The ballad of John and Russell

“The press continued to treat John with undisguised hostility. The Times objected, in its ruling-class fashion, to the “unfortunate image of hippy earnestness directing liberal causes from the deep upholstery of a Beatle’s income.”


The Daily Mirror’s abuse was more flamboyant. It ran a headline naming John “Clown of the Year” at the end of 1969. “John Lennon means well,” the tabloid began. “But it is not what goes on in his mind, rather what comes out of the mouth, that sets Mr Lennon slightly apart from his fellow human beings. And out of that particular mouth this year has emerged the most sustained twaddle and tosh since Zsa Zsa gave way to Cassius Clay.” Reviewing the period that began with the nude Two Virgins cover and ended with the Hanratty campaign, the Mirror found the bed-in the most outrageous. “That fatuous affair” had been based on “the notion that the contentious forces of mankind would pause in awe of this nut-nibbling couple in old Amsterdam.” The article concluded, “Mr Lennon’s cry is ‘Peace!’ How about giving us some, chum?”


Source: Jon Wiener – Come Together: John Lennon in His Time


There are many differences between the two men  – only one, for example, ranks among the greatest artists of modern times and it’s not the one who was in the remake of Arthur – but the tone of the loftiest hatchet jobs on Russell Brand feels awfully familiar.


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Published on November 11, 2014 04:25
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