| 17 February - 8 April 1980 - Julian spends his holiday with John,
Yoko and Sean on a yacht and at the former Vanderbilt mansion in Palm Beach,
Florida. He celebrated his birthday during a gala thrown by his father and
went to see Beatlemania with John in New York before catching a plane
back to England on his birthday. This was the last day Julian saw his
father....
8 December 1980 (9 December in UK) - John Lennon is murdered
outside of the Dakota. During the night while Julian was sleeping in his
attic bedroom, the chimney collapsed and part of it fell through the roof.
Julian recalls, "I just felt something in the room. I came
downstairs that morning and noticed the curtains were still drawn. There
must have been hundreds of photographers outside. Then this guy, this guy I
hated said to me, 'I've got some serious bad news for you.' He said, 'I
don't know how you're going to take it, so just be prepared.' And I already
knew." Julian and Justin flew to New York this same day to be with
Yoko and Sean for three weeks. Ironically, Julian was 17 at the time
of his father's death, the same age John was when his mother was killed by a
drunk driver.
10 December 1980 - John is cremated at Hartsdale Crematorium in
New York.
Shortly after returning to England, Julian dropped out of school, started
washing dishes in a bistro, and played music in a converted barn behind the
house. |
