Has Yoko ever commented on the unseen 1980 Lennon music videos?

The Yoko video footage in the 1985 A&E doc is from Aug. 1980. Don't believe me? Look at this clip and note the slate at 15 seconds into the clip. It clearly states August 19, 1980 on the slate: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6eCy_rTMxc&feature=related

Therefore, at a minimum the Yoko footage made by Dubin in August 1980 existed in 1985.

How can you be sure the John Lennon video footage from the Aug 80 shoot was "junked?" Why is this probable?

 

This is interesting. From Absolute Elsewhere: http://history.absoluteelsewhere.net/April/april20.html

The site claims 5 days of "Double Fantasy" footage were videotaped in August 1980 and the complete set of 1" master videotapes exist in Yoko's basement, filed as "untouchable."

 

More information about the 5 day Double Fantasy video shoot at The Hit Factory recording studio: (Aug 18-22, 1980): http://blogs.myspace.com/john_lennon_1980

 

Out of curiosity, are there any photos taken of John in circulation confirmed to be from Aug. 18-22, 1980?

If so, please post em!

 

Isn't Yoko also sitting on John journals from his later years?

Even an edited version could be an interesting read.

 

I find it interesting that the discussion so far has been almost entirely related to whether the footage still exists. I'm guessing it does considering almost everything seems to have been kept over the years. The more interesting thing to me is why would Yoko be so vehemently opposed to it ever being seen even 30 years after the fact? There is plenty of other footage already out there with John not looking that great, etc. Not to mention almost every song fragment being made available no matter how poor the song or John's performance of it might have been. So, why is this footage so taboo?

There have been many rumors over the years that maybe John had fallen back into some bad habits later in life. I'm guessing that could be part of the issue here. Short of him making racist comments, etc. in the footage I would think there would be something salvageable from it unless if there is something about that footage that brings back particularly bad memories for Yoko.

Just my two cents and I of course might be completely wrong...

 

I agree there should be something of John's performances salvageable, especially if it was actually a five day video shoot (with some days perhaps focused on Yokos songs of course).

Regarding the points you raised, not sure how credible Fred Seaman is (as he is alleged to have stolen property and has an axe to grind with Yoko) but the DF Mystery page quotes a Seaman book touching on the video shoot in question: http://web.archive.org/web/20080729224728/http://www.vintagebb.com/lennon.html

 

Has Sean Lennon ever been asked about the Aug 1980 performance footage existing? Even if Yoko won't release it commercially, surely Sean would have been given access to see the final pro-shot footage of his father in performance -- if it actually exists in the Lennon archive.

 

Is it probable that John was wearing this quasi-country & western outfit for some of the August 1980 video shoot? I think John mentions on the Jack Douglas hidden mic tapes that he (John) was wearing a hat during some of the takes?

 

More pics of what could have been the date of the videotaping in Aug. 1980.

 

I don't have any further details but the footage does exist in the Lennon archive. No idea why it hasn't been used.

I'd keep an eye out for the upcoming "Strage Days Indeed" book for details.

http://www.lennonstrangedays.com/

http://www.lennonstrangedays.com/Eight Arms To Hold You.html

 

Thanks Chris! The author's blog doesn't list a release date for the book. Have you heard a timeframe of when this will be published? http://www.myspace.com/cmadinger

 

More pics of Lennon in Aug 1980. Some comments on beatlephotoblog.com suggest these pics were taken August 4, 1980.

 

Another from Beatlephotoblog:

 

Man, is that ever one ugly-*** lookin' guitar!

 

In the years before his death, there was a rumour that John had gone bald. Looking at those pics, I'm not inclined to totally discount that rumour..

 

Why?

 

The brand of guitar is Sardonyx. Supposedly very comfortable to play because it's adjustable.

 

More pics of Sardonyx:

 

Doesn't look that way to me.

 

So it looks like the footage was hidden because John looked too thin and sick, or he was too high, and that conflicted with what the Lennon of 1980 was supposed to be about.

Or it could be that the videos just didn't turn out good.

 

I know Ian Hunter played on too.
I can't recall all the details, but...I do believe that, along with at least an Ovation acoustic, Lennon also played his Rick 325 (I think the one with the whammy bar), and a Fender Stratocaster or "Strat" (his has a Red "Strat, as opposed to Stratocaster, in the famous pic of him in bed that appeared in Rolling Stone & the inside of the "John Lennon Collection" album) as well as the Sardonyx at these sessions. Anyone know any other guitars he played at these sessions?...he also played keyboards too.

And for the record...I too heard the rumors of him going bald back then, but...geez I've never seen any pictures that ever led me to believe anything like that was ever happening...let alone the pictures that were cited here, where to me, things look quite the opposite.

 

The rumor was that John was getting thin on the very top of his head. No big deal, except John was worried the tabloids would make a big deal about a moptop losing his hair.

 

Looks like Lennon was using a Music Man amp at The Hit Factory?

 

I think the "John Lennon is bald" thing is just a silly urban legend.

I think that Fred Seaman's book (Last Days...) started the rumor. Seaman said Lennon was developing a bald spot on the top of his head and was self conscious about it.

While Lennon's hair had thinned a tiny bit by 1980, he still had much more hair than many guys that are 40 years old.

His undernourished diet probably didn't help his perceived hair issues.