John Lennon and the Number Nine
Jason Todd
birth, 6.30 also adds up to nine, as to the letters of Wednesday, the
day of his birth.
Several of his songs reflected his interest in his favourite number:
'No. 9 Dream', 'Revolution No. 9' and 'One After 909,' the latter
being written at 9 Newcastle Road, Liverpool, his grandfather's house
where he was reared in his early years (Newcastle has nine letters, as
does Liverpool).
As John was to say, "I lived in 9 Newcastle Road, I was born on the
9th October. it's just a number that follows me around, but,
numerologically, apparently I am number six or three or something, but
it's all part of nine."
Numerous events in his life took place on the 9th:
* The Beatles played at the Cavern Club for the first time on
February 9
* Brian Epstein saw the Beatles for the first time on November 9
* The Beatles played in the south of England for the first time on
December 9
* The Beatles EMI contract was confirmed on May 9
* The Beatles made their Ed Sullivan Show debut on February 9
* John appeared solo on Peter Cook and Dudley Moore's 'Not
Only...But Also' TV show on January 9
* John first met Yoko Ono on November 9
* John and Yoko's son Sean was born on October 9
* "John Ono Lennon" and "Yoko Ono Lennon" have nine letter O's
between them.
Combinations of numbers that also added to 9 also intrigued him. He
traveled on the No. 72 bus to the art college. John and Yoko had an
apartment on West 72nd Street and their original Dakota Buildings
apartment was No 72. Other combinations that formed the number 9 and
which added to his obsession were 18, 27 and 126.
'No. 9 Dream' was a number John recorded in August 1974 for his 'Walls
and Bridges' album. It was written at the time of John's 'lost
weekend', a period of several months separation from Yoko in which he
lived with their former secretary May Pang. Some sources claim that
May Pang was the song's inspiration, and May can be heard singing
John's name in the chorus, yet other sources claim that it was a
message to Yoko during their separation and was composed on the 9th
day of the month in which he wrote it.
Incidentally, the cover of the 'Walls and Bridges' album features a
painting John did when he was only eleven, which features a footballer
with a large No.9 on his back.
When John was shot he was rushed to Roosevelt Hospital - on 9th Avenue
(Roosevelt also has nine letters, as does Manhattan, the district in
New York where he lived and died).and, although officially announced
dead at 11.15pm in New York on December 8, due to the time difference,
it was actually December 9 in Liverpool, the place of his birth.
Jason "jasontodd = NINE LETTERS!" Todd