JOHN TURNS 80 AND THERE ARE TRIBUTES AND TRIBUTES...

October is John Lennon’s month.  As it comes to his 80th year, there are many activities live and online to honor the Beatle who was looking for peace on earth.

BBC Radio 2 will feature John Lennon at 80, a radio special hosted by Sean Ono Lennon.  He will be interviewing his half-brother Julian Lennon, Paul McCartney and Elton John. Sean’s conversation with McCartney will cover everything from meeting and becoming friends with Lennon to the Beatles’ Let It Be sessions, and how previously unseen footage from Peter Jackson’s upcoming documentary changed McCartney’s perception of that period. McCartney will also discuss his and Lennon’s artistic development together, and perform a snippet of the first song they wrote, “Just Fun.”

In his conversation with Elton John — who is Sean’s godfather — the musician will share his own memories of being a Beatles fan, like biking eight miles to buy a copy of Sgt. Pepper’s. John also talks about Lennon’s final live appearance, which happened to take place at one of his 1974 gigs at Madison Square Garden, where Lennon was reunited with Yoko Ono.

And with his half-brother Julian, the two Lennon boys will discuss their father’s life and music, with a particular focus on his final album, Double Fantasy (some of Sean’s earliest memories are of being in the studio with his dad while he made that record). The pair will also discuss the unique moments they realized exactly who their dad was, with Julian recalling memories of fans lingering outside his childhood home in England, and Sean recounting similar scenes outside the Dakota in New York.

Jem Records Celebrates John Lennon

Jem recording artists hit the studio to record their interpretation of John Lennon’s songs.   Everything from the early Beatles to his solo career, it is the ultimate celebration of love for Beatles and Lennon songs.  The “Jem Records Celebrates John Lennon” will be available on October 9th (John’s birthday) in vinyl, CD, and digital formats. 

                                       

Many critics are already raving over the album, and it is evident the song tracks are incredible.

1. The Weeklings - The Word

2. The Midnight Callers - Child of Nature

3. The Midnight Callers - Jealous Guy

4. The Grip Weeds - You Can't Do That

5. Johnathan Pushkar - (Just Like) Starting Over

6. The Gold Needles - No Reply

7. Richard Barone - Revolution/Power To The People

8. The Grip Weeds - Strawberry Fields Forever

9. The Midnight Callers - It Won't Be Long

10. The Anderson Council - I Found Out

11. The Gold Needles - Cold Turkey/Hey Bulldog

12. Johnathan Pushkar - I Call Your Name

13. The Weeklings - What's The New Mary Jane?

Remember Lennon: Imagine 80

A special tribute to former Beatle John Lennon will take place online on Oct. 9 at 7 p.m. EDT at www.bit.ly/RememberLennon2020 in celebration of what would have been his 80th birthday.

Scot Arch, Lennon tribute artist, will headline the event with a live band.  The show will be a representation of a concert Lennon might have performed today. The music will include songs by the Beatles and his solo career, plus songs Lennon never performed live.

Dear John Celebrates Second Annual Concert

"Dear John" tribute concert will stream at 3 PM ET (8 PM BST) from London's Hard Rock Hotel on YouTube.   Amongst the performing artists include KT Tunstall, Larkin Poe, Peter Gabriel, Richard Curtis CBE, Maxi Jazz of Faithless, Lindsay Ell, PP Arnold, Andy Fairweather Low, John Ilsley of Dire Straits, Graham Gouldman of 10cc, Lawrence Gowan of Styx, Nick Van Eede of Cutting Crew, Blurred Vision, Mollie Marriott, Laura Jean Anderson, and more.  Organized by Blurred Vision frontman Sepp Osley, the virtual show will feature songs from Lennon's catalog. 

The Fest For Beatles Fans Celebrates John’s 80th 

The Fest for Beatles Fans will commemorate John Lennon’s birthday with a special virtual event featuring musical tributes and personal anecdotes from those who knew John well over the course of his life. The celebration, hosted by Ken Dashow (Q104.3 "Breakfast With The Beatles") and Tom Frangione (The Beatles Channel/SiriusXM), will be live from 5:00 pm - 11:00 pm on Friday, October 9 EDT. Tickets are available through Eventbrite. (https://tinyurl.com/johnlennon80) and via The Fest's Facebook event link (https://www.facebook.com/events/3629221577098491). Prices are $16 through September 30 and $20 from October 1 - 9.

Live music will be presented by Liverpool, The Fest's house band since 1979. They'll be streaming in from Daryl's House in Pawling, NY and playing songs that John wrote both as a Beatle and during his solo career. Legendary Merseyside rocker Billy J. Kramer, the only artist for whom John wrote four songs, will join Liverpool, legendary drummer Liberty DeVitto and guitarist Dennis Delgaudio for a special set.

The pandemic prevented The Fest from taking place in person this year, but it can still bring together a great lineup of special guests from different periods of John's life who will be sharing their personal stories. More will be announced, but the roster currently includes a rare opportunity to listen to Klaus Voormann (met The Beatles in Hamburg, created the covers for Revolver and Anthology, performed on solo projects for all four Beatles), as well as Peter Asher (Peter & Gordon, A+R for Apple Records), Joey Molland (Badfinger), Rod Davis (The Quarrymen), Alan Parsons (Artist, Producer, Engineer), Jeremy Clyde (Chad & Jeremy), Terry Sylvester (Swinging Blue Jeans & The Hollies), Billy Kinsley (The Merseybeats, played The Cavern Club), Jon Cobert (piano on John's "Rock & Roll" album), Ruth McCartney (Paul's Step Sister), Bob Gruen (legendary Rock & Roll photographer), Larry Kane & Ivor Davis (journalists who toured with The Beatles) and Brian Hamill (photographer/author of new book, "Dream Lovers: John & Yoko). Authors Ken Womack (John Lennon 1980, The Last Days In The Life) and Jude Southerland Kessler (John Lennon: Words and Pictures) will offer special presentations about their latest books.

Founded in 1974 by Mark Lapidos, The Fest for Beatles Fans is the longest-running and largest annual celebration of the Fab Four. John Lennon personally gave Mark Lapidos his blessings to create the event. A portion of the proceeds from this virtual celebration will go to Spirit Foundation and Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, both of which The Fest has supported since 1981.