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Jake Brennan
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Jake Brennan
Looking for a new way to grow your business? With TikTok for business, anything is possible. If you've ever thought about advertising on TikTok, now's the time to do it. You can drive more customers to your website, sell products right in the app, and you can even use TikTok's creative tools to easily make content and find creators to help sell your products for you. Find new customers today, just open your browser, type in get started.TikTok.com tiktokads and grow your business fast. Disgraceland is a production of Double Elvis. John Lennon. His state of mind in the 1970s and the circumstances surrounding his death are so complex that two episodes are needed to properly tell this story. If you're just getting hip to this now, I suggest you hit pause and go back to Disgraceland, episode 13, or part one of the John Lennon Story, where we discuss the voices in Mark David Chapman's head, his obsession with Lennon's rival, the musician Todd Rundgren, John and Yoko's drug bust, and May Pang. In this episode, we finally get around to some great solo John Lennon music. Unlike the music played at the top of the show, that wasn't great music. That was a preset loop from my melotron called bolero clarinets low mk1. I played you that loop because I can't afford the rights to Midnight Train to Georgia by Gladys Knight and the Pips. And why would I play you that specific slice of Leaving Train cheese? Could I afford it? Because that was the number one song in America on October 31, 1973. And that was the day that John Lennon found himself hungover in Los Angeles, estranged from his wife and subconsciously trying to drink himself to death before an assassin would complete the job. Seven years later on this episode, a lost weekend leaving trains, a determined assassin and a dead beetle. I'm Jake Brennan and this is disgrace. In October 1973, John Lennon and his rambling concubine May Pang landed in Los Angeles and quickly took to the town. A squad of hard, partying rock and rollers was pulled together for John to pal around with, among them the notorious Keith Moon of the whole Rolling Stone sax player Bobby Keys, AKA the only man alive who could keep up with Keith Richards, songwriter Harry Nilsson, who at the moment looked as if he'd spent more time swimming laps in a pool of Brandy Alexanders than he did writing songs in a recording studio. And of course, the notorious record producer Phil Spector, who is lording over the scene in his capacity as producer of Lennon's newest project, an album of early 50s standards that had influenced John in his Teddy Boy days called Rock and Roll. The recording sessions were a violent drug and alcohol fueled mess that eventually ended with a gun wielding Phil Spector and his goons literally taking John Lennon hostage, blindfolding him and tying him up in one of Spector's bedrooms to allow Phil the time necessary to steal away the session's master recordings, which would then not surface for years to come. And when not recording, things weren't much different. Lennon drank himself into a stupor. Daily nights were spent either trashing the homes of celebrity friends who had generously allowed John and May to crash, or out on the town looking for trouble. Orgies with strangers, fights with loudmouthed fans, and drugged out late night jams with any number of the top tier pop stars in town. Most notably an impromptu cocaine field session with Stevie Wonder, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr. Accounts of the session have Paul playing drums and Ringo the drummer playing the coke spoon. The party in Los Angeles for John Lennon never stopped, but he longed for Yoko. When he wasn't busy drinking himself to death, he was on the phone begging Yoko to take him back. But she wasn't having it. New York City without John was just too much fun. She was putting together new music and was eager to let John know that her new guitar player, David Spinoza was an ace in the studio and in the sack. And that she'd been properly shagged by the axeman in a way that John hadn't been able to manage in years. John couldn't take it. He dove into the deep end of the Brandy Alexander pool with Harry Nilsson and the two took to the town with May in tow. The destination was Doug Weston's famous Troubadour nightclub, where on this evening a celeb filled crowd was taking in the Smothers Brothers triumphant return to the stage. So naturally, John entered the crowd with a Kotex sanitary napkin stuck to his forehead and made a spectacle of himself. Someone in the crowd yelled out where's Yoko? And John replied, sucking Ringo's cock. The three were quickly ushered into the VIP section where a group of another annoyed celebrities, including Pam Greer and Peter Lawford, did their best to ignore them. Orders were placed for triple milkshakes AKA Brandy Alexander's with three times the cognac. And when they arrived, John shot his down in one gulp, looked up at Peter Lawford who was glancing down at him with that uppity faux Kennedy stare. And John grabbed Lawford's drink out of his hand and downed that in a single gulp. And then he ordered another round. And when the Smothers Brothers began their act, John and Harry started singing their own competing tune from the VIP section, loud like drunken sailors from the Liverpool docks. And Lauffer told John to cool it. John's response, Fuck you, I'm John Lennon. He screamed out to no one and everyone. @ the same time, the crowd started booing Lennon. The Smothers Brothers soldiered on. Lennon, a natural heckler, yelled to the the stage, hey, Smothers Brothers a cow. A waitress was dispatched to try and get hold of the situation, and when she did, Lennon asked her, do you know who I am? And she replied, some asshole with a cex on his head. That sealed it. Lennon and Nilsen erupted in song again. More bruise from the crowd, more profanity from Lennon. Club security descended and grabbed hold of John to escort him out, and he resisted and started swinging his fists blindly. One of them caught Smothers Brothers manager Ken Fitz in the chin and Peter Lawford, who, having made his bones and drunken celebrity melees like this with his BFF Frank Sinatra and brother in law Teddy Kennedy, knew exactly what to do. Grab the little bastard by the neck and get him the hell out of there fast. So that's what happened. Lawford and a group of club security and waitstaff grabbed Lennon and pulled him kicking and screaming through the pissed off crowd, who rained punches down on the ex Beetle as he was dragged past them and eventually thrown out onto Santa Monica Boulevard, where he continued to blindly and violently lash out at anyone who came near him. Eventually, John, Harry and May found their way into the back of their limousine and took off for the Rainbow Bar and Grill, where upon entering the now iconic LA hotspot, John Lennon, the ex Beatle, Mr. Goo Goo Gee, the counterculture voice of a generation, Mr. Give Peace a Chance, drunkenly and violently stumbled into none other than Todd Rundgren. And Rundgren was eager to connect with his hero. But Lennon, true to form that night, rudely blew him off. Todd Rundgren, dismayed, watched John Lennon harass the waitstaff in between sips of his Brandy Alexander's until he eventually slouched into his booth and passed out. Rundgren couldn't believe his eyes. The John Lennon he was watching was no rock and roll deity. He wasn't even a working class hero. He was thick and ordinary. What a.
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Jake Brennan
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Jake Brennan
Is. The sun broke above Central park west and shone brightly into the kitchen window of the Ono Lennon home in Manhattan's Dakota Apartments. John was up early making breakfast for his five year old son, Sean. Mornings with Sean were sacred. Afternoons were a different story, while Sean was being tended to by his governess and the Ono Lenin fortune was being tended to by Yoko in her office. Downstairs, John locked himself in his bedroom with his cats and he watched television, smoked tie stick, tried not to snort heroin, chain smoked cigarettes. He binged on sweets and obsessed over his weight. He read his horoscope, ignored Paul McCartney's calls and masturbated out of boredom, usually to the thought of journalist Barbara Walters. Or if he was feeling nostalgic to his old flame, the young May Pang. Or if it was a Wednesday, his masseuse Kimmy would come by and lay one of her patented two minute house call handjobs on him. But today wasn't a Wednesday, and it wasn't yet afternoon either. John and Sean sat at their kitchen counter eating, goofing off and listening to the radio, which almost always played muzak or classical, never pop. But this morning was different. One of the servants had left the dial tuned to WLIR the night before. So when John flipped on the radio in the morning, what he heard had him shook, rattled and rolling inside with jealousy. The hell was this? Fucking Springsteen? This little bridge? And Tunnel Rat was beating Lennon at his own game. Heavy hearted romantic cynicism dressed up as pop. Lennon's Double Fantasy, his first record of real creative consequence since the Beatles, was an earnest heart on his sleeve ode to family and wholesomeness. Initial reviews were mixed and its first single, Just Like Starting over, was stalled in the charts at number eight. And here comes Jersey's own wannabe Zimmerman barreling up the charts with his excellent single Hungry Heart from the deeply rooted double album the River. John was second guessing himself. He thought that maybe he shouldn't have made Double Fantasy the sugary concept album that it was. Or shit, maybe he shouldn't even have included Yoko songs. It was like pulling teeth from a pit bull trying to get her to sing in key. Anyway, he left Sean to his cereal, picked up the phone and dialed up his producer, Jack Douglas. Have you heard this? He held the phone to the kitchen radio's speaker. It's incredible, Jack. What am I doing dicking around with songs about milk and honey? It's 1980, Jack, and we're going to LA. Book a studio. We're gonna make a real record. A real John Lennon record. Call the guys in Cheap Trick, I'll call Ringo, I got a great song for him. Nobody told me There'll be days like these. And Jack, we're gonna re record Strawberry Fields, you hear me? We're gonna re record Strawberry Fields the way that it was meant to be recorded. John slammed the phone down, looked at Sean, took his peace fingers to the insides of his outer lips and pulled his mouth apart wide like a big fish while crossing his eyes as Sean laughed so hard milk spurted out of his nose. We'll be right back after.
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Jake Brennan
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Jake Brennan
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Jake Brennan
Details. John Lennon eyed the stack of morning papers and magazines on the chair in the corner of his kitchen. Ah, it's here, he thought to himself. He pushed aside the New York Times and the National Enquirer and pulled up the latest edition of Esquire magazine. In it, a hit job that he knew was coming an article entitled John Lennon, where are you? In which the frustrated writer, unable to corner John for an interview during his recent House dad years, used public record information to piece together a picture of John's life in the latter half of the 70s, and the result was a scorching article detailing the Ono Lennon $150 million largess and an unfair depiction of John as a middle aged businessman more concerned with tax loopholes for his real estate holdings than he was with peace and Love or making music. And John really didn't care. After all, it was Yoko who took care of the business. The article at least made it seem like he wore the pants in the family. But someone else did care. 5,000 miles away, Mark David Chapman read the same article and burned with rage. The article confirmed everything he already suspected of his former hero, John Lennon. That he was a fraud, a phony. It's easy to imagine. No possessions. Yeah, no Jocko Ono. It's easy for you. You have everything. I have nothing. I'm a nobody. I mean nothing. Yet I'm the one who really cares, giving all my clothes to charity. I'm the one who's living an authentic life, not like the phonies. I'm not the fucking hypocrite here, man. The voices in Mark's head started to gather. The phony must die, said the Catcher in the Rye. Mark felt himself moving finally with a purpose. It was time he bought a one way plane ticket to New York City and packed light. Last night, the wife said, poor boy, when you're dead, you don't take nothing with you but your soul. Think where did you put those hollow points? The phony must die, said the Catcher in the Rye. And on the plane, Chapman read and re read the Catcher in the Rye, J.D. salinger's classic tale of teenage angst and alienation. It was the only thing that comforted Mark these days. In his mind, the book was hardwired to the idea of murdering John Lennon. And just like the book's author, J.D. salinger, Mark David Chapman would call out the phonies of the world. But he'd do it with a bullet. And in his mind, he thought he'd bring attention to the book that spoke so deeply to him and thus make the world a little better, of a place, a little less phony, a little easier to take. It was one of the rare thoughts that calmed him and quieted his internal strife. The gnawing notion that he was a loser, a nobody. And killing the world's biggest phony would make him a hero. It would make him a somebody. And it would provide an escape from this hellish world. Once Lennon was dead, Chapman would be a hero. And he believed because of this. He would literally be sucked into the pages of the Catcher in the Rye and a new chapter would be written about him. Chapter 27. His problems would be over. He would no longer be Mark David Chapman, the loser, the overweight nerd who couldn't get a real job, who couldn't get laid even by his own wife, who couldn't even properly kill himself. Killing Lennon meant killing Chapman. Mark David Chapman would cease to exist. He would finally become Holden Caulfield, or so went the voices in his head. The phony must die, said the Catcher in the Rye. After arriving in New York City, Mark David Chapman eventually took his place outside the Dakota Apartment apartments at West 72nd street and Central park west, alongside the regular rabble of London autograph. Seekers. Clad in a black trench coat and a red scarf, clinging to a sealed copy of Double Fantasy under his arm and a dog eared copy of the Catcher in the Rye in his one hand. Happiness warmed his other hand from the touch of his gun, a snub nose.38 in his pocket. Bang. Bang. Shoot. Shoot. At 5pm John and Yoko exited the Dakota for their waiting Limo. The sidewalk lit up with excitement. The voices in Mark's head exploded. He was paralyzed. Here was his moment. He prayed to Satan to give him the strength to go through with what he came there for. But the sight of the John Lennon approaching diminished him for a moment anyway. To a teenage Beetlemania fanboy, Chapman silently held the copy of Double Fantasy out in front of John. And John grabbed it without making eye contact and signed John Lennon 1980 on its cover. He then looked up at the fat faced fan and with a smile handed him the album and said, here. Is this what you want? Chapman had no words, so Lennon bounded away into the limo and took off for a recording session with Yoko. Mark was beside himself with excitement. For a moment the thought of killing Lennon was completely gone. John Lennon had spoken to him. John Lennon had asked him Mark David Chapman, a question. He felt for a second anyway that he was somebody. But the feeling quickly evaporated. The voices in his head were too strong. And the phony must die, said the Catcher in the Ride. And Mark prayed to God to give him the strength to not do what he had come to New York to do. And then again he prayed to Satan to give him the strength to do what he had come to New York to do. And the voices grew louder. Mark settled in outside the Dakota and played the waiting game. He knew John would be back sooner or later, and this time that's when Holden would make his mark. At 10:50pm on December 8, 1980, John Lennon's limo pulled up outside the Dakota. Yoko hopped out first as she passed Mark David Chapman. He gave her an innocent hello, and Lennon gave him a suspect look, one that said, who are you, you big fat greasy meatball? And why are you still hanging around outside my house? Don't you have a life, fucking loser? And the voices came to life, big, bold, loud inside Mark's head. The phony must die, said the Catcher in the Rye. The phony must die, said the Catcher in the Rye. The phony must die, said the Catcher in the Rye. The phony must die, said the Catcher in the Rye. And as John Lennon passed by and headed under the Dakota's archway, the coward Mark David Chapman, in a fury, clumsily crouched into a combat stance and whipped the stub nosed.38 out of his pocket. He took aim with two hands at John's back and squeezed off five shots and rattled rapid succession. When the first two bullets hit John's back, the force of them swung him around toward his assassin and the next two pierced his shoulder and flung him backward into the door of the Dakota's outdoor security station, where he turned around again and staggered helplessly toward a shocked security guard, collapsed and began to bleed out. Police arrived quickly, and it was immediately clear how grave the wounds were. So the two uniforms hoisted Lennon onto their shoulders, carried him out onto the sidewalk, then to the curb, and crammed him into a squad car taking off for nearby Roosevelt Hospital. Once in the car, they realized he was dying in their backseat, and one uniform asked the soon to be martyr, do you know who you are? By the time they arrived at the hospital, he'd lost 80% of his blood. John Lennon died just before midnight. He didn't put up much of a fight. After shooting John Lennon in the back, the coward Mark David Chapman simply sat on the sidewalk and took in the developing chaos around him. He fingered his copy of the Catcher in the Rye and waited to be transported into the pages of the book. And when that, of course, didn't happen, he simply sat calmly, waiting for the police to take him away. The voices were all gone now, or at least quieted for the moment. When the police brought him in and started to process him, the heat of the packed 20th Precinct station house on Manhattan's Upper West Side began to get to Mark. He was allowed to take off his jacket and sweater. And so he did. And he sat awaiting his uncertain future, handcuffed to a desk, sweating in his greasy dungarees and too tight food stained Todd Rundgren, Hermit of Mink Hollow promo T shirt, still very much the fat, pathetic loser that he was before he senselessly shot and killed John Lennon. But by murdering John Lennon, Chapman had accomplished one of his objectives. He'd managed to claim an identity for himself. He may have still been a fat and pathetic loser, but he was forever the fat, pathetic loser who killed John Lennon. The irony, of course, is that he killed John Lennon at the exact point in time when Lennon himself was starting to finally reclaim his own identity and settle into his 40s. He'd become less reclusive, less dependent on Yoko, and after a decade of bad behavior, missed creative opportunities, excess and paranoia. John Lennon was quite literally starting over and downright buoyant with the thought of what the 80s might bring. By 1980, John Lennon had locked into a creative voice that suited his authentic self. He'd managed to find some balance between being a family man and an international pop star who knew what the future held for him and Yoko. All he knew was that his love for his son Sean was deep, true, inspiring, and helped him focus. It put everything in perspective, who he was as a man, an artist. It even helped him refocus the love he had for his oldest and sometimes estranged son, Julian, from his previous marriage to Cynthia. And so there were more records to make. Double Fantasy proved to him that he still had it. He was inspired, confident. Running and hiding was no longer an option. No more running off for lost weekends in Hollywood. No more lost years running away to hide out in the Dakota. Running, hiding and getting lost were no longer tenable lines of defense for John because the pressure of constantly running away from himself had taken its toll. John ran from the game because he knew he wasn't good at playing it. The game where celebrities let the public's perception of them define them and win the day no matter what. No, John Lennon couldn't truck with that. He needed to tell people exactly what he was feeling at that moment, no matter how much it may have contradicted his prior actions or statements, hypocrisy be damned. Authenticity, truth in the moment. It was everything. And to many, before he was martyred anyway, this was confusing. It certainly was to Mark David Chapman, who interpreted all of John's conflicting behavior as being disingenuous or fake. It's a simple interpretation. It's the interpretation of an adolescent, an interpretation that an angsty teenager might have. An angsty teenager like Holden Caulfield from the Catcher in the Rye. The phony must die, said the Catcher in the Rye. But when John Lennon and Mark David Chapman finally ran into each other, for John, there was no need to run anymore. No need to run from the press. No need to run from from his own celebrity. He'd found himself. He knew who he was. He was John Lennon, the Beatle, the raconteur, the revolutionary, the husband, the father. And he was dead. I'm Jake Brennan and this is Disgrace. Disgraceland was created by yours truly and is produced in partnership with Double Elvis. Credits for this episode can be found on the show notes page@gracelandpod.com if you're listening as a Disgraceland All Access member, thank you for supporting the show. We really appreciate it. And if not, you can become a member right now by going to Disgracelandpod.com members membership members can listen to every episode of Disgraceland ad free. Plus you'll get one brand new exclusive episode every month, weekly unscripted bonus episodes, special audio collections, and early access to merchandise and events. Visit disgracelandpod.com membership for details, rate and review the show and follow us on Instagram, Tick Tock, Twitter and Facebook at disgracelandpod and on YouTube@YouTube YouTube.com disgracelandpod Rocka Rolla He's a bad, bad man. If you're the purchasing manager at a manufacturing plant, you know having a trusted partner makes all the difference. That's why hands down, you count on Grainger for auto reordering. With on time restocks, your team will have the cut resistant gloves that they need at the start of their shift and you can end your day knowing they've got safety well in hand. Call 1-800-GRAINGER clickgrainger.com or just stop by Granger for the ones who get it.
Podcast: DISGRACELAND
Host: Jake Brennan (Double Elvis Productions)
Episode Release: December 13, 2025
Theme: The chaos, decline, and final days of John Lennon, set against the obsessions and unraveling of his assassin, Mark David Chapman. An exploration of lost weekends, celebrity excess, the nature of authenticity, and murder as a warped quest for meaning.
This gripping, fully-scripted and sound-designed episode of DISGRACELAND delves into John Lennon’s turbulent years after The Beatles, tracing his reckless “lost weekend” in Los Angeles and his attempts at reinvention, before culminating in the tragic events leading to his murder by Mark David Chapman. Blending dark humor, pathos, and true crime energy, host Jake Brennan examines both the rock legend’s inner demons and the assassin’s descent, all the while interrogating the line between authenticity and perceived phoniness.
On Lennon’s Los Angeles excesses:
Lennon’s domestic ennui and spark:
Chapman’s descent:
Final tragedy and commentary:
| Time | Content/Quote | |----------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 02:05 | Lennon’s “Lost Weekend” begins in LA—partying, Spector, and dangerous excess. | | 06:25 | The infamous Troubadour club incident – public meltdown and ejection. | | 09:50 | Todd Rundgren’s disillusioned view of Lennon: “What a fraud.” | | 13:08 | Lennon’s withdrawn domestic life at the Dakota, uncertainty about his place in music. | | 15:13 | Lennon plans a new album, dissatisfied with “Double Fantasy.” | | 18:01 | Chapman’s trigger: the Esquire article and phony-fixation. | | 19:20 | Chapman’s mantra begins: “The phony must die, said the Catcher in the Rye.” | | 21:05 | Chapman fully identifies with Holden Caulfield and plans murder as transcendence (“Chapter 27”)| | 24:40 | Brief human connection as Lennon signs an autograph for Chapman | | 25:48 | The assassination: details of Lennon’s murder outside the Dakota. | | 29:50 | Brennan’s commentary on the tragic irony of Lennon’s murder at a turning point | | 30:55 | Final summary: “He was John Lennon...and he was dead.” |
This episode vividly reconstructs Lennon’s fractured final decade with energetic storytelling and disturbing, immersive detail. By drawing parallels between Lennon’s struggle for authenticity and Chapman’s warped quest for meaning, Brennan paints both a cautionary portrait of celebrity and a meditation on fame, obsession, and the adolescent urge to destroy what seems fake. As always, DISGRACELAND mixes theatricality with deep research, making music history both a spectacle and a tragedy.
For further details, sources, and credit, visit disgracelandpod.com.