Over the years I have acquired many wonderful Beatles-related artifacts from a bygone era from the UK business operation known as TRACKS. This is one of those documents. In late 1965, the Pye record company issued this two page press release concerning the release of Freddie Lennon’s first and only 45 record release, entitled That’s My Life, That’s My Love, and My Home. The track was co-written by Freddie Lennon and Tony Cartwright to seemingly take advantage of the wave of Beatlemania that surged throughout the world in both 1964 and 1965.

Controversy Over The Record

There was a lot of controversy surrounding this 45 as John was embarrassed by the perceived notions that his father was trying to capitalize on his fame by the issuing of this record. There were also rumors that had John demanding that their manager, Brian Epstein, somehow put a stop to the distribution of the record. Though there seemingly is no documentation as to the specifics of how this may have been done, the end result was that interest in the record quickly faded away. Was it due to the record simply being a poor song or was there a concerted effort, a behind the scenes campaign to squash the promotion of the record?

The subject of this recording was dealt with in an earlier post on the blog but the acquisition of the Pye Press release prompted a revisiting of the subject matter for this post.

John And Alf Lennon

How John Lennon sabotaged his dishwasher dad’s bid to be a pop star | Daily Mail Online

Here is the Pye Records Press release from the last day of 1965:

The 2nd page of the Pye Press release of the Freddie Lennon single:

My plans for the future of the press release is to frame it along with a picture of Freddie Lennon proudly holding his 45, along with his signature shown below, and the 45 rare picture sleeve of the Dutch version of the song that Freddie had recorded especially for Holland.

A Freddie Lennon signature I acquired from Omega Auctions in the UK with the help of my friend across the pond, Seamus Hayes:

A super rare Freddie Lennon Dutch picture sleeve from Holland. Life is misspelled as Live on the sleeve and the selling point for me to purchase this sleeve and record is that Freddie sings the song in the Dutch language on this 45. It took me more than ten years of searching for this record before a European friend found a copy for my collection. Little is known about this part of the story, but I believe Mark Lewisohn has verified that Freddie actually travelled to the Netherlands to lip sync the song on Dutch TV. Unfortunately or fortunately (depending on your point of view), no known copy of that performance is now known to exist.

Does the Dutch tv appearance by Freddie Lennon exist? – beatlegdb.com

Jimi Hendrix

One of the most fascinating bits of trivia about this recording is that two of the session musicians playing on the record were later to become two of the members of the Jimi Hendrix Experience. Both Mitch Mitchell and Noel Redding both played on this Freddie Lennon recording.

The Freddie Lennon Record

Pretty ironic that Freddie Lennon actually recorded with Mitch Mitchell before John Lennon did so at the Rolling Stones Rock & Roll Circus in 1968!!!

DUTCH VERSION OF THE SONG

That’s My Life – Freddie Lennon – Dutch version – 1966 – YouTube

ENGLISH VERSION OF THE SONG

Freddie Lennon – That’s My Life – YouTube

THE FLIP SIDE OF THE 45

Freddie Lennon – The Next Time You Feel Important – YouTube

The English recording of the song’s picture sleeve:

Pauline Lennon’s Book

The front cover of the book Pauline Lennon wrote about her husband Freddie Lennon and his relationship with his first-born son. The book was based on Freddie Lennon’s unpublished book manuscript:

Back cover of the Pauline Lennon book:

Have not seen too many copies of this book signed by Freddie Lennon’s 2nd wife, Pauline Bought this copy from noted UK collector Pete Nash:

ALFRED LENNON pictured with his fiancée, 20-year-old PAULINE JONES, June 1968. The couple met two years prior in 1966, when… – @kaiserkeller on Tumblr

Freddie pictured with one of John Lennon’s half-brothers: Freddie had two children with Pauline Lennon. David Lennon was the eldest born in 1969. Robin Lennon was born in 1973, three years before Freddie Lennon passed away from stomach cancer.

Freddie Lennon and Pauline Lennon in a color photo that appears on the internet.

IDOLS

You may ask yourself, what does this magazine featuring Cher on the cover have to do with Freddie Lennon? Well this issue of Idols magazine published in the UK (issue number 35), I was able to purchase a copy from Ebay UK many years ago. If you scour the cover, you will see that the magazine has a mention of an article contained within detailing the relationship of Freddie and John Lennon.

Pauline Lennon, after Freddie passed away in 1976, was to remarry years later and became Pauline Stone!

A special thanks goes out to Jason Cornthwaite from TRACKS who always is willing to lend a helping hand in finding items for my collection!

A brief excerpt of the article contained within the magazine:

Hope you enjoyed this post about John Lennon’s dad, Alfred Lennon. (aka-Freddie Lennon)!

BUZZ

OUR BOOK OF THE WEEK AT THE BEATLES BOOKSTORE

The Country of Liverpool: Nashville of The North (Limited Hardback Edition)

The Country of Liverpool: Nashville of the North by David Bedford. The Untold Story of the Country Roots of The Beatles and Liverpool, when Liverpool had the largest country and western scene in Europe!

£49.00

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CASHBOX MAGAZINE APRIL 1968- Features the Beatles and executive Stanley Gortikov from Capitol Records on the cover. Capitol was now ready to distribute the Beatles Apple label in the United States. Love these rare Beatles on the cover magazines from the Sixties….A bit sad though because when we look back at these times it was actually the beginning of the end…I purchased this issue on Ebay!

For the old-timers, what was your favorite record chart magazine from the sixties?

Do you prefer to view previously unseen pictures from their early years or the later years? Would love to hear the reason for your choice!

In March of 2026, the photographer who took possibly the best photographs of the Beatles on their journey to find spiritual enlightenment in India back in 1968, is conducting a tour of the country where he found so much of his own inner peace and contentment. This however, is not merely a tour dealing with the subject of the Beatles, it is a fascinating exploration of both historical and cultural importance, exploring the rich and enduring contributions of India to the world. I have met Paul on a few occasions at Fests for Beatles Fans and he is a warm and kind soul and a bright intellect.

For those who may be interested and who may be intrigued about going on this tour hosted by Paul, he is happy to talk with anyone about the details of the journey. You can contact Paul for further information at Tel: 905-901-1000 (direct) Canada or you can reach him at his email address: paul@sfl-films.com

This is the website where you can see view the organization that is sponsoring the tour:

India – a Fusion of Colour, Music & Soul | Bestway Tours & Safaris

Details of the March, 2026 tour of India, hosted by cinematographer, photographer, and Emmy award winner, Paul Saltzman (If you have trouble reading any of the details, I suggest you write or call Paul or access the provided link above)

The itinerary of the 16 day tour:

Paul Saltzman suggested video and reading material if you are contemplating going on the trip:

A sample of one of the fabulous sites you will see:

India, India (Home Recording)

A gorgeous limited edition book of photographs that were taken by Paul Saltzman back in 1968. They are possibly the best photographs ever taken of the Beatles:

A side view of the book’s slipcase:

The opened slipcase featuring the video and audio material and the book:

Honored and privileged to have copy #1968 of this gorgeous book of photos from the same year in my collection:

A COUPLE OF SIGNED BOOKS BY THE LATE  BEATLES PRESS OFFICER, TONY BARROW AND A SMALL PAPERBACK OF HIS RECOLLECTIONS OF THE BEATLES MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR ESCAPADE

DESMOND HAS A BARROW IN THE MARKETPLACE AND ALSO IN THE BOOKSTORES!!!

Tony was an early press officer for the Beatles and has supposedly been given the distinction of coining the term The Fab Four.

He passed away in 2016 at the age of eighty.

A photo of Tony in his later years from The Beatles Story in Liverpool:

This book is Tony’s memoir of working for the Beatles between 1962-1968. The book was published in 2005 by SEVENOAKS

This is the hardback edition:

Tony’s signature in the book:

Back Cover of the book:

Tony’s photo remembrance and memories of his favorite Beatle, Paul McCartney. That could be partially due to Paul’s savvy at dealing with public relations and public image as it relates to the press. Paul was probably the Beatle that was most concerned with what the public thought of both him and the band!

This is the Now and Then hardback that was published in 2004 by Carlton Publishing Ltd.

Co-written by Robin Bextor and edited by Julian Newby

The title holds a lot of irony in the recent release of the final Beatles track entitled Now and Then. In addition to that coincidence, when Paul heard Carl Perkins sing him a song called My Old Friend in Montserrat, Paul allegedly broke into tears when Carl used a line similar to what John supposedly told Paul as Paul was leaving the Dakota in the 70s “Think about me every now and then, my old friend.”

If true, this would help to explain Paul’s sense of urgency to eventually finish the Now and Then song as the final Beatles track! I have the actual audio of Carl Perkins relaying the story when he talked to Linda McCartney in Montserrat about that incident. Some people have doubts about Perkins story. The only person that could verify it’s veracity is Paul himself and he has never stated anything about it in any interview to the best of my knowledge.

Tony’s signature in the book:

The back cover of the hardcover Barrow McCartney book:

The Making of the Beatles’ Magical Mystery Tour PB 1999 by Tony Barrow. Published by Omnibus Press

Tony Barrow was a passenger on the MMT as was Beatles hairdresser Leslie Cavendish and Mr. Fix-It, Alistair Taylor.

Though the paperback is small, there are many wonderful photos and amusing anecdotes concerning this journey of the Beatles included in the book!

The back cover of the book:

My copy of the book came with a signed bookmark by Tony Barrow.. Now, I am saddled with the task of finding and locating it….Lol!!!

Barrow’s books can be found on eBay, on Amazon and also at Abe Books among other book search service sources!

Have your views of the Magical Mystery Tour film radically changed over the years?

If so, in what directions, positive or negative? What is your general outlook towards the concept of revisionism as it involves studying the Beatles story? How do you measure the validity of any vast change of opinion over a long period of time? Is it based on what you hear from others, or what you read or see on social media? If your opinions have changed about the film, what or who, was the biggest factor in your change of viewpoint?

Look forward to your thoughts on the matter!

BUZZ

OUR BOOK OF THE WEEK IN THE BEATLES BOOKSTORE

It’s All Too Much

It’s All Too Much is the unique memoir by music industry veteran  David Stark, who grew up in north London during the 1960s as a dedicated Beatles fan and was lucky enough to meet his musical heroes on various memorable occasions. From gate-crashing the Yellow Submarine film premiere in 1968 (aged just fifteen) and ending up sitting directly behind the group, to meeting all of them individually in some extraordinary circumstances, David has some highly entertaining stories about his many Beatles encounters which have never been told before.

£14.99

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