Kenwood: attic studio confusion - part 498.

The layout and exact location of John's attic studio have proved hard to pin down. However, that "new" photo of John tuning up prompted me to go back and have a look at the other attic photos - and I immediately spotted something which I had previously missed. I was assuming that the photo of John with his foot on the piano must have been taken in a side room, as there is a speaker there which doesn't match the other photos - but then none of the speaker photos actually match - see picture 1 above. This must mean the speakers were movable - and they do seem to be attached to some kind of non-static platform.


It suddenly became clear that elements of the "John with foot on piano" pic were also visible in the photos of John at the left hand side of the studio room - see picture 2 above; you can see the radiator, a detail on the left hand tape recorder, the right hand edge of the small electric keyboard, and part of the stool he's sitting on when playing the guitar. Therefore that's not a side room - it's just a wider perspective on the left hand studio wall.


What this means is it should now be possible to place the location of John's studio more precisely. Again, I got it wrong before - I thought the studio was where the loft storage is in the 2006 plan above. However, it can't be. Comparing the Norman H Johnson 1913 plan (see previous posts), the location of stairs and windows was unchanged between 1913 and 2006. So the window evident in the "foot on piano" pic above must be the south facing one, otherwise there would be a staircase in the middle of the studio wall. Thus, John's studio would have occupied the southern end of the attic, as in the amended 2006 plan above.


This, inevitably, led directly to another conundrum; namely - that being so, where are the west facing windows? The answer must be that John's studio was really quite small - I'd guess that the "tape recorder" wall, evident in these photos, is only, at most, about 14 feet long, and so it comes to a halt before the first window. There is also clearly a wall on the right hand side - as the slightly wider perspective in picture 4 above shows. Therefore, the position and layout of the room would have been as follows:


This would also leave space for the albums, singles, gold records and guitars which various people have noted as being part of the studio - namely, in the space to the left of the piano. It would also explain Pauline Lennon's comment that the loft space itself was used to house John's various cats and their offspring - this would correspond to the small loft storage space. The layout of the other attic rooms remains a mystery - but with this in hand, it is possible to take a stab at how the rest of it might have looked; something for a (much) later post, you'll be relieved to hear. So, is this the last word? Don't be silly...but based on these photos, and the plans, I can't see where else the studio could have been...until the next revision, that is.

Kenwood: attic upgrade.

I recently ordered a magazine with the tantalising front page announcement "John At Home In 1967 - Rare Pictures"; well, how could I resist? However, as I suspected, the rare pictures proved to be oft-seen photos from the June '67 Bryce session. This one, however, is the pick of the pics; seen on these pages before in terrible quality, here it is well nigh perfect - and a genuinely rare shot to boot. On closer examination, some of the other photos do offer something new after all, being uncropped and therefore providing a slightly expanded perspective - I'll post these anon.

Kenwood: August, 1967.

Only a few photos from this day have surfaced, which is possibly a little odd as there were many taken. I have attempted to track down Frank Lawson who is in possession of quite a number, being one of those allowed in to meet "himself" (in Frank's case twice - see Keith Badman's excellent Beatles Off The Record for details) - but so far no banana. And then there is the bedspread photo, presumably taken to illustrate a sale on ebay, from which the above are drawn; below par but the best I could do, given my limited...ability. Only last night someone was saying on television here in Blighty that the Beatles did not give two shits for their fans (I paraphrase) - which is clearly nonsense. Mr Lawson's account of that day in early August 1967, in which fans were let in in small groups to have "items" autographed, and exchange a few words with le Grand Fromage, perched as he was outside the sunroom working on a Christmas card design for "charidee", is only one of at least several examples of the Fabs being much nicer than they needed to be. They paid for it - let them wreck it if they like. Or words to that effect.

Kenwood: then and now, part 1.

In the context of all this jibber-jabber, quite an "important" photo has surfaced - to wit, an image giving a clear view of the north-western end roof and rear of Kenwood, as they were before the enormous renovation of the mid-1990s. Thus we now have an illustration, albeit imperfect, of the original Tarrant-built garage - plus final proof that it was indeed demolished, and that therefore Kenwood now has no remaining connection with the "master builder" himself. The new garage is a much more substantial beast - indeed, it's the size of a small house in and of itself. Many thanks to blog reader Eric Nernie, who found the old photo in his archive and sent it in.

Kinfauns: circa August 1967 - more doll.

Sara from the Meet The Beatles For Real blog (link under Friends & Neighbours) has turned up these photos. Judging by hair/tache/apparel, I'd date them as summer 1967 - probably mid-August (though having said that, it could be earlier - George is wearing the same shirt he wore at the AYNIL session: See picture 3 above), and place them in the garden at Kinfauns (not literally). That's probably the "missing" AYNIL doll (dear me) there - though it's got a different outfit on. Pattie (if she was the person who made the doll in the first place) may well have produced several outfits for them at the same time. Thanks to Sara for these.

Kenwood & post-Kenwood: lithographs, doll, guitar.

November 8, 1968 - Cynthia is granted a divorce at the Royal Courts of Justice in London, and prepares to move out of Kenwood; November 19, 1968 - Ringo moves out of Sunny Heights, having purchased Brookfields from Peter Sellers; November 25, 1968 - John and Yoko move back into Kenwood for approximately a month; late December 1968 - John and Yoko move to Sunny Heights as Kenwood is sold to songwriter Bill Martin; August 11, 1969 - John and Yoko move to Tittenhurst Park; July 31, 1970 - Cynthia marries Roberto Bassanini.

There, in aperçu, is the end of the Lennon-era on St George's Hill. The first pic here shows the Bassanini-Lennons, presumably at Roberto's flat in Pembroke Gardens, London. The lithographs from the drawing room at Kenwood, part of a sizeable haul gathered by Cynthia and her mother as they moved out in November 1968, can be seen on the wall. Also, Julian has one of the three dolls from the AYNIL broadcast (and I must stop using that acronym), doubtless taken home by John as a gift for his son. Where these dolls came from I'm not sure, but I think they may have been made specially by Pattie and Jennie Boyd; one went to Julian, one to Mona Best (Pete Best's mother), whilst the remaining one could be anywhere. John also took his psychedelic acoustic, familiar due to attic and sunroom photos, from Kenwood to the All You Need Is Love session, and it can be seen on the floor above, or rather below. Thanks to Jeannette for the first photo.

Kenwood 1913: part 3.

The penultimate section of Theophilus A Allen's original 1913 plan for what was to become Kenwood - this time showing the 1st floor (2nd floor US). Again, it's interesting to note the coal burning fireplace in each room. The master bedroom in the Lennon-era consisted of a large bedroom, a dressing room, and an en-suite bathroom. If the guesswork about the position of this photo is correct (namely the right hand side of bedroom 2 on this plan), then it's possible that they knocked the wall between bedrooms 1 and 2 down, and filled in the fireplace and right hand entrance, thus making one big room. Many thanks to Chris Sileo for his renderings here of how that might have been. (Also note: The only bit left of that side when Joe Baiardi was there was the dressing room fireplace).

Kenwood: drawing room, 1965 part 2 - road crew.

Another splendidly candid shot, from the drawing room at Kenwood circa 1965. That's Alf Bicknell, the Beatles' chauffeur (as opposed to Les Anthony, John's personal driver) nearest the dining room door - and clearly having a whale of a time, too. Is that Neil Aspinall on the couch? Looks like it to me - which means this may have been taken by Mal Evans. Or not. As ever. Note (what is likely to be) Scotch and Coke on the table in front of John.
Speaking of intoxicants, Alf Bicknell, interestingly enough, in an interview not that long before his death, contradicted one of the great yarns of Beatles' lore - namely the "Dental Experience". Alf's version of events was a little more prosaic - to wit: He drove them to John Riley's place, waited for a couple of hours, whereupon they came out and informed him of the naughty dentist's actions...and then he drove them back to George's. Fin.
Thus no Pickwick Room (and Klaus Voormann does not remember them being there that night), no Ad-Lib, no George driving home at 18 mph, etc. etc., though this narrative does still leave room for submarine based antics. However, stacked up against the fact that Alf would have been the only one not tripping, and therefore possibly slightly better placed to recall veraciously, it must be said that John, Cynthia, George and Pattie all broadly agreed on the events of that evening in their various recollections - and their version is backed up by Ringo, who remembers them appearing at the Ad-Lib, and Riley's girlfriend Cyndy Bury, the only other person present at the dinner party itself. So it's yet another odd one. Which should be no big surprise by now. (And what does it matter?)
Great photo, though.

Kenwood: drawing room, 1965 part 1 - harp.

The actual harp lithograph, that used to actually hang in the actual drawing room at Kenwood, as sold at Christie's in August 1991, by the actual Cynthia Lennon.

Kenwood: piano.

As an addendum to Marijke's comments, it is now possible to analyse the sunroom piano, a source of some fascination round these parts, in a bit more detail. It's a pity that no decent photos of it are in circulation - though, of course, at least it still actually exists. The best look at the thing currently available comes, as we have seen, from the EPK for George's final album. As Marijke makes clear, the left hand panel represents John (Justice-Libra), and the right hand panel is for Cynthia (the Hermit-Virgo). It's hard to make out Cynthia's side due to the poor quality of the only available source, namely the Kenwood home movie from mid-June, 1968. However that does seem to be a lantern-wielding figure, above two Adam and Eve like individuals. The central panel represents the four seasons - though possibly not in the order I have them here. Again, it's difficult to see exactly what's on there, but I'm guessing autumn (fall) winds (notwithstanding that they could equally well belong to winter). In any case, this piano is an artefact nonpareil from the high summer of 1967 at Kenwood. And I'd still like to know how it ended up at George's.

Marijke Koger-Dunham: interview.

Marijke Koger, as she was then, was one quarter of the Fool; a good friend and associate of all the Beatles throughout 1967 and 1968, she spent time at Kenwood both socially, and in order to paint the piano that ended up in the sunroom (posts passim - and the above pic, of course). Marijke Koger-Dunham, as she is now, has very kindly agreed to answer some questions from me about that period, her time at Kenwood, and her association with John...so here we go.

KenwoodLennon: How did you meet John?

Marijke: Mal Evans, the Beatles' roadie, brought John and Paul over to our house in St. Stephens Gardens one evening. They blew their minds over the paintings, designs and particularly the painted wardrobe which was later used in the film "The Wonderwall", and that night sowed the seed for the Apple store and the beginning of a friendship. John and Paul later brought George and Ringo over.


KL: How many times (roughly) were you at Kenwood? What were your impressions of the place - did John give you the grand tour? Could you describe a typical get-together at Kenwood at that time? (Feel free to be circumspect, if necessary!)

Marijke: Several times, don't remember specifically. It was a big, rather somber house, accentuated by a figure in full armor on the staircase. The garden was large and nice though. John had an original gypsy wagon stationed there and one day, while we were playing ball with Julian in the garden, I suggested to John he paint his Phantom rolls that way. He thought it was a splendid idea and had it done by the same gypsies. That job has often been relegated as done by The Fool but this is not the case. We were free to roam the house, John not being the kind to give a guided tour. A typical get together consisted of having tea, a joint and conversation about music, art, recent events etc. Sometimes a side trip to visit Ringo or George.


KL: How long did it take to paint the piano? What was your daily routine at Kenwood during this time?

Marijke: Simon and I stayed at Kenwood for about a week to paint the piano and slept in a room that contained John's old school memorabilia. We'd get up around 8 AM and have breakfast with John in the den, prepared by the housekeeper, a very handsome middle aged lady, and went to work for the rest of the day. For meals special consideration was given to my vegetarianism. John was a gracious host.


KL: What was your design for the piano based upon? How did you approach doing it (ie was there a detailed plan)? Do you know how it ended up in George's possession? Did you do any other painting/work for John?

Marijke: Having a free hand to do whatever struck our fancy, I drew the design directly on to the white primered surface before applying color. The design was based on my interest in the Tarot symbolism and depicted the four seasons, John (Justice=Libra) and Cynthia's (the Hermit=Virgo) birthcards and the keys were painted in the specific colors assigned to the notes according to the Tarot: C=Red, C#-Db=Vermillion, D=Orange, D#-Eb=Chrome yellow, E=Yellow, F=Chartreuse, F#-Gb=Green, G=Turquoise, G#-Ab=Blue, A=Purple, B=Violet, B#-Ab=Magenta, B=Carmine.
I have no idea how it ended up with George.
I designed/made several costumes for John, (with my friend and co-Fool Josha) including the coat and shirt he wore during the "All you need is Love" broadcast and the multi-colored coat he wore in the film "Magical Mystery Tour". Of course he was also very instrumental in supporting all the painting and designing work done for Apple by way of the exterior and interior murals, clothes lines for men, women and children and posters of our paintings.
The slogan "A is for Apple" on the Apple poster was John's idea.


KL: You mentioned the All You Need Is Love broadcast; were you present at any other recording sessions with the Beatles? If so, can you remember for which songs?

Marijke: The "All you need is Love" broadcast was a wonderful event attended by many friends. I was also present at the "A Day in the Life" party at Abbey Road. There is some footage wherein I am dancing with sparkles. We were invited to many other regular sessions during the Sgt. Pepper recordings. During the making of the film "The Wonderwall" George took us in to record the Fool's original music (improvisations) for some tracks of that movie.


KL: Were the pictures taken in the sunroom of you, Simon and John taken at the same time as the ones of George and Ringo? What are your memories of that day? Do you remember when exactly (or even roughly) these photos were taken?

Marijke: Those pictures were taken during the period we painted the piano, there was an American lady who took the pictures and interviewed John for a magazine. Ringo and George were not there that day.


KL: Another theory of mine down the toilet! That means those photos must have been taken either late June or early July 1967. OK, moving on...can you remember any specific conversations with John?

Marijke: We were at Kenwood when the news came of Brian Epstein's death. John was stunned of course. We had some conversation about life and death and life after death at that time.


KL: Were you at the famous Sgt Pepper party at Brian Epstein's country house Kingsley Hill? What are your memories of that day if so?

Marijke: Yes, all four of the Fool were at that party. There were a lot of people and many banners proclaiming "Safe as Milk". This was to offset any bad thoughts people might get on their magic trip. By request of George I had to come to the rescue of Derek Taylor who was having a bad trip in spite of these precautions. There was a lot of dancing with flowers and hugging. Not much eating or drinking. It was a spiritual event.


KL: When was the last time you saw John?

Marijke: The last time I saw John was in Los Angeles (where I have lived since late 1968). It was at a party at the house (or should I say palace) of the owner of the Record Plant recording studio, Gary Kellgren around 1972/73. He was glad to see Simon and me but as the night wore on became very drunk. It was not a happy period in John's life.

KL: Could you bring us up to date with what you are doing these days?

Marijke: Much of the work I have done over the last 3 decades by way of murals, fashions, paintings/graphics etc. can be viewed on my website:
www.maryke.com
and many of my paintings are available, also as prints from:
www.artistrising.com/galleries/marijke.
I still paint canvases, graphics and an occasional instrument but physically can not do murals any longer as they involve a lot of ladder and scaffold climbing.
I live on a small ranch in Los Angeles with my husband (a musician: www.myspace.com/blackcatrockandroll as well as an attorney) and horses, who are my passion.

Fascinating stuff! Many thanks indeed to Marijke for these memories, and to Joe Baiardi for the latest caravan pic. I wonder what magazine that interview with the American lady would have been in...hmmm. (The road goes ever onwards...)

Kenwood: 1965 (& Manchester 1963) - nuff panda.

Another slight variation (it's all in the fingers, don't you know) of the familiar shot of John, somewhere in Kenwood in 1965, with panda. Plus the earliest sighting of the grate beast - 20 November 1963, backstage at the ABC Cinema, Manchester. (This was the show filmed by Pathe for their newsreel The Beatles Come To Town, which you will doubtless have seen). Presumably the panda was a gift from a fan, and quickly commandeered by John to be taken home for Julian. Thanks to Glenn Marteney for the first photo.

Kenwood: 1913 part 3.

Another section of the original plan, showing the roof (the more eagle-eyed among you may have been able to spot that). Evidently the front attic window was there from the start. Note too the stamp in the bottom right-hand corner - final proof that Kenwood is not a Tarrant house. The precise layout and look of the attic during the Lennon-era is another mystery; in contemporary interviews, John mentioned a room that was randomly painted in different colours - according to when his various pots of paint ran out. In 1966, the Beatles Book monthly reported this: "Anyone who has visited John's home will no doubt be impressed by his music room. It is situated at the top of the house, and its decor is a multi-coloured effort by John. Amplifiers, guitars, organ, piano, juke boxes - you name it he's got it. Everything is littered all over the place". Yet the June '67 music room photos don't show multi-coloured walls. Beatles chauffeur Alf Bicknell also lived with John at Kenwood for a while in 1966, occupying a "flat" in John's house - which must have been the attic rooms, other than the music room. Plans, I fear, are lost to history. UPDATE - as it turns out, that is more bollocks. See later Ken Partridge plan related posts...

Kenwood: December 1968 (& August 1967).

It is hard to say exactly where a lot of the December '68 shots were taken, beyond "somewhere in the grounds". However this photo, one of a number of similar variants, is pin-downable (if that is even a word); namely, directly outside the sunroom, looking towards the dining room. You can see those distinctive stripes (and the dining room window), also evident in the August '67 shots. (I wouldn't bet on it, of course, but that bit of Kenwood seems to have survived intact from 1913 to the present day, too).

Yet more Sunny Heights: February, 1967.

This one is new to me, and "triumvirate" was a stupid word to use in any case; so, John on or about the back porch at Sunny Heights. Thanks Bruno for another great photo.

Sunny Heights: 28 February, 1967.

Completing a triumvirate of Sunny Heights related shots, here is John plus lion looking archetypally other-worldly in February 1967, shortly before heading to studio 2 at EMI to begin work on Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds (assuming the above date is correct, that is). The military band tunic was later taken to New York, before being donated to the Salvation Army by John and Yoko in 1977. The man who collected it also managed to acquire it, with his manager's approval ("Jammy bas" to use the vernacular), and it has subsequently appeared at auction. Many thanks to Glenn Marteney for the Sunny pics. I'm afraid I've lost track of who sent one or two of the auction shots - but thanks whoever you are.

Sunny Heights: 1968 part 2 - in!

A splendid shot of Ringo inside Sunny Heights in 1968, getting on for the end of the White Album sessions, again judging by hair, not to mention ruffle. As can be seen: Ringo's lava lamp is of a different hue to John's. He has this photo on display on the left hand window-sill. He was known to enjoy an inflatable Pluto from time to time. And yes, the poodle is present and correct. (Are there any photos of Ringo inside Sunny Heights which don't feature either children or poodles?) Merci Bruno Dupont for sharing this one.

Sunny Heights: 1968 part 1 - oot!

Judging by the hair, this is circa White Album. Not a happy time, and not a particularly happy Ringo by the looks of things. John (when not telling them to "Sod Off" or sending Julian to tell them to "Sod Off"), Paul and even George (though as likely to dispense a lecture as an autograph)(and woe betide anyone who touched his tulips, messed with his marigolds, or bothered his errr...begonias) would sometimes open the door to fans and be fairly amenable. Ringo, though usually happy to send an autograph out (with peace and love), generally refused (presumably also with peace and love) to come to the door and indulge in jibber-jabber with the "fannage". (Apparently). Not in the case illustrated above, however, captured outside the front door of Sunny Heights. Many thanks to Joe Baiardi for these candid pics.

Kenwood: 1913 part 1.

On May 1st 1913, architect Theophilus A Allen submitted his plan for "Proposed House For Norman H Johnson Esq At St Georges Hills" to the Walton-on-Thames Urban Council for planning approval....and here, following a couple of months rummaging around various Home Counties archives, is the part depicting the ground floor area. What the plan shows is not only pre-Kenwood, but also pre-Brown House - the name eventually given to this inaugural incarnation.
The first thing you notice is how much smaller it was originally - the whole north-west section, which is what one pictures most readily when Kenwood comes up in everyday conversation (err...), simply didn't exist then: So no sunroom, no left-hand extension, and only one of those distinctive Hansel and Gretel windows. These days it's easy to forget that this is actually the back of the house - not a mistake you'd have made in 1913.
The next thing that is apparent is the way the ground floor has been divided up: On the one hand you have the servants' areas, namely the servants' hall, the kitchen, the pantry, the coal room (every room had a coal burning fireplace in those pre-central heating days), the scullery, the knives and boots room(!) and the fenced off yard. On the other hand there were the three grand rooms for the master of the house - the study, the drawing room and the dining room. And rarely the twain would meet. It's interesting that in the 50 or so years separating Norman H Johnson from John W Lennon, this type of segregation, as reflected in the room layout, had largely disappeared. Although John employed a housekeeper, a gardener and a chauffeur, none of them were live-in: The servants in Mr Johnson's time would have lived in the attic.
I've wasted yet another half hour of my life crudely altering one of Joe Baiardi's back yard pics from 2008 to give a rough idea of how this end of Kenwood might have been back then. Again, judging by the lack of windows on the plan, it would appear the back of the house was strictly functional, and somewhat inelegant - in marked contrast to the eccentric charm of the rest. Whatever, this is fascinating stuff, and I'll be posting the other portions of Mr Allen's work in due course.