John Lennon: The Interview You’ve Never Heard

Back in 1968, Maurice Hindle sent a letter to a Beatles fan club asking for an interview with John Lennon. Hindle, a student at Keele University in England was taking a shot in the dark. And to his surprise, Lennon himself replied back within just one week, and an interview with one of the biggest musicians in the world was in the works.

The interview itself, which was acquired by Hard Rock in 1987, is just under two hours long and includes remarks from Lennon’s soon to be Wife, Yoko Ono, as well. With the 50th anniversary of the Beatles first American tour on February 7th, Hard Rock has decided to release the two part interview for the first time ever. Small excerpts have been made available in the past but never before has the full interview been available in its entirety.

The interview took place in John Lennon’s home in Surrey England, after the famous musician invited Hindle to come interview with him. Hindle and his friend friend from Keele University, Daniel Wiles, spent around six hours sitting in Lennon’s home listening to him talk about everything from politics to social change, and of course, the Beatles.

One of the most provocative parts of the interview was when Lennon addressed the letter in the October 1968 issue of the Black Dwarf criticizing his anti-uprising stance on evolution. The letter, written by John Hoyland caused quite a stir and after the interview, Lennon sent a rebuttal letter which was published in a later issue of the Black Dwarf.

You can listen to the interview in its entirety at the Hard Rock website. It is split into two one-hour sections and also contains two transcripts, the actual letters from the Black Dwarf, and Maurice Hindle’s commentary. The site also contains pictures of John Lennon memorabilia such as the “Remember Love” sign, and an American Express statement showing an overdraft of $19.88 which John wrote “Who screwed up?” on the front.

According to Hindle’s friend Daniel Wiles, the main reason he was allowed to go along with Hindle, was for the simple fact that he had an audio cassette recorder, something that was pretty rare at the time.

They didn’t have cameras so they weren’t able to get any pictures, but after the interview, Lennon gave both students a copy of “Two Virgins”, signed by John Lennon and Yoko Ono as souvenirs.

[Image Credit: Fanpop.com]