Lennon's Truth finally out after 25 years

After a long legal battle, the University historian finally got the last 10 documents from the secret files on slain Beatle John Lennon, which was withheld by the FBI for 25 years.

Historian Jon Wiener informed that President Nixon was frightened of Lennon and the police kept a check on all his moves, posing him as a threat to the nation. But the 10 pages now released suggest new details about the ties Lennon had with the left-wing leaders and antiwar groups in London in 1970 and 1971.

Weiner also informed that the documents did not indicate that the former Beatle was a serious threat to the government.

"Today we can see that the national security claims the FBI has been making for 25 years were absurd from the beginning. The Lennon FBI file is a classic case of excessive government secrecy," Wiener said in a statement.

The FBI had retained the documents for such a long time, arguing that an anonymous foreign government clandestinely furnished the information, and releasing the documents could have lead to diplomatic, political or economic revenge against the United States.

The documents elucidate the fact that Lennon had revolutionary views and this spirit dominated many of his songs.

The report also stated that two well-known British leftists had wooed Lennon, hoping that he would finance “a left-wing bookshop and reading room in London'' but Lennon gave them no money. It is also stated that there is no confirmation that Lennon had provided money for revolutionary purposes.

The report also brought into light Lennon’s 1971 interview with ‘The Red Mole’, a London underground newspaper, in which the singer "emphasised his proletarian background and his sympathy with the oppressed and underprivileged people of Britain and the world."

''I doubt that Tony Blair's government will launch a military strike on the U.S. in retaliation for the release of these documents,'' Wiener said.

It was in 1981 that Weiner had requested for the files as he had decided to write a book about Lennon following the singer's murder. He initially obtained a few pages in 1997 after legal action under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act that went all the way to the Supreme Court, but the FBI withheld several files, saying they contained national security information and were excused from the Freedom of Information Act.

The last 10 documents were ordered to be released by the federal judge in 2004.

The pages are reproduced in Weiner’s book ‘Gimme Some Truth: The John Lennon FBI Files’, while some of them are posted online at http://www.LennonFBIfiles.com. The story is told in the documentary, ‘The U.S. Versus John Lennon’, by David Leaf and John Scheinfeld, released by Lions Gate in September 2006.

Lennon, born on 9 October, 1940, was a 20th century rock and roll songwriter and singer. He came into prominence after founding the well- known band ‘The Beatles’. Along with Paul McCartney, he wrote numerous songs for the Beatles and other artists. With their lyrics, instrumentation, harmonies, and electronic effects, the Beatles revolutionized rock music. In his solo career, Lennon fetched fame by writing and recording songs such as ‘Imagine’ and ‘Give Peace a Chance’. The songs became anthems of their age.

The 1969 song ‘Give Peace a Chance’ transformed Lennon from a loveable singer to an anti-war activist. The Nixon Administration sought to silence him by ordering him deported from the U.S.

It was in 1975 that Lennon won the green card when the Nixon government left the Whitehouse in the Watergate scandal.

Lennon was murdered in New York City on December 8, 1980, by a deranged fan as he and wife Yoko returned home from a recording session.

Yoko Ono was in trouble a few days back when her chauffer of 6 years threatened to circulate awkward photos of Yoko Ono in nightclothes and spoke of killing her and her son, Sean Lennon.

He demanded an extortion amount of $2 million. However, Judge Tanya Kennedy at the Manhattan Criminal Court set bail at $500,000 bond or $250,000 cash for the chauffeur.