La radio britannique BBC2 se mobilise à l’occasion du 25eme anniversaire de l’assassinat de John LennoN.
C’est ainsi que diverses émissions lui seront consacrées durant cette fin Novembre et début Décembre 2005 :
_ – {{le 3 Cécembre, de 20h30 à 21h30 : BIGGER THAN JESUS :}} { On 4th March, 1966 the Evening Standard published an interview between Maureen Cleave and John Lennon entitled How Does A Beatle Live? In the course of a description of The Beatles and their everyday life in Weybridge, Cleave quoted Lennon as saying: « Christianity will go. It will vanish and shrink. I needn’t argue about that. I’m right and I will be proved right. We’re more popular than Jesus now. I don’t know which will go first – rock ‘n’ roll or Christianity. » John Lennon explains his controversial words. The interview caused little controversy on publication in England, where it was regarded as just another example of the waning relevance of the church for the younger generation. But when it was reprinted in an American magazine four months later on the eve of a Beatles tour of the USA, it caused an outrage. KLUE radio in Longview, Texas staged a public burning of Beatle records. Station WAQY in Birmingham Alabama encouraged its listeners to destroy Beatles discs. In all, twenty two radio stations banned the group’s music from the airwaves and the Klu Klux Klan arranged anti-Beatles demonstrations. The Vatican denounced Lennon and Beatles albums were banned in South Africa. Although Lennon expressed regret for any offence caused by his remarks at an uneasy press conference in Chicago, he wouldn’t withdraw them. The traditionally asinine encounter between press and pop star had been replaced by a crackling confrontation. No-one knew what Elvis thought about anything but Lennon was now cast in the role of spokesman for a generation. A new type of journalism would soon emerge that reflected this change: when Rolling Stone first appeared the following year, its cover star was John Lennon. But the Beatles’ American tour of 1966 took place against a background of death threats and real fear. They played their last ever concert on 29th August at San Francisco ‘s Candlestick Park. This programme tells the story of this extraordinary event and its aftermath. It’s a story of fame, the mass media, pop music and religion, of two cultures clashing. Of how an interview with a pop star could ignite a debate about the place of religion in an increasingly secular society. Illustrated with contemporary sound archive, listeners will hear from those who were in the Beatles’ inner circle at the time and from those who protested against them. What is the legacy of this media firestorm forty years on? As the 1960s are increasingly being blamed for many contemporary evils, was this a key moment in the perceived decline, when more passion was apparently generated by pop music than by mainstream religion? And did John Lennon create the modern rock star, expected to have opinions on much more than mere music? Contributors to the programme include Maureen Cleave who conducted the original interview with Lennon, the Alabama DJs who burned Beatle records in protest at Lennon’s comments, Cynthia Lennon who helped Lennon sort the sacks of mail that arrived at their Weybridge home into piles of ‘for’ and ‘against’ messages, Beatles press officers Tony Bramwell and Tony Barrow who dealt with the media frenzy, Barry Tashian whose group The Remains were the support act on The Beatles subsequent stormy tour of North America, Lennon biographer Ray Connolly and legendary rock ‘n’ roll PR (and former Lennon publicist) BP Fallon.}
_ – le 8 Décembre, de 19h à 20h : LENNON : {When John Lennon was shot the impact on the world was both instant and lasting. That the man with an acid Liverpudlian wit, which was always the dominant force in his personality and music, should die in such a way was both tragic and ironic.
For many, once the shock had subsided, the facts loomed large. Yet another man who’d campaigned for peace had been killed in a violent and meaningless way, it was undoubtedly the end of a musical era and the greatest band ever would now never play again.
To begin the Radio 2 Lennon Night with an hour of context, Mark Radcliffe sketches a portrait of the twentieth century’s most influential and iconic figure. The programme will examine some of the many ‘Lennons’: the musician; the hard man; the son; the father; the writer; the husband; the radical. We examine his musical legacy, both with and without The Beatles, and how some of the key events in his life manifested themselves in his work.
We talk to the major players in his life, including an exclusive new interview with Yoko Ono, in which she talks candidly about her life with John, and in particular the split with The Beatles and their private and creative life together. She talks about their meeting, John in The Beatles the split their private and creative life together in the seventies, and what he may have thought had he been around today. As well as contributions from his childhood and school friends, and fellow musicians. We also dig deep into the archives for some candid and rarely heard interviews with Lennon himself, including the first ever Beatles radio interview from 1962, which will be a national exclusive.
New and archive material will be cut together with lyrics from Lennon’s work with The Beatles , and in particular, his solo work. His painfully autobiographical work such as Plastic Ono Band tracks like Mother and My Mummy’s Dead allow us to reflect on John’s psychological state at this time. The Imagine album was a piece of work that changed the way many people viewed the world.
The programme examines Lennon the peacenik; the husband; the rock star; the songwriter; the philosopher; the father.}
Ces deux émissions peuvent être écoutées en direct depuis le site de la BBC.
