021
One of the better Beatles book, a captivating first hand account of John Lennon and his best mate Pete Shotton. From Lennon's early childhood in Liverpool to his untimely death in New York, December 1980... lots to laugh about, lots to cry about, wonderful and insightful, helped clarify my understanding of such a fabulous time in pop music history. Thanks Pete.
December 15, 2021
Anyone who is a a major Beatles fanatic will have heard of Pete Shotton, John's childhood friend. I really quite enjoyed this one. I think I did know a lot of what was written already but there were probably several new little tidbits as well. I'll give this one an A.
October 7, 2018
Great fun and I learned a lot. How much of it is true, who knows?
October 17, 2020
I have this multiple times over the years. Written by his boyhood friend, it's hilarious the antics they got into!!! Excellent, Excellent book!!!
September 4, 2011
As Lennon's best friend since childhood, and the unwilling president of the Apple corporation, Pete Shotton is probably most qualified to explain what was going on behind the scenes, and in John's head, as the Beatles story unfolded.
It mostly what you would expect, lots of drugs, sex, and bad attitudes. The book actually gets a little tiresome, since after a while nothing is surprising or out of the ordinary. The book isn't very well written, but these kind of books rarely are.
It's fine if you want the dirty details behinds the scenes, but after a few chapters you might regret being interested in the first place.
It mostly what you would expect, lots of drugs, sex, and bad attitudes. The book actually gets a little tiresome, since after a while nothing is surprising or out of the ordinary. The book isn't very well written, but these kind of books rarely are.
It's fine if you want the dirty details behinds the scenes, but after a few chapters you might regret being interested in the first place.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews