John Lennon And New York: Brian Hamill Looks Back

COMMENTARY

John Lennon wanted to know if Brian Hamill was hungry. It was around 3 on a February afternoon in 1975. Lennon had been posing for photos for Hamill in Lennon's seventh floor apartment in the Dakota, overlooking Central Park. Hamill had already captured images of Lennon on his bed, leaning on the jukebox, writing lyrics, and more. That's when the ex-Beatle decided it was time for a snack

"He asked me if I wanted a toastie," Brian tells Patch. "I didn’t know what a toastie was at that time. So, I was like, uh, a toastie? And he said, oh, right. You guys call it a grilled crisp cheese something or other. Oh, a grilled cheese sandwich? I asked. He said yes and I told him I'd love one.

"He said put your camera down and relax. He didn’t say it because he didn’t want me to shoot. He just wanted me to relax."

Brian says that it wasn't until the next day that it occurred to him that he should have taken pictures of one of the most famous people on the planet making a grilled cheese sandwich.

"The journalist in me definitely thought I should have shot him cooking the sandwich. That frustration was outweighed by the experience of spending time, just hanging out with the guy. I just sat down and talked with him."

Brian has collected photos from that day, along with photos from an earlier shoot three years before, in a new book: "Dream Lovers: John and Yoko in NYC."

The book was timed to mark what would have been Lennon's 80th birthday.

"Look at how much he was, how much he accomplished," Hamill says. "The Beatles, the peace movement, the music on his own. He was a tremendous talent. What kind of genius would he have evolved into?

The reason that Lennon didn't live to 80 – his murder in front of his apartment building as he returned home one night in December, 1980 – is mentioned in Brian's introduction. What goes unmentioned is the name of the person who pulled the trigger.

"I told the publisher that if I was going to do the book, that I wasn't going to mention his name," Hamill says. "He's a bum, a punk. He's a lowlife and I don't even want to mention his name."

That "lowlife," as Hamill calls him, was able to get to Lennon because he never tried to erect barriers, to hide out.

"The connection between John and Yoko and the city. That was really special. Some people suggested that they moved to New York to hide," Hamill says. "They didn't, weren't hiding. They were on the streets… people would stop them and they would stop and talk to people. They were a nice couple, they were like sidekicks. John loved the city. He said, 'I should have been born here.' He loved it here and you could just tell.

"The whole time they walked, they held hands. They were like a young couple."

Photo: Brian Hamill

"We Were Like A Small Gang"

Brian says that Lennon's personality reminded him of his own family, the famed Hamill clan of journalists who have made an industry out of covering New York for nearly 60 years.

There's Dennis, who writes for Law & Order: SVU after stops as a columnist for the Daily News, Village Voice, and Newsday. There was John, a former reporter for the News. And, of course, Pete – newspaperman and poet of New York who was the only person to edit both the Post and News.

"We were like a small gang," Brian says of his family. "Pete gave me my first 35 millimeter camera and always encouraged all of us."

For Brian, his family leaves the book with a slightly bittersweet taste.

The book's introduction is by Pete, who died just weeks after writing it.

"It was the last piece he wrote," Brian says. Pete had been on dialysis, had been getting weaker. "Pete was always a fast writer but I could see it, he struggled. He started fading a couple of months before he actually died. He kept saying to me, how soon do you need it, when do you need it? I said to him that I kind of needed it yesterday. He said, I’ll buckle down and do it and he did it."

The publisher held the slot for Pete's introduction. It was the last thing to go into the book.

Weeks after Pete died, Brian lost another brother, John.

"It was tough, the two of them within a month," Brian says.

Brian says that one of the things that attracted him to Lennon as a subject was how much he reminded him of his own family.

"He always had that look on his face, that attitude about not (caring) about what people thought and, at the same time being sensitive and soulful," Brian says. "I liked that combination because that’s how I feel I am and Pete and my family are. We all have that attitude of look out for the little guy in life, at the same time, tell people off if they deserve it.

"And that’s what John Lennon meant to me. He was an unafraid guy who would say what was on his mind and I liked him for that,"

Brian Hamill

"Ring The Bell"

In August, 1972, Brian was at Madison Square Garden, shooting John and Yoko in concert. The photos caught the attention of Parade Magazine, which asked Brian to get photos of John and Yoko in their rented apartment on Bank Street in Greenwich Village.

First thing that Brian did was call Pete who had been writing about the Lennons and their immigration fight to stay in New York.

"Pete called him up and said, 'My brother's got this assignment. And Lennon said sure, tell him to come by and ring the bell."

"The last thing Pete said to me was, take notes, which I did," Brian says. "I didn’t take them when I was in the space with him or when I was walking with him around the Village. As soon I was on the subway back home, I wrote down everything. Same with the Dakota three years later.

"As soon as I was done, I ran over to Central Park and sat on a bench and wrote down all the pertinent things he said to me."

Hamill showed up at the apartment and rang the bell, heading upstairs, expecting to be greeted by an assistant, hair and makeup people, and a publicist telling how much time he had left.

At the apartment, Lennon opened the door.

"The first thing he says is, hey, Brian. I’m John. As if I didn’t know," Hamill says, adding that Lennon then offered him a cup of tea. "I looked around the room, waiting for the entourage to be there. And the only other person there in the room beside him was Yoko.

"From there, I felt relaxed with the two of them, both exceedingly nice."

After shooting photos of them in the apartment and on the roof, Lennon asked Brian what else he wanted to do.

"I said I’d love to shoot you walking around the Village," Hamill says. "He said, yeah. Let’s do it. That’s when I saw both of their humanity. They never made themselves seem more important than the person who stopped to ask them a question.

"It was hey, John! Welcome to New York and then maybe one or two follow up questions. And a couple of people would talk to Yoko. They were both very nice and humane. Neither of them had an air of, I’m more important, don’t ask me questions."

Brian Hamill

"I Want People To Know"

Brian says that he wants people to look at the book, look at the pictures, and appreciate the special bond between John and Yoko and the city.

"She gets such a bad rap," Brian says. "She did so much for him and they were so happy together. I know they had rough times but who doesn't? People say that she broke up the Beatles but also she did was help liberate John from a job he didn't want to do any more. We've all had jobs that we didn't want to do anymore. You know what? She helped him.

"I want people to see that they tried to become New Yorkers. I want people to see that they were New Yorkers and loved the city liked they loved each other."