"When I was five years old, my mother always told me happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down 'happy'. They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life." (John Lennon)

Who was the real John Lennon? We all know the music and the basic story, but this wildly passive aggressive kid from suburban Liverpool with a huge chip on his shoulder was an unlikely model for the international pop icon to come. He first started bashing out banjo chords on an old guitar, without even the requisite number of strings as a teen. Young John was very close to his mother and auntie, loved cats, attended church services, did his schoolwork, and excelled at poetry and drawing, but he had something else, too - a wild uninhibited love of American rock 'n' roll.

In this one-of-a-kind audio treasure by the world’s acknowledged foremost prolific Beatles biographer Geoffrey Giuliano, the real John Lennon is laid bare and a deeper understanding of his magnetic personality and timeless music emerges. Here is the perfect audio treasure for every committed Lennon fan, pop historian, casual listener, student of 1960s art and culture, curious commuter, as well as all school and university systems. Ladies and gentlemen, meet the real John Lennon!