John Lennon ‘Did His Best to Disrupt the Class’ in College
Before becoming an award-winning musician, The Beatlesā John Lennon was disrupting college classes, complete with āwicked commentaryā and cartoons of his fellow students. Hereās what Cynthia Lennon said of her then-boyfriend in the 2005 memoir, John.
John Lennon began writing and performing music while still attending college
Even before he was a Beatles member, Lennon pursued music with Paul McCartney and George Harrison. The artists performed under the band name The Quarrymen, with Lennon also attending college and beginning his relationship with his first wife.
John Lennon gave āwicked commentaryā when he was a college student
After grammar school, Lennon attended Liverpool College of Art, now a part of Liverpool John Moores University. The musician attended college with his ex-wife, Cynthia Lennon, then Cynthia Powell. In her 2005 memoir, John, Cynthia Lennon detailed her ex-husbandās school days, revealing some teachers specifically didnāt want John Lennon in their classes.
āIt turned out that John hadnāt chosen to do lettering,ā she wrote. āHeād been ordered into the class when most of the other teachers had refused to have him. He made it clear he didnāt want to be there and did his best to disrupt the class.āĀ
āWhen he wasnāt teasing someone heād give us a wicked commentary on the teacher,ā she continued, āor provoke hoots of laughter with his cruelly funny and uncannily accurate cartoons of teachers, fellow students, or of twisted, grimacing, malformed figures.ā
Lennon never graduated from college, instead choosing to pursue music with the younger McCartney and Harrison. With Ringo Starr on drums, the artists officially formed the Beatles.
John Lennon didnāt want to āgrow upā (but was also sick of ānot growing upā)
Of course, Lennon went on to perform in one of the worldās biggest bands. Thanks to a songwriting partnership with McCartney, Lennon co-created songs like āI Want To Hold Your Hand,ā āHey Jude,ā and āTwist and Shout.ā Still, the artist felt suck in limbo ā between wanting and not wanting to grow up.
āI donāt want to grow up but Iām sick of not growing up ā that way,ā Lennon said in a 1975 interview with Rolling Stone. āIāll find a different way of not growing up. Thereās a better way of doing it than torturing your body. And then your mind. The guilt! Itās just so dumb.āĀ
āAnd it makes me furious to be dumb because I donāt like dumb people,ā he added. āAnd there I am, doing the dumbest things ā¦ I seem to do the things that I despise the most, almost. All of that to ā what? ā avoid being normal.ā
Even after the Beatles disbanded, Lennon continued to pursue his interest in music, creating the solo song āImagine.ā He even crafted songs with his second wife, Yoko Ono, including āGive Peace a Chance.ā