JOHN´S INTERVIEW IN 1980 - VIDEO

On October 10, 1980, Los Angeles Times music critic Robert Hilburn interviewed John in the Hit Factory Studios where John and Yoko Ono were recording and mixing Double Fantasy. At some point that evening, John's personal assistant, Fred Seaman, had set up on the console in front of Hilburn and Lennon a new RCA video camera and began filming. It is the only video interview of John in 1980. Intentionally or otherwise, John and Yoko only did radio interviews in promotion of the album by the time of his death.

The quality of the video -remember this is 1980- is poor. One can barely make out the images of Hilburn and John. The sound, however, is pretty good. Good, that is, with the exception of the fact that album co-producer Jack Douglas is playing an excerpt from Star Wars at an incredibly loud volume, splicing the audio from a laser fight into Ono's Beautiful Boys. Unfortunately, during many periods of the interview, John and Hilburn are inaudible because of the sound.

Seaman, along with Toshihiro Hamaya, were John's closest assistants in the last two years of his life. Seaman had access to just about every facet of Lennon's life, including writings, songs, videos and photos. On the night of John's murder, Seaman went to the Dakota and stole many items, including Lennon's diaries, some stereo equipment and photos. When he was arrested later, he claimed that he was acting on John's orders to him to make sure that Julian Lennon receive the diaries. Since Seaman couldn't explain why the stereo equipment disappeared [presumably, Julian had his own], the judge didn't buy it and convicted him. He only received probation, and by that time had already reproduced many of the photos, diaries and videos.

The October 10, 1980 video is one of the items that Seaman either took from the Dakota the night of John's murder, or had already copied earlier for some reason.