Fashion Show

George Harrison, Alex Madras, Pete Shotton, John and Cynthia went to the Revolution Club in Mayfair, London to watch Pattie Harrison do the catwalk from Ossie Clark and Alice Pollack, who was the boutique owner of Quorum, organized the event. It was on January 25, 1968.

Silk and Shine

 John and Cynthia attended the How I Won the War premiere in London Pavilion on October 18, 1967, starring John as Private Gripweed. Paul McCartney, Jane Asher, Ringo and Maureen Starr, George and Pattie Harrison also attended.

Meditation Education

Pattie and George Harrison during their India trip in late 1966

The India phase started with George and Pattie Harrison... I suppose filming Help! where Indian musicians played while trying to cut off Ringo Starr's finger in order to get the sacrificial red ring that attracted George in the first place. Then in late 1966 (while John was filming How I Won the War), George and Pattie took a trip there... oh yes, earlier that year The Beatles did pass through India while on tour. Needless to say, George and Pattie were in love and brought that love of style into their home. Soon, they got John, Paul, and Ringo, including Cynthia, Maureen, and Jane into the influence... well, maybe not completely but it was something new, something exciting, and definitely better than drugs and infidelities. 

"I suppose it was the establishment of the hippy trail, though we didn't realize that at the time, I was the first in our circle to start meditating. I guess I just knew that there had to be a more spiritual aspect to life, and I saw a little ad for meditation classes in the back of The Times. That's how it started. To me, it's about plugging into my essence, and calming myself down. We need it even more these days, with email and text anxiety and all of these things we have to keep up that are supposed to make our lives easier. And then India was a real third-eye-opener. It was the opposite to England at the time, a real spiritual society." 

Pattie Boyd, 2006

“I was always interested in Eastern philosophies and wanted find out about meditation, I went to some lectures and became initiated into transcendental meditation. When the Maharishi came to England, George said he wanted to meet him and became passionate about his teachings.” 

Pattie Boyd, 2004

“...That’s why we all went and listened to his lecture, and he was obviously very happy when he heard that they were in the audience, and he wanted to meet them. When he did he suggested that we all go to Wales for a few days to learn more about meditation: he wanted to initiate them. It was really awful because while we were up there, their manager Brian Epstein died. It was just awful. One can think how extraordinary that the one person who had been guiding them throughout their career, from the beginning of their career, died, just as this spiritual leader is taking over.” 

Pattie Boyd, 2011

Paul McCartney, Jane Asher, Mike McCartney, John, Cynthia, Pattie George Harrison at the Hilton Hotel to hear the lecture by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi on August 24, 1967. Yoko Ono was also there. 

"Among those present for this great occasion were Cynthia Lennon; an assortment of Beatles; Mick Jagger and his girlfriend, Marianne Faithfull; my wife, Beth, and myself...and Yoko Ono, to whom I was now introduced for the first time."

Pete Shotton, 1983

"Although I was trying to close my mind to it I suppose our marriage was already under 

threat at this stage. It wasn't other women that were driving us apart, it was drugs. John by now had become a heavy user of LSD. He wanted to be a genius, he wanted to travel outside his body, he wanted to prove to the world that he had a unique gift. Acid stimulated his creativity and opened up his mind to previously undreamed-of wonders, he believed. I kept saying to him: 'John, something terrible's going to happen to you if you keep on like this.' But he wouldn't believe me. I couldn't convince him. 'I've cracked it, Cyn,' he'd reassure me over and over again. 'I can handle it. I've taken acid today and I'm fine. I'm normal.' But he wasn't normal. I'd look at his long matted hair, his face obscured by eccentric granny glasses, his outrageous clothes and I despaired. He thought this was normal. He'd lost touch with reality. Perversely, the music was fantastic. The brilliant Sergeant Pepper album was conceived at this stage and it was wonderful. I couldn't deny that. But what had happened to the down-to-earth, witty young man I used to know? The man who laughed at pomposity and could spot a phoney at a hundred paces? At home things went from bad to worse. I used to dread it when John went out at night. I'd lie awake waiting for his return just knowing what was in store. Sure enough, about four in the morning a string of cars would pull up into the drive and decant 15 to 20 people all high on acid, pot and whatever else they could lay their hands on, ready to party. I'd get up at breakfast time to find the place littered with drugged bodies and Julian, little soul that he was, couldn't understand what was going on. That's what upset me more than anything else. I thought okay, you can do what you like with your own body but don't influence the innocents. Julian would step over the bodies looking for his daddy and these strangers would start talking to him in weird, spaced-out terms that he couldn't comprehend. There I was, trying to cook breakfast and get him off to school, trying to be normal, while outside the kitchen door the house was strewn with zombies, one of whom was his father. Julian was utterly bewildered. It was a nightmare period. I didn't want to lose John and I feared for his health but I was desperately worried about Julian. I didn't know how to handle it. My mother, who'd moved to London by this time, and often came to stay, saw what was going on and was appalled. But both of us felt helpless. So when George's wife, Pattie, and some other friends went to a lecture in London on meditation given by this Indian guru called the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and came back raving about it, it seemed like a straw to clutch at. 'It's absolutely fantastic,' they told John. 'You don't need drugs. You can get the same effect with meditation. You've got to go.' I must admit I was skeptical at first. I didn't quite see how meditation could produce a mind-blowing effect like LSD, the effect John seemed to crave. But John was so enthusiastic. He thought I'd be pleased. And I had to admit that I knew nothing about meditation. "'Cyn, it's without drugs. I'll be off drugs. No more drugs, I promise,' he insisted. I think perhaps deep down he sensed that he was on the rocky road and was looking for another way. Anyway, as far as I could see it sounded harmless and if it really meant he'd give up drugs, I'd willingly go along with it. I'd do anything to get him off this horrible LSD and get my old John back. I agreed to give it a try. As it happened the Maharishi was taking over Bangor college for a series of lectures that very August of 1967 and we arranged to go. The idea was that we'd stay for the weekend and learn the basic principles of meditation for which John had such high hopes."

Cynthia, 1994

Cynthia crying while being escorted by Peter Brown and Neil Aspinall after missing the train from London to Bangor at Euston Station on August 25, 1967.

"Cyn and I were thinking of going to Libya, until this came up. Libya or Bangor? Well, there was no choice, was there?"

John, 1967 

(quote originally appeared in another blog post, A Country with No Phones: Libya)

Originally, John and Cynthia were thinking about going to Libya, where Cynthia's brother Charlie lived. In retrospect, I would have preferred them going to Libya, instead of Bangor. Libya was a country with no phones at the time, and Cynthia wouldn't have missed that train. So much would have been so different. Well, that's speculation and it's obvious that John and Cynthia picked Bangor. Speaking of missing the train, I already posted about Cynthia missing the train to Wales as well as John's relationship with Yoko in it's early stages in Starting to Crumble. Yet here's an additional quote that provides a recap and be part of this story:

"As they left the hotel, John and Cynthia went to get into their car when, out of nowhere, Yoko appeared and hopped into the car, to sit between them. Someone had tipped her off about John's attendance at the lecture and she had arrived, to wait quietly in the lobby for this moment. Cynthia froze. All the months of strange mail, the cut-off phone calls, the waiting silently at the gate were encapsulated in this tiny, terrifying woman. She glanced questioningly at John. He shrugged, as if to say, 'I haven't a clue.' 'I'd like a lift home,' Yoko said. It wasn't a polite request; it was the order of an assured woman. Cynthia was seriously concerned when the car drove to Yoko's flat off Regent's Park, seeming to know the way without being told. The next day, Paul, George, and Ringo and their women, together with Mick and Marianne, arrived at Euston Station to catch the train to Bangor. Cynthia and John arrived at the station in his painted Rolls. The station was packed with holiday-makers and the press. As John and Cynthia fought their way through the melee, a flashbulb went off in Cyn's face, blinding her. By the time she could see, everyone had vanished and she didn't know which was the correct platform. She raced along, but the police didn't recognize her and thought she was another hysterical fan. Suddenly, all the Beatles stuck their heads out of the windows of the train, urging her to run faster. 'Run, Cyn, run!' John yelled. Those were the words Paul had used when chased by fans in their early touring days. As his car sped away, he'd put his head out of the window and called out, 'Run, girls, run!' and the girls would redouble their efforts. Cynthia stopped. It was no good; the train was going too fast. John hadn't come back for her, no one else bothered; it was as if she didn't exist. At that moment, she said, as she watched the train pull out, she saw how utterly irrelevant she was."

Tony Bramwell

Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, George Harrison, Pattie Harrison, Cynthia, and John attend an International Meditation Society meeting at Normal College in Bangor, Wales on August 26, 1967

John, Paul McCartney, Jane Asher, Cynthia, and Ringo Starr at Normal College in Bangor, Wales on August 27, 1967 around the time of receiving news on Brian Epstein's death.

Paul McCartney, Jane Asher, Pattie Harrison, Mike McCartney, Ringo Starr, John, Maureen Starkey, and George Harrison listening to the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi at Jemima Pitman's home in Kensington, London on August 31, 1967. Cynthia did not attend.

"It was Pattie Boyd who introduced us to the Maharishi. George Harrison and Pattie had become interested in Indian spiritual beliefs and went to a lecture in London, held by the spiritual regeneration movement. Later that year – 1967 – its leader, the Maharishi, came over from India to hold a conference in Bangor, North Wales. John went to hear him speak in London beforehand, with George, Pattie, Paul McCartney, Jane Asher and Ringo Starr. 'It’s fantastic stuff, Cyn, the meditation’s so simple and it’s life-changing,' John told me. Like the others he had been bowled over by the Maharishi’s charisma and promises of nirvana. So off we went to the Bangor conference. George, Pattie, her sister Jenny and Paul were all going. Ringo decided at the last minute that he would come too, and so did Mick Jagger and Marianne Faithfull. The Beatles had overdosed on everything that fame could bring. The Maharishi was anti drugs and had explained that through meditation you could reach a natural high as powerful as any drugs could induce. John loved this idea and was already talking about enlightenment, cosmic awareness and doing without drugs. So I was all for the Maharishi’s message: perhaps this was the change of direction John had been looking for. We were staying in dormitories at a large training college, along with a couple of hundred other followers. Our room was basic, with bunk beds and simple chests of drawers. Mick and Marianne sauntered in looking bewildered. 'Hey John, what’s happening? Where do we go from here?' 'Back to school,' John laughed. The introductory seminar was an incongruous mix of the Maharishi’s regular devotees joined by the psychedelically clad pop star elite, all sitting cross legged on the bare wooden floor. That afternoon the Beatles held a press conference renouncing the use of drugs, in keeping with the Maharishi’s teachings. Only a month earlier they, along with other pop stars, had taken a full-page ad in The Times stating that the law on marijuana was unworkable and immoral. Now all that was turned on its head. The press were wildly excited. But the story had barely hit the newsstands when it was overtaken. As we were heading back to our room, a reporter told us that Brian Epstein, who had steered the Beatles for the past six years, had been found dead. The disbelief and horror were overwhelming. Brian had been the Beatles’ mentor, their guide and best friend. The details were sketchy but it was a suspected overdose. This was horrific. And help came in the shape of the Maharishi. We were called into his quarters and walked in, heads bowed. He sat yoga-style in the centre and asked us to sit down on the floor and talked to us for the next few minutes about life’s journey, reincarnation, release from pain and this life being a stepping stone to the next. 

The Maharishi’s words helped us all to feel a little less bleak and as the weeks passed after we returned to London, John and I were brought closer by grief. John and George were also being drawn towards the Maharishi. It was as though, with Brian gone, the four needed someone new to give them direction and the Maharishi was in the right place at the right time. John and George agreed to go to the ashram in Rishikesh, at the foot of the Himalayas in India, to study meditation. Patti and I would go too. Paul, Jane, Ringo and his wife Maureen were less convinced about the joys of meditation but decided to join us. The trip was planned for February 1968."

Cynthia, 2008

Jane Asher, Paul McCartney, John, Cynthia, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Pattie Harrison, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, and Jenny Boyd in Bangor after receiving word that Brian Epstein had died on August 27, 1967.

Paul McCartney and Jane Asher leave Bangor first back to London after hearing about Brian Epstein's death on August 27, 1967

While everyone was in Bangor, the phone rang; Jane picked up and handed the phone to Paul. Brian Epstein was dead. He was supposed to join them in Bangor. They were devastated, and once the news settled in, lost. Brian was not only a manager who skyrocketed The Beatles to fame, he was a father figure and he took care of a lot things, personal and professional. After Brian's death news, Maharishi offered words of sympathy, comfort, wisdom, and invited them to go to India at his ashram in Rishikesh. It was set for February for two or three months. In the meantime, The Beatles had projects to do - particularly Magical Mystery Tour. 

Drive My Car

John passing his driver's license test with George Harrison, Ringo Starr, and Paul McCartney cheering him on on February 15, 1965 in Weybridge

Usually when minors turn 16, they can't wait to get their driver's license... well, except for me. And John. And Cynthia. Truthfully, I don't know the age you have to be in England to start driving, especially in the 1950s? Here in America, 16 is usually the age to get lessons, a permit, and then the official license! As for my experience, it was quite different from John and Cynthia's. It appears they weren't interested, they normally relied on buses, taxis, and other people... as did I! For me, I was actually scared of driving. At the age of 16 when I should've been excited, a boy I knew and had a massive crush on died in a car accident without wearing a seatbelt. Another problem I had was that I wasn't living anywhere safe for a teenager to drive; outside my apartment was a main busy road. Meanwhile, when my family got to driving at 16, they lived in quiet areas... not me. Needless to say, I was scared to death! It took me until I was 22 to finally get my license and now I'm practically a pro at driving (except I'm sure I have many people yo tell you otherwise! However, in my defense, I live in Florida... we are the worst drivers with attitude). Alrighty, enough about me... 

So, yes, at 16, both John and Cynthia weren't interested. Not sure why other than it just didn't feel important to them. There were buses, taxis, friends, relatives, and feet... No Uber or Lyft, yet! Plus, I'm sure their weak eye sights also prevented the idea of driving. But once John got famous and got his eyes focused on cars, the interest sparked! Cynthia got her license first in 1964. With lots of money in the bank and settled in Weybridge, John started buying cars left, right, and center. He eventually got his own license on February 15, 1965 with Paul, George, and Ringo cheering him on... Cynthia was said to be there (but not photographed) and they celebrated with a toast of champagne. 

"It's good to see John back, and the others. I've been spending a lot of my time having driving lessons. Another dangerous driver to go on the road..."

Cynthia, 1964

"Of course, it's well tucked away but I've bought this Rolls Royce, as you know, so I'll be able to get driven up to town whenever the need arises. And Cyn's got the mini - she's just passed her driving test. Funny, I've never been keen to learn to drive. George, Paul and Ringo have all got high speed cars now - Paul says he touched 140 miles an hour going up to Liverpool the other day - but I'm just not interested."

John, 1964

"That's right. But it's not really for me. It's for my wife and child. I don't drive anyway."

John, 1964 (about the Rolls Royce)

"One Sunday, John took us to see George and Pattie Harrison. They lived in a long, low bungalow called Kinfauns which had a heated swimming pool and was on a private estate in Esher. Cynthia did the driving- even John had to admit she was considerably safer on the roads than he was."

Julia Baird 

Cynthia and John with her beloved Porsche in 1967

"By 1965 John and Cyn had settled into a relationship best described as one of peaceful coexistence. They had nothing in common, as both well knew, yet their marriage was far from unhappy. One of the only arguments I can recall was over Cyn's desire to buy a Porsche; John strenuously objected to the idea of her driving so dangerously fast a car, but, in the end, relented."

Pete Shotton, 1983

"Soon he got into cars as well. John was a terrible driver. He didn't pass his test till quite late and he was inexperienced and erratic at the wheel but he loved the look of cars. The chauffeur was also a car buff and he was always telling John about great deals that were going. I'd already passed my test by this time and suddenly I found myself showered with vehicles. I didn't choose them. The chauffeur would suggest them to John and I'd come out one morning to find my old car gone and a different one in its place. At first I had a Beetle, then a white Mini, then that was swapped for a green Beetle and one memorable day out of the blue I had a Porsche. That was a lovely surprise. The only problem was that some time later it was traded in for John's Ferrari so I lost my Porsche. I was quite upset about that. John even had a Rolls-Royce repainted in extraordinary psychedelic flower-power style. It looked like something out of a fairground and I believe Rolls Royce were very annoyed about it!"

Cynthia, 1994

I knew from the moment I first read about the Porsche from Pete Shotton's book that Cynthia was in love with the Porsche. I didn't know she had it for such a short time... One source said John crashed it. However Cynthia has said otherwise: that it was replaced by another car. She has expressed her sadness over John trading her beloved car for something else. John had a problem of not consulting his wife whenever he made a household decision. He didn't consider Cynthia's feelings nor opinions. He may have been generous but John was also impulsive. I think John saw himself as the breadwinner that is King of Kenwood. Anyway, Cynthia wanted a Porsche and tried to convince John to buy her one. From Pete's book, he made it sound like it was in 1965 but Cynthia didn't have her Porsche until 1967... So, maybe, Cynthia started her Porsche desire in 1965 to which John refused until caving in in 1967? I think John usually said yes to Cynthia's wants but said no to the Porsche. Why? As Pete mentioned, John objected to the Porsche idea because the car was (is) known to be a fast car and thought it would be too dangerous for Cynthia. Awww.... this is why I am highlighting this story to show that John did care for Cynthia. Well, Cynthia eventually wore John to relent but the Porsche didn't last long. I've wondered if John knew what he was doing to get rid of the Porsche to guarantee Cynthia's safety? Or subconsciously? We'll never know. 

John and Cynthia at the London Motor Show in Earl Court, London on October 17, 1967

John and Cynthia's cars 1964-1968

1. Iso Rivolta S 4 (1967) 

2. Ferrari 330 GT (1965; blue)

3. Rolls Royce Phantom V (1965; black, later multiple psychedelic colors)

4. Porsche 911 (circa 1967; gold)

5. Austin Mini Cooper (1964; white)

6. Austin Mini Cooper S (1965; black)

7. Ferrari (1967; red)

8. Volkswagen Beetle (1967 or 1968; green)

9. Volkswagen Beetle (1964; color unknown) 

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

If you know of any additional cars, please be free to comment below! I don't think they had 15 cars, it's an estimate.

Battie the Beautiful Flimsy Butterfly

Pattie, Cynthia, and George in his home in Surrey, Spring of 1965

Photographed by Henry Grossman

Pattie and Cynthia met in March of 1964 while The Beatles were filming A Hard Day's Night. Pattie was in the cast as a schoolgirl; Cynthia occasionally visited the set. By the end of the month, George and Pattie were a couple. The foursome attempted to take their first vacation together in Ireland, but the press was very interested in George's new girlfriend so the vacation was cut short. In May, they tried once again to take a vacation to Tahiti (already posted) with much success to be away from fans and the media scrutiny. During this Tahitian holiday Cynthia and Pattie got to know each other. Pattie and Cynthia shared a tight bond a year later (1965) when they shared the first LSD experience; their dentist invited them and their Beatle companions over for dinner and served after dinner tea, with sugar cubes laced with LSD without their knowledge. It definitely proved to be a tight bond between John and George. In Pattie's autobiography, she wrote that she found it hard to get along with Cynthia as they had little in common. Don't get Pattie (and me) wrong: they did get along very well and I never heard anything ugly between them, no fights, no problems other than how much they didn't have much in common. Which is true, Pattie isn't wrong. Cynthia was almost 5 years older than Pattie. Cynthia had a serious personality while Pattie liked to giggle with her girlfriends. Cynthia was the youngest of her siblings; Pattie was the oldest. Pattie came from a divorced family; Cynthia did not. Pattie had a career; Cynthia did not. It's basically oil and water- impossible to mix together. The only thing Cynthia and Pattie had in common was being in a relationship with a Beatle. Pattie felt Cynthia behaved more like a mother than as a wife to John (yet it's okay for Yoko? John used to call her Mother! Little hypocritical if you ask me). Pattie would occasionally take Cynthia along on shopping trips, but for the most part Pattie would let Cynthia be in her own devices... besides, Cynthia was more closer and relatable with Maureen. Oddly enough, Cynthia and Pattie were closer in age than Cynthia was from Maureen by almost 7 years but I think Maureen had a very similar upbringing as Cynthia and both knew The Beatles as unknowns. 

"Pattie and I got on famously. She was friendly bubbly character, a great girl full of fun and boundless enthusiasm, very childlike but in no way immature. She always reminded me of a very beautiful flimsy butterfly. I envied her, her figure, her dress sense and her confidence. Whenever fashions changed Pattie was in there first with all the right gear, looking beautiful as ever. George, I thought, was a lucky fellow. Pattie handled George very well considering their different backgrounds. George's northern bluntness and lack of tact must have been hard to come to terms with in comparison with the smooth southern sophistication of the escorts she would have previously experienced. I liked Pattie very much and it was lovely to have female company once more."

Cynthia, from her book A Twist of Lennon, 1978

"She was blond, beautiful and a sophisticated Londoner, like Jane Asher. But, like the rest of us Beatles girls, she was friendly, too, and easy to get on with. The two Liverpool girls, Maureen and I, and the two London girls, Jane and Pattie, got on well from the beginning. We were all living through the same thing and it was wonderful to have friends to share it with. From the start, it was obvious that Pattie and George were serious, and we were all pleased for them. The other three Beatles were all in happy relationships and until now George had been on his own.

Pattie and I were becoming close friends. I admired her gorgeous figure and perfect fashion sense, and I think she enjoyed the company of someone who'd been with the Beatles from the beginning and knew the ropes. John and George had an easy, comfortable relationship and they headed for the beach while Pattie and I went shopping."

Cynthia, from her book John, 2005

"I liked Cynthia, but of all the Beatle wives and girlfriends I found her the most difficult to make friends with. She and I came from such different backgrounds; she had no career, she was a young mother, and we had no point of reference apart from our attachment to a Beatle. She wasn't like my friends, who enjoyed a giggle and some fun: she was rather serious, and often, I thought, behaved more like John's mother than his wife. I tended to leave her to her own devices but invited her to join me for shopping. I think she felt a bit out of her depth in the smart, sophisticated circles in which the Beatles were now moving in London. And I don't think it helped that John thought I looked like Bridget Bardot, or that I got on so well with him."

Pattie Boyd, 2007

"Cyn, Maureen, and Pattie developed a mutual closeness and understanding that almost paralleled that of the Beatles themselves. The odd woman out was Paul’s fiancé, Jane Asher, an aristocratic London redhead who seemed to feel that she was cut from somewhat finer cloth than the other Beatle ladies."

Pete Shotton, 1983

"When Cynthia, Maureen, and Pattie got together it was usually in the kitchen, for many cups of tea or coffee if it was middle of the day or several bottles of win if it was the afternoon. There were two main types of topic for discussion among this close-knit clique: family gossip that circulated solely within The Beatles' own tight inner circle and the wider issues that arose from sometimes scandalous rumors that was rife among the group's fans. I saw this group as the glue that helped to hold The Beatles' marriages together at least for the time being. To share happiness and sorrow, success and disappointment, was a good way of patching up the cracks as soon as they appeared. As part of such a warm and secure little group they felt more at ease than if they had been dealing with the traumas and crises of their extraordinary lives on their own. But for the sharing of information on the perks, pitfalls, problems, and sheer insanity of successfully partnering a Beatle, the womanfolk might have teetered on the brink of despair or simply broken free even sooner than they did. It is to their credit that these faithful first partners kept their lives so private over the years. The media would have agreed to almost any conditions to get their individual stories, but I was never allowed to fix any interviews or photo shoots for the women other than at general photo calls for show business functions or exclusive pictures to mark weddings and births."

Tony Barrow, 2005

Pattie and Cynthia

Both Cynthia and Pattie have said that Cynthia felt out of her depth while living in London, perhaps a little envious of Pattie for being a model and being able to socialize with upper class society. However, I do think the closest Cynthia and Pattie were was in 1967 when it seemed they were almost inseparable and it was during the time Maureen was expecting her second child (Jason); While their husbands worked on Sgt. Pepper, Pattie and Cynthia went on a quick weekend getaway to Paris. During the Maharishi period while in India, Pattie and Cynthia were there from the start until the abrupt end- Maureen lasted 10 days because she couldn't stand the insects and Jane wasn't all that interested. By the end of 1968, Pattie and Cynthia had barely any interaction after Cynthia as divorce from John. There were very few encounters (including a housewarming party Cynthia threw with her new husband Roberto Bassanini) until around 1973 when a communication mishap brought them together: their phone lines happened to crossed and Cynthia recognized Pattie's voice... Ah, I remember that... before cell phones. Occasionally while talking to someone on the "landline", I would hear a 3rd party cutting in. It did happened. Anyway, that mishap helped mend their friendship and they got together before Cynthia took Julian to America to reconnect him with John. By that time, Pattie's marriage with George was over and she took on another whirlwind adventure with Eric Clapton until 1989. During her marriage to Eric, Pattie and Cynthia saw each other at a Nordoff-Robbins Musical Therapy Trust charity event in London in June of 1985 after several years of distance. They were also at another charity event in 1988 with Ringo and his wife Barbara Bach. After Pattie divorced Eric, I believe the next public appearance was the London premiere of Backbeat in March of 1994. In November of 2009, Cynthia and Pattie held a joint book event for their autobiographies in Yerevan, Armenia. Their last known public appearance together was in September of 2010 for Julian's first photography exhibition, Timeless, in New York City. Until Cynthia's death in 2015, they kept in touch and saw each other while in their vicinity. Whenever they see each other, it's like no time had passed and I do think there was more public and private gatherings that I either don't know about or it's not coming to me for the moment, however take my word for it. After Cynthia's death, it's obvious that Pattie does miss Cynthia very much and thinks of her fondly and caring. 

“On and off when we’re in the vicinity. It’s so difficult to catch anyone. If I’m here in London, Maureen’s in Los Angeles, and Pattie’s somewhere else. It’s a miracle when we do get together. But when we do, it seems time has stood still.” 

Cynthia, 1991

“We have survived. We have lost so many people along the way.” 

Cynthia, 2009 

John, George, and Pattie in India, 1968

While I'm on the subject of Pattie, I might as well dive in a bit on the relationship between her and John: Overall they liked each other. When Pattie had a recurring eye sty during both vacations to Ireland and Tahiti, John teased her. His nickname for her was 'Battie'. There had been numerous reports that John and Pattie had an affair- I think it sparked from the Magical Mystery Tour dress up party as Pattie was dressed like a belly dancer and John was all over her, dancing. However, Pattie always deny it, even after Cynthia's death, and I do believe her.

"There was a rumor- I don't know where it came from- that John and I had an affair, and I suppose Cynthia may have believed there was something in it. It was completely untrue: we never had an affair. I wouldn't have dreamed of it and neither, I am sure, would John."

Pattie Boyd, 2007

"No way! Cynthia was a very sweet girl. I think when they moved from Liverpool she felt out of her depth. I tried to encourage her to come to London from their home in Surrey but she never really wanted to."

Pattie Boyd, 2018

I'm not too sure when Pattie last saw John; presumably during the time when Pattie began her life with Eric Clapton. When she and Eric got married in March of 1979, they had a wedding celebration in May in England where George, Paul McCartney, and Ringo Starr got up the stage and jam... it was the first Beatles reunion since the breakup. Unfortunately, John wasn't there. Pattie thought he was stuck in America and couldn't leave the country; for a time, that was true but John did receive his green card in 1976 and was able to leave and return to America whenever he wanted. I suppose Pattie didn't know that... let's say it's not often John and Pattie chatted on the phone. Anyway, when John heard what had happened, he expressed interest of attending if he had known about it. When Pattie later heard that, obviously it was heartbreaking. 

"I did feel remorseful afterwards that I hadn't invited John to our wedding party, but I knew he wouldn't come. He was living in America at the time, and the authorities were threatening not to allow him back in if he left the country."

Pattie Boyd, 2004

"John felt he couldn’t come because he thought if he left America they wouldn’t let him back in, and it was important for him to be in America."

Pattie Boyd, 2018

After an argument with Eric, Pattie went to bed in a separate bedroom. In the early hours of December 9, 1980 after hearing the news, Eric woke Pattie up to inform her the news of John Lennon's death. Pattie went to Apple Corps in Savile Row to mourn.

“I had heard about John’s death from Eric. He and I had been arguing and had spent the night in separate rooms. The next morning – 9 December 1980 – he came to wake me with the news that John had been shot dead in New York. I was appalled. I left Eric in Ewhurst and went to London, to the Beatles’ office, and hung out with everybody there. I had no idea how to get in touch with Yoko, or where she was, but the offices in Savile Row were the heart and soul of what had been the Beatles’ kingdom. That day it was where I wanted to be.” 

Pattie Boyd, 2007

"John was always fun to be around. He had a certain energy and was super talented, quite wonderful." 

Pattie Boyd, 2004

"I was around John Lennon a fair bit, too. He was exciting but could be a bit scary." 

Pattie Boyd, 2018

"The John Lennon I knew was respectful, gentle and kind. He was always gracious to me and I have treasured memories of us all being together during Beatlemania and beyond. Thinking of him today." 

Pattie Boyd, October 9, 2020

“John was great fun, if a little scary because you would never know what he was going to say, but he was fascinating, riveting, clearly the leader. He was very attractive, very sexy, and I loved that he thought that I looked like Brigitte Bardot. He was very cool.” 

Pattie Boyd, 2018