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Daddy, Come Home
Daddy Come True Story of John Lennon and His Father
- GenresNonfictionMusic
208 pages, Paperback
First published December 6, 1990
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
July 27, 2025
Thoroughly interesting expungement of Alfred Lennon but could probably benefit from corroborating sources (especially for the fanciful “John Alennon” story) since the author’s position as Alfred’s wife is an inherently biased one.
July 28, 2019
Pauline's opinion is pretty clearly biased in many areas, but it was definitely an interesting read and it was interesting to see some of the details about Alf and Julia's relationship, etc.
February 19, 2025
Absolutely fascinating side-light on the Beatles.
Retold in the third person by Freddie Lennon's younger wife, this is a story of poverty and deprivation in early 20th century Liverpool. Freddie lost his father and had to go into an orphanage: although his mother was still alive, she couldn't feed all their children.
He became a sailor and writes of how accepted gay men were in ships, with the eldest being called Mother.
He met Julia Stanley when she was 13 and he was 15: they courted for ten years. Her family opposed their marriage because he was so working class, but in the end her father insisted they marry, as it had been going on so long
While he was away during the War, Julia went with another man and became pregnant. Despite both the child's father and Freddie offering to take care of her and the baby, she refused, and the baby went to an orphanage. Then she took up with the man who was to father her two daughters, and they were together until her tragically early death.
John was brought up by Julia until the Lennon marriage collapsed, and the child was forced to choose between them. He chose his mother, but her sister, appalled that Julia was "living in sin," took the boy away.
After various adventures Freddie was for a time a tramp, and then worked in hotel kitchens.
During Beatlemania he was pursued by the press, and eventually met the adult John. By then Freddie was with Pauline, 36 years his junior, who became his wife.
The reunion was rocky, and after his Primal Scream therapy, John berated Freddie viciously, although with some justice, and threatened to kill Freddie if Freddie tried to publish an autobiography.
Severed from John, very anxious about the threats he had made, the couple lived happily with their two children until, in a horrific repeat of the loss of parents that echoed down the generations of Lennons, Freddie died of stomach cancer when his sons with Pauline were still small.
But he was reconciled with his eldest son before he died.
Really great read, from a social history as well as Beatles history standpoint.
It was written in 1990 and is long out of print. I got mine on eBay and had read the yellowing book very carefully. These books should be reprinted.
Retold in the third person by Freddie Lennon's younger wife, this is a story of poverty and deprivation in early 20th century Liverpool. Freddie lost his father and had to go into an orphanage: although his mother was still alive, she couldn't feed all their children.
He became a sailor and writes of how accepted gay men were in ships, with the eldest being called Mother.
He met Julia Stanley when she was 13 and he was 15: they courted for ten years. Her family opposed their marriage because he was so working class, but in the end her father insisted they marry, as it had been going on so long
While he was away during the War, Julia went with another man and became pregnant. Despite both the child's father and Freddie offering to take care of her and the baby, she refused, and the baby went to an orphanage. Then she took up with the man who was to father her two daughters, and they were together until her tragically early death.
John was brought up by Julia until the Lennon marriage collapsed, and the child was forced to choose between them. He chose his mother, but her sister, appalled that Julia was "living in sin," took the boy away.
After various adventures Freddie was for a time a tramp, and then worked in hotel kitchens.
During Beatlemania he was pursued by the press, and eventually met the adult John. By then Freddie was with Pauline, 36 years his junior, who became his wife.
The reunion was rocky, and after his Primal Scream therapy, John berated Freddie viciously, although with some justice, and threatened to kill Freddie if Freddie tried to publish an autobiography.
Severed from John, very anxious about the threats he had made, the couple lived happily with their two children until, in a horrific repeat of the loss of parents that echoed down the generations of Lennons, Freddie died of stomach cancer when his sons with Pauline were still small.
But he was reconciled with his eldest son before he died.
Really great read, from a social history as well as Beatles history standpoint.
It was written in 1990 and is long out of print. I got mine on eBay and had read the yellowing book very carefully. These books should be reprinted.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews