You have to think that John's integrity and strong beliefs would have made him a prominent figure of change and creativity to this day. Even though he lived some of his New York period as a recluse, it was clear by 1980 that this was changing. I don't know if he would ever have written another "Imagine", but he would most certainly have continued writing, and most likely collaborated with his sons as well as Yoko.
Would a Beatles reunion have happened? I sincerely doubt it. But I suspect that John, Paul and Ringo would at least be on speaking terms, much the same way that Roger Waters and Dave Gilmour have recently started to converse, while not reforming Pink Floyd. Would John have made the odd appearance with Paul? Quite possibly if there was a good enough reason, but this wouldn't have been money. After the Floyd reunion at Live Eight (which I was lucky enough to see), Roger Waters was asked what it was like to play with Gilmour again after such a stormy period. "It's like sleeping with your ex-wife" he answered. I can't help thinking that John would have responded in a similar way, perhaps with even a little more wryness, in regard to playing with his former bandmates. Maybe he would have played at Live Aid or Live Eight with Macca, but I somehow doubt it.
I think that he would have taken a similar path to another of my absolute heroes, Peter Gabriel. Peter's creativity goes from strength to strength. He is bold in his writing and embraces new music and technology like no other. But his social impact on our World has also been profound. He knows how to use his influence for the good of the Planet. Just go to www.witness.org or www.theelders.org to see what I mean. It's my bet that John would have done the same; kept on creating music of the moment, but spending a greater volume of time helping mankind and the environment, probably in a low-key way, much like Gabriel.
Lennon was about connecting with people, musically and as fellow humans.
There have been far too many wars since his passing, along with tragic environmental disasters as we tip the environmental balance of our own planet. Would he have sat by? No way. He may not have been leading street protests, but I think he would be encouraging them by bringing people together. And just how would he have dealt with George Bush? You think he would have sat back?
In the music space, what would he have thought about file sharing / music piracy (depending on which side of the fence you sit)? I can't see him standing in court next to Lars Ulrich and pals. But he would have made a case for more access to music for more people, supported new artists of all kinds in the age of MySpace and have probably given the major labels a bashing for their defensive strategies to music democratization.
And finally, imagine him here now in the age of social media. Brittney Spears has a staggering 6,082,964 followers on Twitter.So just imagine how many John would have had. His dream was to unite the World as one. If he had had access to today's tools like Facebook and Twitter, he may just have been able to realize his dream.
We will always miss him and I for one wish he was here with us today.
Posts
