A Christmas Vision
The myopic young John Lennon refused to wear spectacles in public.
What would the teenage John Lennon have envied most about our modern technology? I suspect his first trip in a time machine have been to a laser eye surgery clinic.
Many adolescents are reluctant spectacle wearers, for obvious reasons. Characteristically, Lennon took this to an extreme. Though there were contact lens on the market, these were too expensive, uncomfortable and fiddly to be a practical solution.
That condemned him to glasses. These rarely ‘left his pocket, even though without them he could barely see a thing.’ (Mark Lewisohn, Tune In).
In 1967 his attitude would soften when he received a pair of National Health Service ‘granny-style glasses’ for his role in How I Won the War.
These would become a fashion item. But for a teddy boy in late 1950s Liverpool? Not so much
Lennon’s myopia helped create an aggressive aura about him, as he struggled to bring the world into focus. Even before they met, Paul had been aware of ‘a Ted with an intimidating stare’ he would occasionally see around town. And Paul has often told the story of John’s ‘Christmas vision’.
In their early friendship, the two young men would often write songs together in the tiny ‘front parlour’ of the McCartney home. They would sit opposite each other by the fireplace in what Paul later called ‘eyeball to eyeball’ sessions. During these John would wear his glasses — a sign of his trust in Paul and (literal) focus on the task in hand.
In December 1958, one of these sessions went on past midnight. Lennon then walked out into the bleak midwinter night, his glasses safely tucked back in his pocket.
The next day John returned to the house, ashen faced. He’d had a very strange experience on his journey home.
“I was walking down Mather Avenue when I saw some mad people.”
“What do you mean?”
“They were sitting in their front porch playing cards at one o’clock in the bloody morning.”
“Really? Show me where!”
The two young men went back to investigate. As they approached the house, John pointed accusingly. “This is it,” he said. “See! They’re still there!”
Paul did see. He doubled up with laughter. “It’s a nativity scene!” he said.
Variants of this story told is several Paul McCartney interviews. Background information from The Beatles Tune In by Mark Lewisohn
