Yoko Ono Says Being a Beatle’s Wife is a ‘Difficult’ Life
As part of Yoko Ono's UK press blitz for her efforts as curator of the 2013 Meltdown Festival in London, the 80-year-old artist/activist acknowledged the pressures inherent in her marriage to the late John Lennon, describing being married to a Beatle as "the most difficult thing to be."
During an appearance on BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour, she explained, "That's why I have so much respect and love for the other Beatles' wives. I think it's more difficult than being a politician's wife, because it's endless. We have a position that is endless."
While Ono acknowledged that her career suffered as a result of the number of individuals who disapproved of her relationship with Lennon, she nonetheless described it as an interesting experience. "I felt that our love was so strong and so important for us that I shouldn't worry about if it was going to sacrifice my work or not," she said. "I felt that it was just continuing, but in a very slow way. My work was still going on as a partnership with John."
Garvey also brought up Paul McCartney's 2012 interview with David Frost, where McCartney finally stated unequivocally for the record that "Yoko Ono didn't end the Beatles."
"He was very sweet to say that, and he probably needed closure to say that," Ono said of McCartney's remarks. "That's why he couldn't say that until now. He knew me -- we knew each other for 30, 40 years or something -- but there was no way to say anything like that because people just liked the idea that we were fighting like crazy in a boxing ring."
Ono's curation of the Meltdown Festival begins on June 14 and runs through June 23. In addition to the Yoko Ono Plastic Ono Band, other performers on the bill include Iggy & The Stooges, Patti Smith, Marianne Faithfull and Bill Frisel, Boy George, Thurston Moore, Siouxsie Sioux, Deerhoof, and Cibo Matto.