Musicians and fans have come together this Saturday in Almería to celebrate the 81st birthday of the ‘beatle’ John Lennon, as well as the 55th anniversary of the composition of the song ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’ in the capital of Almería, where he filmed the movie ‘How to win the war’.
On this day 55 years ago, John Lennon celebrated his 26th birthday in Almería, moving to the Santa Isabel farm, now Casa del Cine, “and when he moved, ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’ was born. It is a birthday with a song”, points out the journalist Adolfo Iglesias, author of the book ‘Juan y John, el maestro y Lennon en Almería para siempre’ and promoter of the John Lennon Almería Forever association.
A group that this weekend celebrates the now traditional ‘Almería Beatles Weekend’, whose highlight will be the performance tonight at the Cervantes Theater in Almería by the groups The Liverpool Band, from Alicante; The Beatles Connection, from Almería; and the duo Wonderwall, from Jerez de la Frontera (Cádiz).
But the activities began early in the morning next to the sculpture of the British musician in the Plaza Flores de Almería, where Iglesias, fans and musicians Fran Pena and José Manuel Peña, the Wonderwall duo, have sung Lennon’s happy birthday , with cake included.
Iglesias explains that the British wrote in Almería ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’ in the middle of a “crisis”. “A month and a half earlier, the Beatles’ had decided to stop giving concerts. That was the hecatomb because they had become famous precisely by giving concerts.”
“He was here mired in a deep crisis, wondering if he was going to leave the group or not, if it made sense or not. As a result of that crisis the song arises, which has two parts. The first he wrote on the beach and is a part negative in which he expresses the doubts he had about himself, about life, “says the writer.
However, the “most famous part, the chorus”, was written after moving to the Santa Isabel farm, inviting listeners to take them to ‘Strawberry Fields’. “For him, moving into this house with Ringo Starr was a fresh air, a change,” adds Iglesias.
The journalist from Almería was the one who in 1999 identified the house where Lennon stayed with his wife Cynthia and his partner Ringo Starr. “It is connected with Strawberry Field in Liverpool because they have many elements in common,” says Iglesias, while recalling that the building that gives the song its name is a Salvation Army orphanage, next to the one Lennon lived in his city native.
“There were children and he would play with them, he would listen to them. When he moved to the current Casa del Cine in Almería, he had the children from La Salle Chocillas school next to him. It is also a mysterious and magical place that makes remember your childhood, “he adds.
The ‘Almería Beatles Weekend’ festival was born precisely as a way to spread this story, discovered by Iglesias, who also brought to light the trip of the Murcian professor Juan Carrión – who visited Almería to ask Lennon for the lyrics of his songs – that served as inspiration for the plot of the film ‘Living is easy with your eyes closed’ by David Trueba.
Iglesias assures that Almería also marked Lennon in other ways. “Here he left the famous round glasses forever. First because the character in the film asked for it but also because he reconciled with that complex that a rocker like him could not have glasses,” he asserts.
He remembers how the Rolls-Royce in which he was traveling was “chased by the children”, or how two days after leaving Almería he met Yoko Ono in London. “Paul McCartney wanted to come to Almería but he stayed in Malaga. He wanted to meet Lennon here. The one who did was Ringo Starr, who two years later returned to shoot the ‘spaghetti western’ ‘El justiciero ciego’ (Blindman)”, concludes. EFE
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