The Lennon Companion

by Elizabeth Thomson (Illustrator), David Gutman

Preferring Paul to John was like preferring Cliff Richard to Elvis Presley, or Donovan to Dylan. John was the leader; he was his own man.-Martin Amis

Genres: Music, Nonfiction

273 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1987

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Elizabeth (Liz) Thomson, a widely published journalist and frequent broadcaster, studied music at the University of Liverpool. For many years she pursued a dual career, reporting on the international publishing trade by day and the arts by night. She has lectured on both publishing and music, and has conducted platform interviews at literary festivals around the world. A contributor to The New Grove Dictionary of Music & Musicians, she is the editor (with David Gutman) of critical anthologies on John Lennon, Bob Dylan and David Bowie, and the author of a 40-year celebration of Chickenshed, the ground-breaking London-based theater company. She is the revising editor of New York Times critic Robert Shelton’s biography of Bob Dylan.

Thomson has been a Visiting Fellow of the Open University Sixties Research Group and is the co-founder of a folk music charity, Square Roots Productions. She is also the founder and executive producer of The Village Trip, an annual arts and music festival celebrating the history and heritage of Greenwich Village.

Thomson’s attendance at Joan Baez concerts spans fifty years, and includes reporting on the live recordings for Ring Them Bells in New York.

Reviews

[Trevor Seigler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Many books have been written about John Lennon, my favorite Beatle (after all, we share a birthday) and one of the most lauded activists of his time. This book, a collection of essays and news articles (some from his lifetime, some from after his demise), is kind of a mixed bag in many ways. Some of the pieces are revelatory (mainly the contemporary profiles of him and the other Beatles, which show them before the myth-making, especially posthumously, went into overdrive) while others are sometimes interesting, sometimes not. I think anyone who loves Lennon and the Beatles will enjoy some of this book, depending on where their interests lie. For me, the best parts were the articles from during his lifetime, especially the infamous article in which he said that the Beatles were "bigger than Jesus" (cue the "prove me wrong" meme, because honestly Lennon was on the money about celebrity worship especially after the Beatles broke up). Some of the essays are good, some are easily skippable, and others are merely there. Like I said, it's your call as to what you want to read in this, it's a nice addition to any Beatlemaniac's bookshelf and probably fun to revisit, especially the pieces you didn't like or even read the first time around (as I plan to do eventually).

[Seth Arnopole · Rating 5 out of 5]

A collection of articles, essays, interviews, and album reviews, The Lennon Companion came out in 1987, just before the controversial biography The Lives of John Lennon was released. The latter book spurred a massive counter-effort to burnish Lennon’s image. Much of the content in The Lennon Companion, on the other hand, was written during the subject’s lifetime. There is a clear-eyed, perceptive assessment of Lennon’s life and biographers’ attempts to capture it (written by Lloyd Rose). There are contemporaneous reviews of Beatle albums and films. People from the world of classical music (Ned Rorem, Joshua Rifkin, Luciano Berio) try to convey what makes the Beatles’ music so special. Soviet journalists analyze Lennon’s life (and death) through a Communist lens. Writers as varied as George Melly, Martin Amis, and Robert Christgau grapple with his impact in the wake of his murder. There is even a poem written by a Liverpudlian poet. All in all, this is a varied and satisfying volume that will always have a place on my shelf).

[Chris C · Rating 3 out of 5]

I discovered the Beatles a few months before this book first came out and someone had given me a book voucher so mum and I went into the bookstore to pick out a book and I saw this and told mum I wanted it. I feel like it was quite expensive, maybe $40 in '87? Anyway mum tried to talk me out of it saying the book was just a bunch of articles. She was kind right but I did find it interesting reading the article written by Gloria Steinem and the one written by Maureen Cleave. There was also a story out of John's "In His Own Write" book. The photo section is the middle is pretty quirky. A bit of a strange book but not the worst.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

A compelling, if oddl and at times uneven, chronological collection of pieces-- some important, others trivial about Lennon (although several focus on The Beatles more generally). Some unnecessary (imho) technical analyses of the Beatles music, some excellent original reviews, political profiles, and articles. A good serious read for anyone who wants more than the mythos.