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:
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!
Thanks for spotlighting Freddie Lennon Buzz!
I was able to acquire a re-issued copy of his 45 from the 60s, with a picture sleeve – although photo is different from original. It was released on Right Recordings from the UK in 2018.
I believe I first heard from you about the book put out by Pauline Lennon. I read it and loved so much that I put a great review on the Amazon site:
“A Beautiful Manuscript For A Lennon Fan:
As an avid Beatles fan, and John being my favorite, I was happy to finally locate this long sought out book. My efforts were not in vain, as once I started the book I could not put it down. This heartfelt “other side of the story” regarding the Lennon family shed light on the dynamic part Alfred Lennon played (and did not play) in John Lennon’s life. As tragic as the ups and downs were of the book, the story ended peacefully. A must read!”
If you haven’t read the book, don’t miss it!
Thanks for the comments, Jennifer. I am fond of cliches because they often sum up complex issues in a few words. “There are always two sides to every coin!”