Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Why We Need To See IR 59/1291

Again, this blog is exploring the mystery of Paul's disappearance and replacement, but, if you believe that John was also replaced, there is a document that you would want to be able to see in the UK National Archives:  IR 59/1291.  It contains Death Duty Accounts for John Winston Ono Lennon (John Lennon) and unless Baby Boomers are planning on living for a really, really long time, we won't be able to see the contents because the document's opening date is January 1, 2076.

The importance of seeing details of the document is to know WHICH John Lennon died in December, 1980.  The Death Duty Accounts name hiers to the decedent and their respective inheritance. 

The replacement John Lennon changed his name--apparently by a British device called "deed poll"-- on April 22, 1969.  He changed his name to John Winston Ono Lennon. Unless the man wants the information in the deed poll known, it would never be published.

An interesting "reason" The Archives makes for not releasing the document is that the youngest beneficiary would be 22 in 1997.  That would most likely be Sean and that would mean that the replacement died because Sean is the child of Yoko and the replacement.

The Archives lets you browse to see other well-known Britons and lets you know that their files are closed for a long time, too.  For instance, actor and comedian Peter Seller's file is closed for 84 years.  But I browsed through the list and couldn't find a British illuminary of the stature of John Lennon.  And I don't think that's my age bias.

SO . . . all you John researchers should consider noising about the need to see some details of IR 59/1291.  Maybe they could use a black magic marker on the confidential parts like they do in US Foia requests.  It seems to me if we knew who the heirs are, we would know who the John was.

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Or Maybe It Was France Gall

In looking for the French singer Paul was interested in, I have found several other French pop singers of the 1960's.  France Gall was voted the #1 pop singer in France in 1966.  And there are others . . . .
It will take some research (and that's what this blog is all about), but if Paul's love interest does not turn out to have been Sylvie Vartan, I think the girl he loved can be found.

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

And Paul's Bird Was Green

If you listen to John's all-emotion song, And Your Bird Can Sing [listen at:  www.youtube.com/watch?v=iC6D2N4nylg ], there are three more clues that Paul was headed to France and a possible romantic involvement with Sylvie Vartan.
John says the bird (girl) of the man he's singing about:  1.) can sing
                                                                                  2.) can swing
                                                                                  3.)  is green.
Green in this context doesn't mean romantically naive because the girl can swing.  So what does green mean? 
In the book, The American Language (1921) by American linguist H.L. Mencken, he is talking about English World War 1 Army slang and mentions that Frenchmen were called frogs by British soldiers.  Green.  Sylvie Vartan could sing, was married and was French and I think John's song was about John being abandoned by Paul if Paul went to France.

Friday, January 7, 2011

Revolver

I was searching for photos of Johnny Hallyday at gettyimages.com and I came across an interesting one.  If you go to http://www.gettyimages.com/ and type in:  johnny takes aim  you will see a photo of Hallyday aiming a revolver
The caption says:  "French pop star Johnny Hallyday takes aim on a shooting range after opening the new Robinson Village leisure complex outside Paris 8 October 1966Hallyday is the major shareholder in the development." 
From the little I could find on the complex, it was a American West-themed amusement park with restaurants and demonstrations---and, apparently a shooting range.
Given the date, was it a shot across the bow?

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Trying To Connect The Dots With Les Blackburds

In a 2010 interview (which can be read in its entirety at http://www.gibson.com/en-us/Lifestyle/Features/mick-jones-0813/ ), Mick Jones, guitarist for Foreigner talks about his being a fan of and knowing The Beatles:
     Question:  Were you a Beatles fan?
     Jones:       Oh full on -- absolutely. . . . I had met The Beatles when I was much younger, about 18, I guess, and I got to hang out with The Beatles for a couple of weeks in Paris.  We were on the same bill at the Olympia Theater at the time  [note:  that was for three weeks beginning January 15, 1964 ---paulumbo].  I was playing guitar with a French girl singer Sylvie Vartan. . . . Then Sylvie's husband, who was Johnny Hallyday, stole me away from her and I played with him.

The group that Jones was in that backed (French pop singer) Johnny Hallyday was called Les Blackburds
Remember the Paul replacement song, Blackbird?  The lyrics talked about a blackbird who would, "Take these broken wings and learn to fly."  The broken wings line echoes the line in the Beatles' song Revolution 9 which said, "My wings are broken . . . ."

So what is the connection?  Again, it comes back to France, to a rumored romance between Paul and Sylvie Vartan.

Vartan and Hallyday married April 12, 1965.  They were rumored to be separating in 1966.  He attempted suicide September 1, 1966.

Paul was supposed to have been in Paris the weekend of September 16, 1966 with John and Brian Epstein and in Paris again with John for the weekend beginning Thursday, October 13, 1966.  Johnny Hallyday had a short tour of France in Mid-October, 1966 with Les Blackburds as his backing band.  The tour was very close to Paul in Paris, if he was there:  Evereux-- Hallyday's first stop on October 13th.-- is in the Haute-Normandie region about 54 miles west-northwest of Paris.  The Hallyday tour also played in Paris on October 18, 1966.

The information has to pinned down, but it would explain Paul putting clues in Paperback Writer about November 10th. and France.  (See my April 30, 2010 post.)