Atlanta, GA 12/8/2010 11:03:46 PM
John Lennon said he didn't want to become a "dead hero", three days before he was shot.
The singer, songwriter and peace activist said how he had no desire to
die before his time on December 5 1980, three days before he was
assassinated by a crazed fan outside his home in New York, 30 years ago
today (08.12.10).
Speaking out against fans and those who criticised him for taking a
five year break from music in his last print interview, John told
Rolling Stone magazine: "What they want is dead heroes, like Sid
Vicious and James Dean. I'm not interested in being a dead f***ing
hero. So forget 'em, forget 'em."
Sid Vicious was the bassist in punk band The Sex Pistols, who died of a
heroin overdose aged 21, while James Dean was a promising film star who
died in a car crash aged 24.
Former The Beatles star John had released his musical comeback, 'Double
Fantasy' earlier in 1980 and also said in the interview he was hoping
to return to live performance.
He said: "We just might do it. But there will be no smoke bombs, no
lipstick, no flashing lights. It just has to be comfy. But we could
have a laugh. We're born-again rockers, and we're starting over -
There's plenty of time, right? Plenty of time."
Meanwhile John's wife, Yoko Ono, and Son Sean have both speculated
about what kind of music he would be making, should he have lived today.
Sean told NME magazine: "My mum has his record collection and its all
rock 'n' roll. There's nothing in there that's past Elvis' second
album. So if he was still making music, it'd be rock 'n' roll.
"Although [after the Beatles] he had also risked his entire career
making avant garde experimental music with my mum to promote his
ideals."
Yoko, meanwhile, thinks her husband would have used new technology,
saying: "John definitely would be experimenting on some new music,
using the computer. I am sure it would be quite something."
