From: 'A Twist of Lennon' (1978).
Cynthia Powell was a British painter and graphic artist, best known as the first wife of John Lennon (1962-1968) and the mother of musician Julian Lennon. Married before the Beatles became famous, her husband's pop stardom put their relationship under heavy strain. After six years of trials and tribulations, she finalized their divorce. Later in life, Powell published two autobiographies about her life with Lennon, namely 'A Twist of Lennon' (Avon Books, 1978) and 'John' (Hodder & Stoughton, 2005). The first book in particular is notable for her use of cartoons and illustrations to visualize certain anecdotes. Some of these drawings make use of sequences.
Early life
Cynthia Powell was born in 1939 in Blackpool, Lancashire, the town John Lennon would later famously mention in his song 'A Day in the Life' for having "4,000 holes". Her father was an employee with General Electric. As a young girl, Cynthia showed graphic talent. When she was 11, she won an art contest organized by the newspaper The Liverpool Echo. Her drawing of a ballerina was printed in the paper, and earned her a pound. In 1957, she started studying graphics and lettering at the Liverpool College of Art.
Life with John Lennon
While an art student in the late 1950s and early 1960s, Cynthia Powell first met John Lennon, a fellow student. At first, they weren't particularly interested in each other. Powell was a model student with a promising career ahead of her, Lennon was an emotionally scarred teenager. His father had left him at age six and his mother couldn't raise him on her own. He was more or less adopted by his aunt Mimi, giving him the feeling of being rejected. In school, Lennon put up a tough, cynical façade, venting his frustrations through sarcastic humor. Teachers were so fed up with him that they often sent him out of the classroom. Art lessons were the only thing he bothered to participate in. And still, he often didn't bring the necessary pens, pencils or brushes with him. To Powell's irritation, Lennon often had to borrow drawing material from her. One time, he asked her if she wanted to go out with him. Powell told him she was already engaged, which hurt Lennon's feelings to such a degree that he snapped back: "I didn't ask you to fucking marry me, did I?"
Eventually, by the fall of 1958, John and Cynthia did become a couple. A typical "bad boy", John could behave very cold and even violent to her, especially when she got too much attention from other men. Cynthia admitted that for a long time she was in denial over John's abusive behavior. Many of her friends and relatives disliked him and felt he was a bad influence. Indeed, Cynthia started to neglect her studies and failed to graduate as an art teacher. Soon after, in the summer of 1962, she discovered she was pregnant. The couple got married as soon as possible, after which Cynthia had to drop her career plans and focus on raising her child and becoming a housewife. Their son, Julian Lennon, was born on 8 April 1963. Despite everything, Cynthia later reflected on her early years with John as the happiest in her life. He had a different, more gentle and funny side too. As fellow art students, John and Cynthia also shared a passion. Both enjoyed drawing and painting, though as John's musical career skyrocketed later that decade, he had less time for this hobby. John would draw one-panel cartoons in his illustrated poetry and short story books 'In His Own Write' (1964) and 'A Spaniard in the Works' (1965), but otherwise most of his artwork remained unpublished during his lifetime. Cynthia, on the other hand, kept penciling and brushing throughout her life. Her style was more detailed and elaborate than John's, who preferred to work with simple linework, like his favorite artists James Thurber and Ronald Searle. Interestingly enough, neither John or Cynthia ever illustrated sleeves for Beatles records or other associated merchandise. That job always went to more professional graphic designers, like Klaus Voormann, Bob Gibson and Alan Aldridge.
From: 'A Twist of Lennon' (1978). The drawing depicts John and Cynthia (sitting) and Ringo Starr and his wife Patti Boyd. The "Brigitte" mentioned in the text underneath refers to French film star and model Brigitte Bardot.
The Beatles
What changed John and Cynthia's family dynamic forever was the spectacular success of The Beatles. As a teenager, John Lennon was enthralled with rock 'n' roll. He played in a few local Liverpudlian bands, such as The Quarrymen, which later changed its name to The Beatles. However, in the late 1950s and early 1960s, rock 'n' roll was still seen as nothing but a fad. Many people discouraged John, telling him to get "a real job". Even fellow teenagers saw John's musical endeavors as nothing more but a hobby. "Real" rock music came from the United States and it seemed unlikely that a British band could ever have huge international success. Cynthia was one of the few people who believed in his potential. She boosted him up whenever he felt down. Between 1960 and 1962, when the still unknown Beatles performed several gigs in Hamburg, Germany, John wrote her a letter every day. Cynthia saved several of these private letters. They show just how much the sometimes insecure John gained confidence and encouragement from her kind words. Without her, he might have given up his musical dreams.
Eventually, The Beatles were discovered and they signed a recording contract with EMI's Parlophone label. By 1963, they had become the most popular band in the United Kingdom and a year later, they were the most commercially successful pop group on the planet. While John and Cynthia were delighted at first, it was all bad timing. Right when John got settled with his pregnant wife, his musical career got off the ground. Touring and recording schedules prevented him from being home as often as Cynthia would have liked. When Cynthia gave birth to their son, John couldn't be there until three days later. Sometimes Cynthia accompanied John to press meetings and tours, like their 1964 U.S. tour and 1968 trip to India. But the mass hysteria around the Fab Four was so overwhelming that she often felt neglected, even unwanted. When in 1964 the band was in New York City, John, Paul, George and Ringo were once quickly pushed into a taxi to escape the hordes of fans. The door closed before Cynthia could hop in and she was left behind on the street. Another embarrassing moment followed in Miami, where she had to convince a security guard that she really was John Lennon's wife. Part of the problem was that John's marriage was initially kept a secret. Manager Brian Epstein felt it would be better if female fans could imagine that he was "still available". Eventually the British tabloids did catch on. And during their U.S. tour, it became hard to keep up that John was still single, especially when Cynthia constantly traveled by his side. When the press asked him about her, John decided to simply admit it, much to Epstein's chagrin. By the time the band made their iconic appearance in 'The Ed Sullivan Show' in early 1964, TV editors already subtitled "Sorry, girls, he's married" underneath a close-up of John.
Cynthia was the first woman to gain celebrity as a "Beatles wife". When the band broke through in 1963-1964, the other musicians didn't have steady relationships yet. Unavoidably some women were extremely jealous of her. Cynthia recalled that she was once attacked by a female fan who told her to "stay away from John". Another downside of her husband's fame was that the couple had little privacy. Wherever John and Cynthia lived or went, fans would bother them. Some even trespassed on their private property. Being a young man with suddenly dozens of gullible women in his lap, John couldn't resist the temptation of frequently committing adultery. One time he even wrote a song about one of his one-night stands, 'Norwegian Wood' (1965), just to see whether Cynthia "would catch on." As the 1960s progressed, John got more caught up in the "sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll" lifestyle, which put the first cracks in their relationship. In 1968, she caught John with a new woman in his life, Japanese conceptual artist Yoko Ono. She not only found them at her home, looking lovingly in each other's eyes, but Yoko's shoes were underneath her bed too. Soon after, Yoko turned out to be pregnant from John. This was the final straw. Cynthia filed for divorce and their case was settled out of court. She received custody over their son, Julian, while John was allowed to see him twice a year. Within these turbulent times, Cynthia received a lot of support from the other Beatles, especially Paul McCartney. He even wrote the hit song 'Hey Jude' (1968) out of sympathy for five-year old Julian.
Since John's father had been absent throughout his childhood, he originally had difficulties raising his first-born son Julian too. Paul McCartney recalled that John once directly asked him "how do you raise children?" It wasn't until he and Yoko had a son of their own, Sean Lennon, that John started to feel more comfortable around his offspring. Sadly, his murder in 1980 ended his life at the tender age of only 40.
Later life and death
After her divorce, Cynthia had several other relationships, three of which also ended in separation. Cynthia always felt conflicted about her existence as a "Beatles wife". On one hand, John's phenomenal pop star success overshadowed everything she did. If she hadn't met him, she might have graduated as an art teacher and become a professional graphic artist on the merits of her own talent. But journalists and general audiences were now only interested in her because of her famous husband. In some ways, she regretted that he eventually became famous, since it led to a lot of misery. On the other hand, Cynthia did realize that John's fame gave her far more media attention than she probably would have received in different circumstances. Acknowledging the situation, she decided to make the best of it. Over the years she sold off several memorabilia from their previous household. She launched the John-themed perfume 'Woman' (1988) and a Beatles-themed restaurant (1989), both of which weren't a success. Far more lucrative were two bestselling autobiographies.
In 1978, Cynthia published her autobiography, 'A Twist of Lennon' (Avon, 1978). The book reflects on her years with John and is illustrated with several private photographs, poems and her own drawings. Some of these cartoons visualize anecdotes from their life. One sequential drawing shows how one time, in November 1959, John and Cynthia took the bus. In front of them sat a bald man, reading his paper. Out of nowhere John decided to tease him, by tickling his head. Unaware of what was happening, the man kept scratching and occasionally looking around, but John acted as if he was just looking out of the window. Cynthia remembered she felt genuinely embarrassed by John's childish behavior, but also admitted that it was typically him. At the time, John wasn't too pleased with this book. He unsuccessfully tried to prevent its publication. Nearly three decades later, it was followed by another biographical book by Powell, 'John' (Hodder & Stoughton, 2005).
Cynthia Powell died from cancer in 2015, at age 75.
The Beatles going down the staircase during the 'Your Mother Should Know' segment of Magical Mystery Tour. Canvas by Cynthia Powell.