Island Hopping

January 12 - 23, 1966

Maureen and Ringo leading the way with John and Cynthia behind through Heathrow Airport to board the plan to Trinidad & Tobago on January 12, 1966.

The Lennon and the Starkeys were neighbors and hung out just about everyday. Naturally they decided to take a vacation abroad. There's been talk that this trip was a distraction for George and Pattie's wedding to be private. It didn't really work... But, anyway, I don't think anybody complained about the idea to take a vacation! Someone told John about Trinidad and Tobago near South America as John was thinking of going somewhere warm, sunny, and quiet place to relax. On January 12, 1966, they departed from London Airport to Piarco International Airport, which took 12 hours arriving on January 13th.John, Cynthia, Ringo, and Maureen stayed at the Arnos Vale Hotel in Scarborough, Tobago. The following day, they went shopping where they bought steelpans, textiles, and knick-knacks. They also listened to local music.

An orange and yellow Italian glass vase bought while John and Cynthia were in Trinidad & Tobago, January 1966.

"This ornament was bought by John and myself (along with another in the shape of a fish which has since been broken). We bought it on the holiday island of St. Vincent with Maureen & Ringo. It took pride of place in our bedroom at Kenwood."

Cynthia, 1996

John, Cynthia, Maureen, and Ringo on the beach near their hotel in Arnos Vale Bay, Tobago, January of 1966

For almost two weeks, John, Cynthia, Ringo, and Maureen hiked the trails, visited other islands like St. Vincent and the Grenadines, went fishing, swimming, sight see - John even stepped on an urchin and had to get medical help to remove the spikes! At one point, while on the beach, they obliged the press with photos, hoping they'd be left alone during the remainder of their vacation. John, who apologized to the press for being late, and Ringo engaged with local fishermen, even pulling their boats to shore. After the press were satisfied with their photos, they took their leave; one journalist turned around for the final time to witness Ringo lifting his sunglasses to kiss Maureen while John was ducking Cynthia in the water by grabbing her ankles. While lounging at their hotel, they played Monopoly.

"We went fishing. John, Cynthia, Maureen, and I were on holiday in Tobago. We went fishing. That’s just what we did when we went on holiday."

Ringo Starr, 2013

John and Ringo with products from Monopoly while in Trinidad and Tobago, January of 1966.

"We were on holiday here. And we were having a good time. The four of us always went on holiday together. One time we went to the Spanish Islands. George and I went to Canada once. We were playing Monopoly here, and it looks like I won! I often won."

Ringo Starr, 2013

“On holiday, we always went with another Beatle.” 

Ringo Starr, 2013

"On one holiday- Maureen, John, Cyn, and I went to Tobago and John had just got contact lenses and he dropped one; it came out in the swimming pool. We spent about three house in the pool looking for this damn contact! We didn't find it obviously."

Ringo Starr, 2004

"We'd been already with Paul and Jane to Greece [in 1963], we buddied up for a while [the Virgin Islands in 1964]. And Maureen and I went with John and Cynthia to Trinidad and Tobago in 1966. I never really went on holiday with George."

Ringo Starr

Cynthia, Maureen, Ringo, and John sightseeing in Young Island, St. Vincent and the Grenadines on January 22, 1966 

Photographed by Geoffrey B. Nanton

Near the end of their stay at Trinidad and Tobago, John, Cynthia, Ringo, and Maureen met up with Prime Minister Dr. Eric Williams and his daughter Erica at the Crowne Point Hotel. They had lunch and went on a hike, including visiting Bloody Bay and the North Coast. When hearing that George Harrison and Pattie Boyd got married on January 21st, they sent a congratulatory telegram. On January 23, 1966, they left the islands to return home in England.

The Powell Brothers

Charlie and Tony with their father Charles

From Julian Lennon's Instagram

Charles Ronald F. Powell was born in/around 1928. Anthony Powell was born in/around 1931; I do think he had middle names like big brother Charlie but I don't know. I don't know Charlie's middle name F stands for… I know I rant this before about Cynthia's middle name Lillian (short recap: she doesn't have a middle name! There's NO proof!) but it wasn't unusual for a girl not to have a middle name as it was said the maiden name becomes middle after getting married. At least, that's what's been explained to me by my grandmother who didn't have a middle name and didn't give her daughters one either yet my mom gave me a middle name because she always wanted one and to differentiate me from my Aunt who I'm named after. Okay, less about me! Let's get back to the subject, Charlie was over ten years older than Cynthia while Tony was about 8 years older so by the time Cynthia was five, Charlie was out of the house at the age of 16. Despite their age difference, they did seem to be very close. Both Charlie and Tony were born in Liverpool until World War II, they were evacuated to North Wales for safety, armed with stock and soda pops to live with a family. Meanwhile, Lillian went to a bed & breakfast hotel in Hoylake, Blackpool with other pregnant mothers where she gave birth to Cynthia. The family was soon reunited and settled in Hoylake; when bombers flew overhead, Lillian would swoop the children into a cupboard under the stairs. It was Cynthia's job to clean their shoes. Charlie had a few girlfriends that he would bring to the house, including the fashion designer I referred in a previous post about Cynthia as an artist. Lillian, not exactly I would call the best housekeeper, would slick and span the house… I suppose Cynthia knew someone would be coming when her mother had a dustrag in one hand and a vacuum in the other. There was another girlfriend named Katie, who accompanied Charlie to Tony's wedding in 1960 and met Cynthia's boyfriend John Lennon. One day while both John and Charlie were at the Powell family home, Charlie noticed John didn't have any money so he gave him a pile of old sweaters. Since then, John had a soft spot for Charlie. Charlie went to work for GEC like their father Charles, selling electric appliances to shops in Birmingham and London while Charles did Liverpool. Charlie could play the piano. Eventually he moved to Libya and must have had a connection with lawyers as when Lillian contacted him when Cynthia and John decided to divorce in 1968, Charlie came to London to hook Cynthia up with a lawyer. 

Wedding invitation for Charlie and Penny in February of 1967

From Dorothy Jarlett's collection

Well, a year before the drama of John and Cynthia's divorce, Charles got married to Penelope Anne Jackson on February 25, 1967 at St. Bartholomew's Church in Corsham (close to Bristol and Bath), England and the reception at The Rudloe Park Hotel. It's an almost 2 hour drive from Weybridge, Surrey. I don't know for sure if John attended but most chronology books have The Beatles doing EMI recording sessions for Sgt. Pepper's so it's very possible that John did go. After 1968, I don't know what happened to Charlie. I just know he remained married to Penny as she's mentioned in Cynthia's acknowledgements in her John book. I don't know if they had children. I don't even know if Charlie is still alive; if he is, he would be 92 at this time of writing.

Tony and Marjorie with their families for their wedding in April of 1960 with bridesmaid Cynthia and her boyfriend John Lennon behind her.

From Cynthia Lennon's collection

While Cynthia had little memories of Charlie being home while growing up, she was much closer to Tony. When he was 18, Tony was enlisted to the National Service (Army). After he returned home, Tony had a girlfriend and joined the police to please her but was unhappy with the occupation. After they broke up, Tony was more than happy to resign. I don't know what Tony settled to do but he definitely worked and lived in Liverpool. He married Marjorie Joyce in April of 1960 with Cynthia as a bridesmaid and accompanied by John, who met her brothers and the rest of her family that day. Tony and John got along well, they shared the same sense of dry humor. In April of 1961, Lillian moved to Canada to help take care of her niece's baby; the next year in August of 1962, she came back to Liverpool for a visit and stayed with Tony. By that time, Cynthia already found out she was pregnant and couldn't find the words to tell her mother until the last day of her trip on August 21, 1962. I suppose that's when Tony found out he was going to be an Uncle. The next day, the 22nd of August, Lillian returned to Canada. Cynthia, Tony, and Marjorie sent her off with Cynthia crying so bad that her brother and sister-in-law had to support her to leave. Tony and Marjorie attended Cynthia's wedding to John the following day on August 23, 1962 but had to depart right after to go to work. During her pregnancy and living in Brian Epstein's apartment, Cynthia did stay with Tony, I guess for the weekend, while John was home… which is rather surprising as she would have relished to be with him as his home days were starting to get far and few apart… but who knows? Not long after, Cynthia nearly suffered a miscarriage and was instructed to stay in bed for three days; Tony came by to check in while John was on tour. I don't know if Tony visited Cynthia at Mimi's house- he could have. And, that's all I know about Tony, not much after 1962. I don't know if Marjorie and Tony had children. I do know that Tony died and Cynthia attended his funeral- I don't know when it happened. 

Marjorie and Cynthia at a party in 1956

From Cynthia Lennon's collection

Cynthia the Artist

"My talents and aspirations had to be put on the back burner, but that was as much my fault as anybody else's." 

Cynthia, 1999

"People say Cynthia was a mundane, hometown girl, 'mumsy' - your average Mrs Liverpool. That's a load of nonsense. Cynthia was a highly talented woman in her own right. She painted, she drew, she sculpted, she designed." 

Julia Baird

“I’m not a painter: I’m an illustrator, a linear artist. I do lines.” 

Cynthia, 2014

Cynthia with her sketches in August of 1981

As a young girl, Cynthia loved art- it was the only subject in school she was good at. One time, her brother Charles was dating a fashion designer who presented Cynthia the world of art. At the age of 11, Cynthia submitted a drawing of a ballerina for the Liverpool Echo art competition and won a prize. The following year, she was accepted in Junior Art College before going to Liverpool Art College in September of 1957 studying graphics. 

"One weekend the effort turned out to be well worthwhile, because Charles' latest girlfriend was a fashion designer. She gave me an exquisite watercolour she'd painted of a fashion model dressed in the lean, elegant style of the period. It was a revelation to me. I was so impressed. To think that she earned her living doing this. Art needed not be a hobby but could be a way of life. I stuck the picture on my bedroom wall and tried to copy it. One day, I promised myself, as I attempted my umpteenth version of those long, economical brush strokes, one day I was going to be just like Charles' girlfriend. By 12 it seemed as if I was right in course. I'd failed my 11-plus but I was allowed to sit a special exam for Liverpool's Junior Art School which accepted children from 12 to 17. To my delight I won a place there and settled down to five perfect years. The whole situation could have been tailor-made for me. I travelled the trains with my dad, spent my days in the small, red-brick school opposite the cathedral doing the things I loved best - drawing and painting - and I met up with the girl who was to become a lifelong friend, Phyllis."

Cynthia, 1994

"I drew a ballerina, sent it in and won a pound."

Cynthia, 2014

"I always loved art. My first prize in the Liverpool Echo for a drawing gave me so much encouragement. It was all I wanted to do from then on- I was 11. John's sketches were rude, crude and hilarious - that's why I fell in love with him." 

Cynthia, 1999

"Well, you go to art school and you try everything out first. You do the foundation year and then you choose what is your potential. I went into more or less commercial art illustration, whereas John [Lennon] went into painting eventually." 

Cynthia

Cynthia's enrollment forms for Liverpool College of Art

In 1959, she helped paint the Casbah Club before it's opening with a silhouette of her boyfriend John Lennon. Cynthia dreamed of becoming an art teacher or a commercial art illustrator but by 1962, it was pushed aside by pregnancy and marriage. Around the time John was in Hamburg, Cynthia started her teaching training, being like an assistant and observer. She went to two different schools, little children and older teenagers… Cynthia liked the little ones better. One time while with the older group, the main teacher was absent so Cynthia subbed for her, helping the students with their project which they ultimately destroyed. There was also a paranoia Cynthia had wondering if anybody was a regular audience member to watch her boyfriend play. John was not supportive of Cynthia's ambitions; he wanted her focus and attention on him while they were dating. It was only when he needed her help to pass classes that John relied on her talent, as he did using Stuart Sutcliffe and Thelma Pickles. John failed first… his attention and ambitions were elsewhere: music. And he ultimately quit as the day he left for Hamburg in August of 1960 was the day he no longer set foot into Liverpool College of Art. Yet he continued to doodle and it wasn't until much later when John took art seriously. Cynthia held on going to college as she was determined. Yes, her lack of attention to her work suffered while with John but once he was in Hamburg, Cynthia refocused her ambitions… until August of 1962 when she discovered she was pregnant. Then, Cynthia dropped out. 

"I've never ever had a goal in life, apart from wanting to do art and get my qualifications. I thought I'd take a teacher's diploma and teach."

Cynthia, 2014

"When I was married to John? No, no, I was busy looking after Julian and, you know, it was an incredible time, so really I had very little time to carry on with art." 

Cynthia, 1982

"Even though we were at Liverpool College of Art together he was not supportive of my painting. He didn't have time. My painting had to go out of the window. I left college when I became pregnant with Julian and so I didn't get my piece of paper to say I was going to be an art teacher. All I've got is a National Diploma- which I'm very proud of and which hangs on my wall."

Cynthia

Although Cynthia never fully gave up art. She continued to sketch and paint, especially by 1967 as Julian was getting older and going to school. Unfortunately, John wasn't always keen with her artistic talent; one time (probably 1966 or 1967) John bought home a white television. Cynthia decided to paint it and was proud of her work. The following morning, she glanced over to check on her work but was disappointed to see stickers all over it. John had come home and covered Cynthia's work… was he stoned? High on LSD? Or wasn't happy with the painted television that he covered it with stickers? While in India with the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, during free time from meditation, Cynthia painted and started to write poetry; for Pattie Harrison's birthday, Cynthia gave her a painting which Pattie still has to this day (unfortunately it's not hung up or anything, it's put away somewhere like in an attic or something but at least it's kept!).

Cynthia with her sketchpad on Southampton Beach in Long Island, New York during her first art exhibition at Tower Gallery in September of 1981. 

Photographed by Raeanne Rubenstein

In 1978, Cynthia published her illustrations of her marriage to John Lennon in her book 'A Twist of Lennon' and by 1981, started having exhibitions. When Cynthia was running her Oliver's Bistro, her artwork hung on the walls. In 1979, Cynthia returned to college (Wrexham College in Wales) after a teacher friend persuaded Cynthia to go and explore creative freedom and learn more. In 1981, Cynthia was approached by architect David Backhouse to contribute a design for Cavern Walks, Mathew Street in Liverpool before it's opening in 1984. 

In 1983, Cynthia signed a 3-years contract with Vantona Vyella designing bedding, napkins and textiles and in 1988, she designed her own perfume packaging. 

"I've done a lot of commercial paintings over the years - designs for napkins and bedding and that sort of thing - and everything else I have done has always been connected with communication and art, but it has never been just for me, for my own personal pleasure. So it's a sort of full-circle situation, which is a joy." 

Cynthia, 1999

Cynthia drawing a portrait of herself and Julian in 2014

Photographed by Samantha Hemsley

Cynthia continued doing art until her death. At this time, Julian doesn't seem to have any plans to showcase his mother's artwork. Cynthia did once mention that if she was going to write another book, it would feature her art. Unfortunately, Cynthia never got the chance and it's unknown what Julian wants to do.

"Well, if you think about it, in this day and age, anything can go as art. If you think about Tracy Emin and other artists who are sort of conceptual...an un-made bed, dirty clothes, etc, etc. They now call it art. As far as I'm concerned, I'm very old-fashioned. Art is hard work. Art is after years and years of training and years and years of appreciating art. For me, if I look at something, I say 'My God that's a lot of work gone into that with a lot of quality and there's a lot of experience.' Anyone I think and I believe can produce a piece of art that is an un-made bed or a pair of shoes. That's a matter of opinion, you know." 

Cynthia

"At last I'm painting for myself. God knows, I haven't stopped working for the past 16 and a half years, but I was painting not for me, but to earn a living. The Lennon name was used beautifully so that I had contracts for textiles, paper products. Then when I went to Normandy two and a half years ago I decided that was the end of working commercially. I was now going to paint. I've done a great deal, including a portrait of Julian, and a Venus de Milo. At least I'm doing what I've wanted to do forever." 

Cynthia, 1999

“Just to satisfy my creative urges and take my mind off a lot of things I want my mind taken off. I had all those years of training, with so many interruptions. Now all of a sudden, and tragically, I have the space to start again. Even if it’s just one picture from the heart, I would like Noel to be proud of me; I’d like Julian to be proud of me. The artist is starting over."
Cynthia, 2014

Cynthia at her Pen & Ink Drawings exhibition at Tower Gallery in Long Island, New York on September 5, 1981. 

Photographed by Ron Galella

Cynthia only held two exhibitions during her lifetime and, since 1999, Cynthia's drawings are on permanent display at The Beatles Story museum in Liverpool after being hung in her home since 1978. The first exhibition was Pen & Ink Drawings exhibition at Tower Gallery in Long Island, New York in September of 1981. Yoko Ono sent her a telegram wishing Cynthia luck. 

“All of a sudden I’d love to be a successful artist. The time is right for me. It’s like, well, starting over.” 

Cynthia, 1981

"I did them from memory. They’re for history.” 

Cynthia, 1981

"Oh, it was pure chance, really. I don’t know if you read about it, because I did a few interviews. No, it was just purely — I was running a restaurant at the time in North Wales and a friend of mine [Peter Brown] who is from the old days came to the restaurant, also with another friend [Stephen Gaines], and saw my drawings from the book there on the walls. He’s working on a book with him at the moment. And they came to have a chat, and they came to see the restaurant and see me. And the drawings were on the wall and Stephen Gaines said that he knew somebody on Long Island who had a gallery, it happened to be Gary Lajeski, and he took some photographs and sent them to Gary, and Gary liked them and invited me to come, so that’s how it all began." 

Cynthia, 1982

Cynthia at her second exhibition Lennon & McKenzie at KDK Gallery in London, June of 1999

The second exhibition was Lennon & McKenzie, teamed up with long-time best friend Phyllis at KDK Gallery, co-owned by Pauline Sutcliffe, sister of Stuart, in London on June 2, 1999. 

"That's meant to be a joke." 

Cynthia, 1999; about naming the exhibition 'Lennon & McKenzie'

"She's the classic artist and painter. I'm an illustrator and this exhibition came up by pure chance. We've known each other since we were 12 and we then went to Liverpool Art College together, where I met John. Phyllis and I are like two peas in a pod. She was actually the one who took me to the hospital when Julian was born." 

Cynthia, 1999

"I want to do more exhibitions, and I am having a wonderful time tonight - there are so many people here I have not seen for so many years. This is a night for family and friends - it is wonderful to see John's sisters." 

Cynthia, 1999

"John would have loved all this and would have been really pleased for Cynthia - she was always a fine artist. We are all going out for a family meal."

Julia Baird, 1999

"The drawings have been in a brown paper envelope for years. Now, I'm getting rid of the lot! I'm finally moving forward to paint exactly what I want in my own right. It's time to say, 'Get thee behind me Beatles!'" 

Cynthia, 1999

On blog note: I have and will continue to do post Cynthia's artwork. You check out on the side called LABELS ➡ Artwork by Cynthia.

Money Well Spent

John's Medical Card

Front

Back

John definitely wrote the back part of Death Benefits, relationship, and the address besides his signature on the first/front card (weren't they living in London by that time in January of 1964? Why did John listed Mendips? Was it the address he knew by heart? Did he knew he wouldn't be in his London apartment much longer?). I don't think John wrote the list of his family- although it is interesting that Julian was named 'John Lennon Jr'... And he is not technically a Junior!

Some Items from Kenwood

John's Wedding Gift

Wow! Besides the wedding present of an apartment from Brian Epstein for the newlyweds, John got his own wedding gift from Brian, Paul McCartney, and George Harrison: a dressing kit!

The black leather case has his initials J. W. L. on it and contained a chromium plated mirror, a bottle opener, an empty glass aftershave bottle, a nylon bristle hairbrush, a plastic portable toothbrush and a metal Gillette razor. There's also a little silver ashtray engraved Good luck John & Cynthia from Brian, Paul & George 23 Aug 62 that was very well used… after all, they all smoked heavily then. The ashtray was later given to Mal Evans as a memento. It's nice that John made use of his wedding gift!

Favorite Type of Girl

“We didn't keep it secret, it's just that when we first came on the scene, nobody really asked us. They weren't interested whether we were married or not. The question they used to ask was, 'What kind of girls do you like?’ And if you get our early news-sheets, it says 'Blondes’. I wasn't going to say, 'I’m married’, but I never said, 'I’m not’. I always disliked reading about people's families.”

John

Mr. & Mrs. Lennon

The marriage certificate of John and Cynthia Lennon; the only piece of evidence from August 23, 1962. No photographs were taken.

On August 23, 1962, John Winston Lennon and Cynthia Powell got married at Mount Pleasant Registry Office in the late morning/early afternoon. Cynthia was driven there by Brian Epstein while John, with Paul McCartney and George Harrison, was already there along with Cynthia’s brother and sister-in-law, Tony and Marjory Powell. Tony and Marjory were on a 'lunch break’ from work to quickly attend and represent the Powell family. Meanwhile, John's family was not there due to Mimi's boycott and would receive her wrath if anybody dared to show up. Yet, Paul and George were there to support John, the Beatles’ family. Ringo Starr had just joined the band for a few days but wasn't invited, he wasn't that close to John, Paul, and George just yet.

It was cloudy, raining- not exactly ideal wedding weather but then again, it's what England is known for. Cynthia wore her best black and purple checkered two piece suit (jacket and skirt) with a white blouse given to her by Astrid a year before. Her hair was up in a french braid pleat and she did it herself. Brian was the Best Man, but there was no Maid of Honor, bridesmaid, flowers, not even a darn camera to take pictures! How could anyone not even think of bringing a camera along? I can't ever understand that! Then there's the typical wedding traditions:

Something old… her purple & black suit and handbag (purse)

Something new… a new life growing inside her

Something borrowed…n/a

Something blue… feeling blue

When the register asked for the groom to step forward, jokester George did so but I guess the register wasn't amused. Just as the ceremony began, a loud drill started! The small wedding party couldn't hear a thing! This sounds like a perfect setting for a sitcom… it was hard for everybody (except for the register) to keep a straight face.

Artwork by Cynthia of her wedding to John

“There was a drill going on all the time outside. I couldn't hear a word the bloke was saying. Then we went across the road and had a chicken dinner. I can't remember any presents. We never went in for them. It was all a laugh.”

John, 1968

“I don't remember much about John's wedding. It took place in August 1962. He just went in the registry office in Liverpool one afternoon and in the evening we got into the car, went to the gig (we actually did a gig that night), and it was, 'Well we got married!’ It wasn't hushed up, it just wasn't mentioned to the press. There was no wedding- it was a five minute thing in the Registry Office. It was different in those days. No time to lose.”

George Harrison

The concert was in Chester and it was booked long before the wedding was planned, possibly before Cynthia announced she was pregnant. The wedding party (minus Tony and Marjory) went to Reece's restaurant where they had the lunch special and the newlyweds were toasted with water since Reece's didn't have an alcohol license… which is probably a good thing considering that drinking alcohol is a no no for pregnant women, although it was probably not known of at the time. During lunch, Brian did have a wedding gift for John and Cynthia: his apartment that he occasionally used (mainly for his gay trysts) since John still lived technically at Mimi's and Cynthia's apartment wasn't exactly suited for the growing family. After lunch, John helped Cynthia moved out of her apartment before he went to Mimi's to get his things (I wonder if Mimi was there? Silent treatment?) before going off to Chester while Cynthia arranged the apartment and putting things away.

“The ballroom was long and thin and the dressing room was to the right of the stage. Halfway through our set, mid song, John Lennon jumped up on the stage and yelled at us: 'How many of our fucking numbers are you going to play?' I was very very annoyed and jumped up from my drumming seat, I was the nearest to him. Luckily Dave Williams calmed me down. We were not some up and coming group we were very experienced and you just don’t do that to fellow artists. Well in those days if you lived in a rough area you could always look after yourself and I just reacted instinctively. After Dave calmed me down we just carried on playing. After all, at the time they were just another group, yes they were popular but so was Rory Storm, Faron, Blue Genes, Kingsize and Gerry. And everyone covered the popular numbers, our own and each others. We found out when we came off stage that John had got married that day, Brian Epstein was best man and wanted to keep the wedding hush hush as he felt it would mar the Beatles image with the fans when they found out. Paul and George were also at the wedding as witnesses. John’s Aunt Mimi had boycotted the wedding because she strongly disapproved. Brian treated the wedding party to a wedding breakfast at Reece's Cafeteria in Liverpool. It was also revealed later that Cynthia was pregnant. So bearing all this in mind we forgave him, it must have been a very demanding day for him.”
Harry Prytherch, band member from The Remo Four an opening act for The Beatles in Chester, 2011

“John was dismayed but bowed to the inevitable, though not as dismayed as Mimi or Brian. This wasn't in Brian's plans for the boys at all- a Beatle had to be footloosed and fancy free and available… Although the whole affair was very private and had been hushed up, at one point John did say that he hadn't really wanted to get married and felt pushed into it… No, wedding bliss was not John's scene at all. 'Christ,’ he said after a gig in Chester as we were packing up, 'I can't believe I went through with it.’

Tony Bramwell

“I didn't marry a Beatle. I married a broke student who played the guitar and ponced all my grant money off me for fags*.”

Cynthia, 1999

*Fags is a British slang term for cigarettes

“My wife married me not because I'm a Beatle, but because she loves me.”

John

“Even I only learned the news several weeks later, when I told John of my own plans to marry my girlfriend, Beth, the following March. 'So how about you, John?’ I bantered, well aware of John's disparaging attitude towards the holy institution of marriage, 'When are you and Cyn going to get married, then?’ 'We already are married,’ he said with an embarrassed grin, then hastily changed the subject. He clearly viewed his wedding as a little more than a trivial nuisance and something hardly worth talking about.”

Pete Shotton, 1983

John showing off Cynthia's wedding ring with Ringo Starr at the Peppermint Lounge Club in New York City, February of 1964

Neil Aspinall didn't know John was married other than he and Cynthia were living 'in sin’ whenever he dropped John home from gigs. One day John brought along Ringo to meet Cynthia but said no word about them being married. Cynthia was making Vesta Beef Curry for John but had limited portions; Ringo politely refused the curry and a sandwich she also offered to make other than tea. Cynthia didn't know at the time Ringo’s childhood illnesses and his sensitivity towards certain foods, especially spicy like curry. Their meeting was awkward and standoffish for a little while until it eventually wore off and became good friends.

“When Ringo joined the group, I never told him I was married. At the time I didn't want it to get around and I didn't know how well I could trust him to keep it secret. But it came out one day when we Beatles went to an accountant’s office and he asked, 'Do you have any dependents?’ and I said, 'Yes, I’ve got a wife.’”

John, 1965

“John got married just after I replaced Pete, but nobody told me. I found out when we were to see an accountant about our tax and John started claiming for a dependent. The other two knew, I supposed he wanted it kept secret at that time, and I still wasn't in the inner circle.”

Ringo Starr, 1964

“I didn't go to the wedding- John never even told me he’d got married. John and Cynthia were keeping it a secret from everyone. If something got mentioned, it was, 'Shh, Ring’s in the room…’ John didn't tell me anything until we went on tour and got to know one another in all the doss houses where we camped.”

Ringo Starr

“We were both sort of bowled over by the fact that we were married. It wasn't a question of 'Have we done the right thing?’ It was all perfectly natural that we should be together. But John didn't get a real chance to be first a real husband, or later, a real father. Once he got on the Beatles bandwagon he couldn't get off, even if he wanted to.”

Cynthia, 1985

To me, I don't think of John and Cynthia's wedding as a 'shotgun’. Elopement, sure, but not shotgun. It wasn't as if John knocked Cynthia up after an one night stand or a very brief relationship. They had been together for four years at that point. To be honest, I am surprised that a pregnancy happened then rather than earlier as they were a couple of horny rascals at every chance they had. Whatever he may have felt, John was there. He arrived at the register office before Cynthia did. Cynthia believed that John seemed to have taken the title of husband and soon-to-be father in stride as she noticed the look on his face while they were having their wedding lunch.

Rather than calling Cynthia 'Miss Powell’ or 'Miss Prim’, John started calling her 'Mrs. Lennon’.
Of course, there's always that negativity looming around. Both John and Cynthia doubted that they would have gotten married if she hadn't gotten pregnant. Deep down, they were drifting apart. She was going to be an art teacher while John was a working and traveling musician. They had different outlooks on their future. Shortly after they got married, John traveled to London to record Love Me Do to be released as a single and, in one day, The Beatles recorded their first album, Please Please Me, released in early 1963.

John at the Cavern Club in Liverpool during the afternoon on August 22, 1962, about 24 hours before becoming a married man

“I asked John the crucial question, 'If Cyn had not been pregnant in 1962, would you have gotten married?’ He thought for a long time and then replied, 'It’s a hypothetical question after the event but I don't think so.’ I was left with the impression that John was never truly in love until he met Yoko Ono…”

Tony Barrow

“On different occasions both John and Cyn indicated to me that they married because baby Julian was on the way and without this binding factor both might well have gone their separate ways as soon as the Beatles took off, rather than 6 years later. To have kept the baby but not married would have taken a more courageous soul than John, who was bold but not brave beneath his leathery mask of bravado.”

Tony Barrow

“They were totally opposites but right for each other and, although they came from different backgrounds, they were a perfect match. I think they would obviously have taken longer to get married, but it would have happened. They loved each other very much. There was no separating them.”

Phyllis Mackenzie

“I lived for the moment. I was never really dreaming about the future or marriage or babies. It never entered my mind. I was just very, very happy just to be with him. I’m quite a survivor, so probably inside me I thought, 'Well, I can probably survive whatever happens.’ Youth is very brave and as I said, love is blind. I didn't think about the future.”

Cynthia

“My talents and aspirations had to be put on the back burner, but that was as much my fault as anybody's else’s.”

Cynthia, 1999

“Brian Epstein had a flat near the art college in Faulkner Street, and we moved in there until we got ourselves sorted out.”

Cynthia, 1988

“You know something, when you're young, love is very blind. I had no idea what was going to happen. We were just living for the moment. And that was the way it should’ve been and it was. So, I didn't know. I probably thought at some stage that he would never, ever make any serious commitment or anybody and that he would end up as a drunken bum on the streets. But, I mean he was lucky. He was in the right place at the right time and he had a lot of support from his friends. And of course, meeting Brian, which changed his whole life.”

Cynthia, 2005

“Even though we were at Liverpool Art College together, he was not supportive of my painting. He didn't have time. My painting had to go out of the window. I left college when I became pregnant with Julian and so I didn't get my piece of paper to say I was going to be an art teacher. All I've got is a National Diploma- which I'm very proud of and which hangs on my wall.”

Cynthia, 1995