Lennon Wanted A Beatles Reunion, Says Lover

[I am the Paulrus]

LENNON WANTED A BEATLES REUNION, SAYS LOVER

May 17,2005

http://www.contactmusic.com/new/xmlfeed.nsf/mndwebpages/lennon%
20wanted%20a%20beatles%20reunion%20says%20lover

JOHN LENNON's former lover has blasted historical records for
declaring the BEATLES' split was permanent, insisting they'd always
planned to play together again.

Lennon's personal assistant MAY PANG - who had an 18-month affair
with the IMAGINE singer in 1973 after he split from YOKO ONO -
claims the pop icon often fantasised about reuniting with his ex-
bandmate SIR PAUL McCARTNEY.

And Lennon often asked for advice on whether he should write to
McCartney suggesting the Fab Four reform, to which Pang assured him
they're far better as a unit than as solo artists.

She says, "Though John and Paul did not write many songs together,
they had always been sounding boards for each other's ideas and he
missed that. He was always saying, 'I wonder what Paul is up to.'

"I remember him saying, 'Do you think I should write with Paul
again?' and I said, 'Absolutely, you should do it because it seems
you want to. As solo performers you are good but together you can't
be beaten.'"

[LovinLennon909]

In her book, May wrote about how when Paul and Linda came to visit them, everything was very uncomfortable, with Paul making a beeline to the piano, and John refusing to play with him. I wonder what brings May's change of heart (or story) now?

[lennonluvr9]

Yeah i kinda wonder where this came from...

[beatlemad]

Maybe she just wants her name in the newspapers.

[Fluxus]

If this is true, it just breaks my heart. As a kid in the 70s, this was our ultimate dream.

[ABCKO]

Maybe she just wants her name in the newspapers.
... again...

[FPSHOT]

or on a Beatles message board....

[beatlebangs1964]

More in particular, this Beatles' message board. :wink1:

[ABCKO]

I think that it depended on when and how you'd ask John about that (a Beatles reunion).

Remember that interview he did with Eliot Mintz in the mid 1970's on a beach (Long Island ?), John said that "the wounds had healed" and that he often goes on instinct and that if he ever felt like it, he could see himself just waking up one morning and ring up Paul, George and Ringo, and ask them to do it...

I especially liked when he said something like "I don't know why we'd do it, but if we do it, it would be fun..."

[LucyLennon4me]

she craves publicity this one. she is old news. she changes her story over and over and then complains people are trying to rewrite history. she is doing the same thing.

She is old news, her 15 minutes of fame are over, and she should move on with her life and get over John Lennon. Most people do not respect her, because she was an adulteress. She is worse then Yoko, for trying to live off John's name and she trys to come off as an authority on John which she is not.She was a passing footnote in John's life and nothing more. She is boring us fans all to death. That is why she should go away.

[LovinLennon909]

Actually, LucyLennon4me, a lot of people here and elsewhere really like May Pang. I don't at all, but I do love Yoko as much as I love John, which is also unusual around here.

Anyway, don't speak for "us fans," especially in dealing with the women surrounding the Beatles--the arguments can go on for pages and pages, and THAT can get bore a person to death! :wink1:

[LucyLennon4me]

that's fine 909, everyone is entitled to their views and opinions.

The "us fans" comment was meant as a very broad and general statement not exclusive to this forum or anyone in this forum. I have just seen so much feedback from people of all ages and on all kinds of forums that have expressed the same "May, get OVER it" sentiment. I have found that people are sick of hearing the same old same old. I would be more interested to hear about all the things she has done in the past 30 years in the music business with other artists, then hearing her whine about John and her place in history etc etc etc.

I notice that some of the members here when they get too obsessed with Lennon have been advised by older members, that they should keep it in perspective so to speak. I think it is a disservice to Miss Pang that no one advises her of the same.

[Sally]

Whether its true or not I am glad they didn't have a reunion, would have spoilt the whole Beatle magic.

[ShellyP]

Adulteress? I don't quite agree. Yoko actually encouraged John and May to be together. She felt that May would keep John out of trouble until Yoko was ready to take him back. It was Yoko's plan.

[LucyLennon4me]

you said "Yoko actually encouraged John and May to be together. She felt that May would keep John out of trouble until Yoko was ready to take him back. It was Yoko's plan."

I agree Shelly, it WAS Yoko's plan, and your key words "until Yoko was ready to take him back" was the real deal, but May did not want to "give him back", she thought Yoko gave him to her and she is still bitter about him going back to Yoko. The reason I used the term adulteress despite Yoko's sanctioning is because John WAS a married man, perhaps "Hired Whore" is more appropriate.

Anyway she comes off as if she is on a mission to prove to the world that she meant something to Lennon, when clearly if Lennon wanted to be with her so much, he had the money, the power, and probably the world's blessing if he wanted to dump Yoko. If John had wanted too, he could have dumped Yoko for May just like he dumped Cynthia for Yoko. HE DID NOT WANT TO.

[HMVNipper]

Um...just a technical linguistic point -- an "adulterer" is a MARRIED PERSON having an affair with another person outside marriage. Therefore, whether with Yoko's tacit approval or not, JOHN was the "adulterer," since May was not married at the time.

Frankly, I feel that calling her a "whore" is pretty repugnant. Maybe you think she was, but that's a really, really ugly and loaded word, and I personally find it offensive. Because then any woman who ever had an affair with John is a "whore," and I wonder what you must think of someone like Angel, for instance.Or Yoko herself, who was married and having an affair with John that led to his divorce from Cyn. Or any number of other women who had sexual relationships with John while he was married, whether to Cyn or Yoko. And I will say here and now that if ANYONE were to call Angel, whom I know personally and love very much, such an ugly name, I'd be pretty angry. I am sure you don't consider Yoko to be a "whore" and an "adulteress." (I know I don't.) I am also sure that other people here would agree that calling May a "whore" is a bit much...you don't have to like her, but geez....

And Lucy, you talk like you knew John...since none of us here did (with the exception of Angel, who only knew him briefly), I don't think any of us can say what he did or did not want to do regarding his relationships with any of the above-mentioned women. I would never presume to "know" what he "wanted" do do. I realize that you have some very strong feelings about May...and you are certainly entitled to them. But don't expect everyone here to share them.

[Rellevart]

Anyway she comes off as if she is on a mission to prove to the world that she meant something to Lennon, when clearly if Lennon wanted to be with her so much, he had the money, the power, and probably the world's blessing if he wanted to dump Yoko. If John had wanted too, he could have dumped Yoko for May just like he dumped Cynthia for Yoko. HE DID NOT WANT TO.

True. He obviously didn't want to leave Yoko. But just because Yoko meant more to him than May did, that doesn't mean that May didn't mean anything to him at all. He could have quite possibly cared for her a great deal, but she just wasn't the love of his life, like Yoko was. There are so many grey areas in relationships between grand passion and not caring at all.

[HMVNipper]

True. He obviously didn't want to leave Yoko. But just because Yoko meant more to him than May did, that doesn't mean that May didn't mean anything to him at all. He could have quite possibly cared for her a great deal, but she just wasn't the love of his life, like Yoko was. There are so many grey areas in relationships between grand passion and not caring at all.

Excellent point, Suz...I, for one, am reasonably sure that John did care for May, even though Yoko was the grand love of his life.

[LucyLennon4me]

HMV - Your correction for the definition of adulterer is correct.

MAY did not have an "affair" with John, She was assigned by Yoko who was her boss, to be his concubine and she was on the payroll, employed by Yoko, receiving a PAYCHECK while she was having sex with John.
SEX+MONEY=WHORE.

None of the other women you mentioned are in that catagory.

How astute of you to guess that I knew John.

[Zimmerman The Gnome]

Really? How did you know John?

[HMVNipper]

When did you know him, Lucy? I'm curious.

And I still find it offensive to keep on using the word whore, sorry.

[donnamariemoreno27]

When did you know him, Lucy? I'm curious.



Hmm...I'm quite CURIOUS too...Do tell...

Donna~

[ImaginePeace78]

May got a paycheck from Yoko a few years before Yoko gave them permission to become an 'item.' May was their secretary...she did the usual duties that a secretary does. In May's book, May explains that Yoko had cut off her checks, once they went to LA. So, she wasn't getting paid while getting laid. Have you read May's book?
-Kristi

[ImaginePeace78]

So, May was not a 'whore' as you think she was.
-Kristi

[Zimmerman The Gnome]

It's still a very strange arrangement and not one that most people would be comfortable in and agree to!

[HMVNipper]

It's still a very strange arrangement and not one that most people would be comfortable in and agree to!

That is true, but it does not make May a whore. And thank you for quoting that information, Kristi...I knew that was the case, but I could not lay my hands on my copy of the book to confirm it.

[Suki_Kobayashi]

Hello,

I'm sorry but I must tell you the truth. I worked for Yoko as bookeeper and payroll accountant for the servants and staff from 1971 through 1978.

Dut to Yoko's arrangment and Yoko's desire to keep things legitamate and business like during the time May worked for her, May Pang did indeed continue to recieve paychecks regularly until she was fired in 1975.

I know this for a fact as I was the one who processed the payroll checks for the staff. I am very surpised that she would lie about this in her book, because when I knew her she was very nice to me.

Suki

[Zimmerman The Gnome]

Like buses, you don't get anything for ages and then two people who knew John come along at once. :bigeyes3:

[LovinLennon909]

When it rains, it pours... :bigeyes3:

[ImaginePeace78]

I guess I should've added that it was John who told May that her checks had been cut off. Also, he was drunk at the time when he said it. This was in L.A. during Phil Spector "Rock 'n' Roll" sessions.
-Kristi

[angelgodiva]

I have to say that I also take exception to your calling May a 'whore'.
I believe that she truly loved John, and that he also loved her; in fact, he told me he loved her on more than one occasion, and he felt badly that if and when Yoko decided to call him back, he would go and leave her behind. He didn't think she deserved to have her heart broken, but he knew the day would someday come when that would happen. Knowing that bothered him a lot.
I have never met May, but I have corresponded with her by mail and email for a few years, and she is every bit as sweet and nice as he described her. Please do not call her a whore again on this board. Not only do many of our members, myself included, feel that this is inappropriate, but John would think so too.
Thanks for being here, though. It's always nice to hear from another friend of John's.

[Magill]

SEX+MONEY=WHORE.
Here's another equasion for you all--
LucyLennon4me+Suki_Kobayashi=SamePersonPlayingMind GamesWithUs
(and I'm being kind :wink1:)

Just my astute opinion. :wink2:

[LovinLennon909]

Very astute, Magill. Isn't it a fabulous coincidence that Suki managed to find the forum, then this discussion and post in exactly the spot that LL4M needed her to? Hmm...LL4M is a very lucky gal, indeed.

[Zimmerman The Gnome]

You mean...?? that these people did'nt...?? actually know John?

That's very pessimistic of you! :wink1:

[beatlebangs1964]

Here's another equasion for you all--
LucyLennon4me+Suki_Kobayashi=SamePersonPlayingMind GamesWithUs
(and I'm being kind :wink1:)

Just my astute opinion. :wink2:

Yeah, I agree with Magill's point above. Susan, Angel and Rell said it far better than I could, but Lucy's cruel comments about May were really getting to me. Calling her degrading names and pronouncing harsh judgment on her character is not only cruel, but counterproductive.

I met May Pang at a Beatles' convention many years ago and she was gracious and lovely. She clearly loved John; they cared a lot about each other. That came through in her talks and in her book, which I unfortunately don't have.

I was always under the impression that John cared a lot about May and ending the relationship was hard for him as well. However, Yoko was the great love of his life and it was a joyous moment when they reunited. With regard to May, John was lucky to have found someone to share love with and to care about him and vice versa. May impresses me as being a nice person and I don't think she has any agenda. Ending the relationship was hard for her, yeah, but who are we to judge them? Or anybody else who knew them personally?

[HMVNipper]

Very astute, Magill. Isn't it a fabulous coincidence that Suki managed to find the forum, then this discussion and post in exactly the spot that LL4M needed her to? Hmm...LL4M is a very lucky gal, indeed.

Yeah, gee, and isn't it interesting how Lucy disappeared once people started asking her exactly HOW and WHEN she knew John? :rolleyes:

Convenient, I say. TOO convenient. Gimme a break.

[beatlebangs1964]

I agree, Susan. As Ringo said in Help!, "there's more to this than meets the eye.

As John said, "Gimme Some Truth." :rolleyes:

[LovinLennon909]

We're so bad! :devious:

[bearkat77]

I really believe that this topic was suppose to be about a Beatles reunion, not May Pang. Shall we get back to the original subject.

[Jongo McHarrison]

OK I don't know much about May Pang or her relationship with Yoko, but ever since I read Bill Harry's Beatles Encyclopedia there is something pertinant to this discussion that's been on my mind. In his book, Harry says that on November 28, 1980, John Lennon testified in a legal deposition that the Beatles would be reuniting for a project called The Long and Winding Road which would climax with an onstage reunion with the other Beatles at some point during the mid-80s.

This deposition was part of a lawsuit against the show Beatlemania and I guess the "Beatles will reunite" declaration was meant to explain how Beatlemania would take money away from them. I get the feeling that John didn't really intend to go through with this, and yet Paul, George, and Ringo did do the Anthology.

So, does anyone know anything else about this or what role John intended to play in the Anthology?

[Magill]

OK I don't know much about May Pang or her relationship with Yoko, but ever since I read Bill Harry's Beatles Encyclopedia there is something pertinant to this discussion that's been on my mind. In his book, Harry says that on November 28, 1980, John Lennon testified in a legal deposition that the Beatles would be reuniting for a project called The Long and Winding Road which would climax with an onstage reunion with the other Beatles at some point during the mid-80s.

This deposition was part of a lawsuit against the show Beatlemania and I guess the "Beatles will reunite" declaration was meant to explain how Beatlemania would take money away from them. I get the feeling that John didn't really intend to go through with this, and yet Paul, George, and Ringo did do the Anthology.

So, does anyone know anything else about this or what role John intended to play in the Anthology?
This isn't the first time I've read of this project that John had started to become involved in shortly before his death. Now, whether this was one of John's whims or whether he was serious about going ahead with it, is a mystery to me. I suppose now we'll really never know about that. In my head, filled with wishful thinking, I like to think that John was feeling a bit more willing to delve into his past of being a Beatle with his former mates. How lovely would the table banter have been with John there? With his sharp wit and colorful ways of expression. :wink1: Only in our imaginations, my friends, only in our imaginations. :sad1:

[ABCKO]

Whether its true or not I am glad they didn't have a reunion, would have spoilt the whole Beatle magic.

Would it ?

Say they had gotten back together, 10 years after the fact, and came out with a terrific album ?

... I can just here many of the fans smile while saying "After 10 years, and all of the bad blood between them... the magic was still there..."

The two new songs from The Anthology didn't "spoil" anything, did they ?

[beatlebangs1964]

Far from it, ABC. The 2 bonus songs from Anthology were pleasant additions and made a good thing even better! Imagine Anthology without Real Love and Free as a Bird. :afraid2: I'd hate to think of the world at large being deprived of these wonderful songs!

[Zimmerman The Gnome]

Far from it, ABC. The 2 bonus songs from Anthology were pleasant additions and made a good thing even better! Imagine Anthology without Real Love and Free as a Bird. :afraid2: I'd hate to think of the world at large being deprived of these wonderful songs!

They sounded crap to me. No way are they beatle songs and sound much superior as demo's before Jeff Lynne put layers of production on them . A bad idea IMO..

[LovinLennon909]

They sounded crap to me. No way are they beatle songs and sound much superior as demo's before Jeff Lynne put layers of production on them . A bad idea IMO..
I couldn't agree more. FAAB is horrible, although the video has been known to bring me to tears. Real Love sounds fantastic on the Lennon Anthology, it fact that song is one of my three all-time favorties, but I hate the "Threetles+Lynne" version.

[HMVNipper]

I couldn't agree more. FAAB is horrible, although the video has been known to bring me to tears. Real Love sounds fantastic on the Lennon Anthology, it fact that song is one of my three all-time favorties, but I hate the "Threetles+Lynne" version.

My sentiments exactly -- I do remember crying pretty hysterically during the premiere of FAAB, mostly because of all the emotion and anticipation, but now I genuinely cannot stand it. I like Real Love better, but that's relative -- the Lennon Anthology version is SO much better!

[Zimmerman The Gnome]

Both videos are great but listen to real beatle music over them, not the singles.

[HMVNipper]

Both videos are great but listen to real beatle music over them, not the singles.

Good idea! (Actually, an actor friend of mine is in the FAAB video, it's pretty cool!)

I think my feeling about those two songs is that they were a nice attempt to recapture something, and certainly done with a lot of love, but Beatles songs they ain't.

[Zimmerman The Gnome]

I don't think they could ever recover what they had, even if John had been alive. It's like meeting up with old school friends or something. You have all the old stuff in common but your life itself has moved on. The person you are when you are young doesn't exsist many years later.

[HMVNipper]

Yeah, I think you might be right...but it would have been nice if they had decided to work together again properly. Maybe it wouldn't have been exactly the same, but I do think there would have been a certain amount of the old magic still there.

I think the biggest tragedy is that someone else decided that this would never happen, if you get my drift. Because I do think that maybe John would have wanted to at least try to work with the others again...at the time of his death, he was really quite reconciled to his Beatle past, and was willing to reflect on it and celebrate it. I do think that maybe they'd have worked together in some capacity now and again, but of course that is all speculation.

[beatlebangs1964]

I couldn't agree more. FAAB is horrible, although the video has been known to bring me to tears. Real Love sounds fantastic on the Lennon Anthology, it fact that song is one of my three all-time favorties, but I hate the "Threetles+Lynne" version.

I agree - the layers and levels of production were not a good idea and certainly didn't help the song. "Real Love" sounds WONDERFUL on the Lennon Anthology, but Lynne's treatment of it with the then 3 suviving Beatles certainly didn't help its cause.

I preferred "Real Love" to "FAAB" from the get-go.

I don't think they could ever recover what they had, even if John had been alive. It's like meeting up with old school friends or something. You have all the old stuff in common but your life itself has moved on. The person you are when you are young doesn't exsist many years later.

Well said, Gnome. You summed it up perfectly.

Good idea! (Actually, an actor friend of mine is in the FAAB video, it's pretty cool!)

I think my feeling about those two songs is that they were a nice attempt to recapture something, and certainly done with a lot of love, but Beatles songs they ain't.

Susan, there's a good story in that about your friend - I find it very interesting. Yeah, these songs were a good faith attempt to recapture and regenerate and renew that old Beatle magic, but they don't quite do it.

[Magill]

I think you guys are thinking too much in terms of the Beatles, as they sounded back then. If they all would have done something, oh say in the '90's, they would not have sounded Beatley at all. We all here know that they were constantly striving towards not having the same sound. Look at how far they got from Meet The Beatles to Revolver. With the psychadelic, backwards guitar sound and George's Indian influence. God only knows how they would have sounded if all four met up to do these recordings themselves. Yes, Jeff Lynne had quite an influence on those RL & FAAB recordings. No doubt about that. But if John had lived, you can bet yer sweet arse that the FAAB & RL would have sounded quite similiar. After all, Paul, Geroge & Ringo has *some* input on those recordings as well. As they saw fit back in the early 90's. You have George's distinctive slide guitar, Ringo's signature drumming and Paul's steady bassline. Not to mention Paul & George's doing the harmonies. Remember, John's RL version was done a whole decade beforehand. Certainly, John would have been open to a different twist on his own songs. He was pretty open minded in that way. I think you guys are being a bit rough on these songs. They certainly aren't horrible, IMO. Although, it is a matter of opinion. Personally I'm rather fond of both of the recordings (particulary RL :inlove3: )and what they represent. An act of love from the Threetles for their dear friend John ----and for salivating Beatle fans everywhere :wink1:. I'm reminded of something that George said in Anthology. He said: "It's gonna sound like *them* if it is *them*. It sounds like *them* now. That's what I think." Well put, George! :cool1:

[Blackguard]

We have to remember that George Martin did not want to produce "Free As A Bird" or "Real Love". In steps Jeff Lynn. Who has a history of working with George and Dave Edmunds. Dave Edmunds of course played with Paul on the "Give My Regards to Broad Street" album. So we can see the dreaded Jeff Lynn connection starting. Anyway I think both songs are good. They came out at when it was time for The Beatles to do something. Paul and George had finally stopped bickering, so it seemed natural for them to do a song together. And who else would they get to play drums but Ringo. Add in a John Lennon Demo or two and we get a new "Beatle" single. Maybe a watered down version of the Beatles, but the songs are at the very least listenable.

[darkhorse]

I might be biased because of my age (these songs came to me in my teenage years), but I must say I love them. I think they do have the Beatles sound and trademark in them, just because the four of them are there, and of course because both of them are great songs.