Over the gate...

Designed in 1913 by Victorian/Edwardian/other architect Theophilus A Allen; John Lennon's house between 1964 and 1968; sunroom, attic and prisco stripe hibernice; Mellotron and caravan; Babidji and Mimi; mortar and pestle; Wubbleyoo Dubbleyoo; curios and curiosity; remnants and residue; testimonials and traces; (Cavendish Avenue, Sunny Heights and Kinfauns); Montagu Square; mock Tudor: Brown House: *KENWOOD*.

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Thursday 22 October 2009

Kenwood: June 29, 1967 - overview part 2.

The afternoon has begun to shade into evening. Following a complete change of wardrobe for John, who is now also wearing the badge last seen on gorilla head, the group decamp to the upper regions of Kenwood. John is pictured in three attic locations - the "living" room, the studio and in one of the recessed windows overlooking the eastern portion of the grounds. In his studio, he spends some time demonstrating the various weird and occasionally less-than-wonderful noises that can be made. After a few minutes messing around with the Mellotron, he shifts seats and picks up his old Gibson acoustic J-160, recently given a swirling paint job by Simon and Marijke. Staring into the camera, he hits the strings and turns the pegs, roughly tuning before bashing out part of a song. After some time, everyone heads out of the studio, back through the small living room, and into the short corridor containing the stairs:


Upon a landing below the attic, John has placed a rocking horse. He stops, climbs onto it with Julian, and several more images are captured. They go into one of the first floor bedrooms. The decor, in common with much of Kenwood, is heavily floral. On the bed lie two large stuffed toys, including the panda given to John by a fan before a concert in Manchester some years previously. Leslie Bryce jams some fresh film into his camera, and reels off a few more photos.
By now, word of the draconian jail sentences handed down to Messrs Jagger, Richards and Fraser will have filtered through. As evening draws on, and with the light beginning to fade, a final set of pictures is taken in the drive. John's Rolls has been moved out of the garage. He stands beside it, and then walks round to the front. Kneeling, he looks back at the camera, and then suddenly places his glasses on the ground and lies sprawled, body half underneath the car. With that, Bryce packs his camera up, thankyous and goodbyes are exchanged, and the session draws to a close:


Here endeth the Jackanory. In the Beatles Book monthly account, the "jacket" photos by the pool, clearly taken in broad sunshine, are identified as the last shots of the day. However, in the attic photos the light outside seems to be fading, and this is even more marked in those subsequently taken in the drive with the Rolls (see HERE), so I think they are probably the final ones. But I could be wrong about that.
The precise number of photos taken on June 29, 1967 is unknown. Apparently, the various colour transparencies were made as one-offs, and sent out to contemporary magazines; it's quite possible more will come to light as time passes.

Incidentally, the coloured shirt sported in a lot of these pics made at least two more public appearances (in addition to the AYNIL session); John wore it on the Maharishi express to Bangor over the August Bank Holiday weekend, and it is also to be seen in MMT, notably as part of John's Eggman ensemble:

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