The Pool; making of John Lennon

Introduction

John Lennon was one of the most radical and controversial musical icons of the 1960s: even after his death over 30 years ago he  still remains celebrated around the world as a figure of musical genius, and one of deep contradictions. Despite his global fame, John’s ‘real identity’ has been notoriously difficult to pin down, but  a major, and accepted, aspect of his challenging and confrontational attitude has been cited within his early years in his home town of Liverpool. John’s life began, and was tragically cut short, in port cities – Liverpool and New York – each facing each other across the Atlantic Ocean; each on the edge of their own countries. Ports whose histories were defined by the contradictory cultural norms of their home country: Edgy Cities, Sister Cities, held in communion and bonded through an intertwining cultural conduit set out by a Trans-Atlantic trade route and an Irish Diaspora.