Friendship with Lennon... and the ultimate betrayal
Wenner’s relationship with John Lennon began when Rolling Stone published John and Yoko’s naked Two Virgins album cover, making national news.
Lennon got the result he intended: the other Beatles were annoyed. ‘George [Harrison] was going, “What is this thing?”’ recalled Ono. ‘Paul was very forward. He said, “Don’t do this!”… And John loved it.’
In 1970 Lennon granted Wenner an exclusive interview. He unloaded personal demons, revising Beatles history, settling scores, trashing The Beatles as ‘nothing’ and Paul McCartney’s first solo album as ‘rubbish’.
The interview buoyed Rolling Stone’s national presence like nothing before. Wenner was delighted by his coup and his new friendship. But characteristically, he didn’t stop there, and it cost him dearly.
He wanted to publish the interview in a book. Lennon had specifically said he didn’t want the interview published anywhere but Rolling Stone and chided Wenner for ‘jumpin’ da gun’ when he contacted him to suggest a book.
Wenner went ahead anyway and published Lennon Remembers in the autumn of 1971, collecting $40,000 from a publisher.
Lennon was apoplectic. He wrote to Wenner: ‘As your company was failing (again), and as a special favour (Two Virgins was first), I gave you an interview, which was to run one time only, with all rights belonging to me. You saw fit to publish a book of my work, without my consent – in fact, against my wishes, having told you many times on the phone, and in writing, that I did not want a book, an album or anything else made from it.’
Wenner sent Lennon a telegram asking if they could talk.
‘Print the letter,’ replied Lennon, ‘then we’ll talk.’ Wenner never printed the letter, and Wenner and Lennon never saw each other again.
‘That was one of the biggest mistakes I made,’ Wenner said. ‘I chose the money over the friendship.’
On December 8, 1980, Lennon had just been photographed by Annie Leibovitz, having decided to grant Rolling Stone an interview to promote the Double Fantasy album.
‘We have a product to sell, just as you’ve got a Rolling Stone to sell,’ he told the interviewer, Jonathan Cott.
After the session with Leibovitz at his New York home, he went to a recording studio. On his way back he was shot and killed by Mark Chapman.