Monday, October 6, 2014

Steppin' Out with Yoko for the first time




On May 22, 1968, a luncheon was held at Club Dell'Aretusa in Chelsea in honor of the new Apple Tailoring shop.    George Harrison and wife Pattie were there as well as John Lennon and his brand new girlfriend, Yoko Ono.   And when I say brand new girlfriend, I am not kidding.    The whole thing with Cyn and the night with Yoko in Kenwood all just went down three days before this event.  Of course the fans and the public did not know about any of that at the time.  Surprisingly, Yoko kept a fairly low profile at this event.  While she was in photos with John, she didn't make it obvious to anyone that they were a couple.   After the lunch, everyone walked over to the Apple Tailoring building and this is where photos of John and Yoko were snapped that looked a tad more intimate (such as the one on top), but still weren't obvious that they were a couple.    I wonder what the fans who saw this happening on this day thought about Yoko.   Did they realize that she was "with" John or just think that she was a friend?

8 comments:

  1. Wow, Sara, I didn't know about this luncheon! I was home in Rio for a few months in 1968, so I missed out a bit. I just remember the first time I saw Yoko at EMI. John had been on the phone (it was at the entrance) and he kept asking this person whether he/she would like to come over. Then he asked the doorman for the address. I found it amusing that he didn't know the address of the place where he had been recording for all those years! A while later Yoko arrived in a cab, all dressed in black. We didn't know who she was.

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  2. Whoah! I too have never heard about (or seen pictures of) this luncheon! And Lizzie, thanks for sharing that story, so funny! I remember reading something Hunter Davies wrote (I think it's the preface to one of the later editions of his book) and saying how John had forgotten how to use a phone! I also have noticed other famous people do not know addresses or where they are or how to get where they are going. (I'm thinking off the top of my head of shock jock Howard Stern, who has worked in NYC for most of his life, and can't navigate his way around the city....which, for the record, is pretty much all numbers!).

    Great pics, each day a revelation here on MTBFR!

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  3. ....also, how brazen for him to be stepping out with her in public immediately!

    Sara, great writing about this! Thanks!

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  4. Cynthia was in Italy on this date and saw photos the next day in the press. Cynthia had earlier found John and Yoko together at Kenwood upon returning from a holiday in Greece with Jenny Boyd and Alex Mardas which had happened before John and Paul's May 11th trip to New York. John & Cyn were reconciled briefly before the May 11th trip, but because John wouldn't allow Cyn to accompany him and Paul to New York she took Julian and her mother to Italy instead - where she still was when John took Yoko out in public on May 22nd.

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    1. As much as I am a fan of John's, I can't help but think what a punk-ass muthajumper he was towards his WIFE Cynthia! The whole 'story' that J&Y made up about how they 'met' is just a bunch of bullcrap! John's Rolls Royce had a bed in it and yeah, you know they were literally screwing around in it way before their 'official' story about how they met came out! When John went to NYC with Paul, the reason he told Cynthia to stay home or whatever is he had a TELEGRAM sent to her stating he wanted a divorce! A telegram? Come on now, how freaking cruel and uncaring can he have been towards his wife and the MOTHER of his child? What a punk-ass thing to do. He 'wouldn't allow her', what a macho shithead thing to do! Anyway,John did not do anything right when it came to how he mishandled himself and the way he treated Cynthia was just disgusting.Yoko was a stalker,let's not mince words. She knew who the hell John was and between her and her then husband Tony Cox, they were quite aware who John was, who the Beatles were and how much fame and money they can take for themselves. I wish that Cynthia had been a lot more brazen and outspoken enough to smack the hell outta Yoko and kick her out of HER house and into the street...as for John, he was just lucky that Cynthia loved him all that much not to take a chair and break it over his head. John always look lost in thought during those times cos he was trying to come up with ways to be away from Cynthia...as far back as 1966!! He was almost tempted to take Yoko to INDIA fercrissakes...what a heartless and cruel way to treat a woman that was nothing but kind and loving to him.

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    2. You are correct - John was rotten to Cyn and yoko played him like a fiddle for many years

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  5. Am a fan of Paul but he treated Jane very badly for many years cheating on her - shame John and Paul were so full of themselves

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  6. Hi meetthebeatles, i wonder if you could you tell me where the image came from - I'm hoping to use it in an exhibition?
    Karen

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