RARE Handwritten Letter with Reference to Lennon's Final Public PerformanceCompelling handwritten letter signed, one page, 5.5" x 7", March 9, 1978. Lennon pens a response to a Henderson, Kentucky, disc jockey, Dan Moore, on the reverse of a letter Moore wrote to Lennon. Moore, a huge Beatles and Lennon fan, asked the musician for details regarding his appearance on the Sir Lew Tribute show, to which Lennon replies, in full:
“I went to ask him to do something for me-but it came out backwards! The 2 faces were for all of 'them' (& us) (especially McCabe, who is a particular hipocryte [sic])!”
In fine condition, with light show-through from the type on the reverse. Accompanied by original mailing envelope, bearing a short phrase written in purple felt tip on the reverse from Lennon, “don't ask.”
John Lennon made few stage appearances during the post-Beatles era, however his final performance before a live audience is largely forgotten today. He appeared at New York City's Waldorf-Astoria on April 18, 1975, to perform on the television special, A Salute to Sir Lew Grade. Grade's path crossed with the Beatles in 1969, as he and ATV Music Publishing bought a majority share in Northern Songs, the company established by Brian Epstein which owned nearly the entire Beatles' song catalog. On this night, the former Beatle performed 'Slippin' and Slidin' and 'Stand By Me' from his latest album, Rock ‘n’ Roll, and his signature anthem, 'Imagine.' His support band wore two-faced rubber masks made especially for the telecast per his request. During his rave-up rendition of the Little Richard classic, 'Slippin & Slidin,' Lennon accentuated the line, 'Don't want to be your fool no more,' directing it at Sir Grade…a not-so-veiled jab at the television and publishing mogul's broken promise to sell his controlling interest in Northern Songs back to Lennon and McCartney. In fact, Grade and ATV retained control of Northern Songs until 1985, when the catalog was sold to Michael Jackson. Thus, Lennon's response to the disc jockey Moore, “I went to ask him to do something for me-but it came out backwards!” is his way of relating Grade's refusal to sell back his and McCartney's songs.
The two-faced musicians were a stroke of brilliance on Lennon's part. The 'McCabe' referred to in Lennon's response is, most likely, Peter McCabe, author of Apple to the Core, an expose subtitled The Unmaking of The Beatles, which dealt with the poor handling of The Beatles business affairs by their company, Apple Corps. Remarkably subtle, yet powerful, content with excellent association!
Accompanied by a full Letter of Authenticity from music autograph authority Roger Epperson/REAL Authentication.