McCartney Times

WORCESTER — On Dec. 8, 1980, millions of people were watching ABC’s “Monday Night Football” when Howard Cosell broke the news that John Lennon was shot and killed.At the time, Dan Hartwell was working for his brother’s band, the Lynch Mob, at Ralph’s Chadwick Square Diner.“I was upstairs collecting money at the door at Ralph’s. Then I heard the music stop and looked at my brother, Doug, and Pat Lynch, the singer. They were all crying and hugging each other for a good five minutes,” Hartwell recalled. “And then, they made the announcement that John Lennon just got shot and was dead. Everyone at Ralph’s started bawling their eyes out. And it was a good 15 minutes before people got their act together.”In his new book, “Saint John Lennon,” Hartwell imagines Lennon is alive through a wrinkle in time and has returned to Earth on Dec. 8, 2020, exactly 40 years to the day that he was murdered.The fallen Beatle has no recollection of what happened, and he’s 40 years old, the age he was when he died, and he pops up in front of the Dakota in New York City, the very spot where he was gunned down.Hartwell, who will be signing copies of “Saint John Lennon,” co-written with Roseanne Bottone, as part of “Imagine Christmas” Dec. 16 at That’s Entertainment, 244 Park Ave. (which will also feature Christmas music with Cara Brindisi from 1 to 3 p.m.), said the idea for the book came to him in a dream he had on the beach.“In the dream, John Lennon walked up to me and said (in a cockney accent), ‘Hello, mate. What’s that?’ and he pointed at my iPhone,” Hartwell said. “And I explained to him what an iPhone was and I had a nice conversation on technology today and a little on music and I woke up.”If you know Hartwell at all or have partaken in one of his entrepreneurial rock ‘n’ roll excursions and/or exploits, bringing John Lennon back from the dead (and not being a trendy zombie) is not the craziest or most creative things he’s ever dreamed up.Growing up near Indian Lake and graduating from West Boylston High School, Hartwell was a promoter and talent booker for Ralph’s, Sir Morgan’s Cove (now The Cove Music Hall) and E.M. Loew’s Plymouth Theatre (now the Palladium) in the ’80s, as well as for now-gone venues such as the Metro, the Club, Blue Parrot, McGillicuddy’s, the Music Box and the Commercial Street Concert Club and Cafe.An active participant in the Central Massachusetts rock ‘n’ roll club scene in the ’80s, Hartwell played in his share of bands, including Cracked Actor (which opened for a sold-out Billy Idol show at E.M. Loew’s) and the Noisy Boyz (which featured current Goo Goo Dolls drummer Craig Macintyre), as well as Danimal and the Wild, Life with Danimal and Danimal’s Animals.A rock mogul of sorts, Hartwell produced the popular Locobazooka music festival for more than a dozen years that featured and/or launched many rock ‘n’ roll heavyweights, including Godsmack, Staind, Limp Bizkit, Kid Rock, System of a Down and Slipknot, before moving it outside of Central Mass.Currently, Hartwell’s production company, United We Rock, produces and promotes live concert events in Southern Florida and beyond.Described as a “controversial, time-travel, action-adventure” “Saint John Lennon” deals with John Lennon catching up with the world after a 40-year absence and the world’s reaction (especially the FBI and the CIA) to the Beatle’s return.“Lennon appears on ‘Real Time with Bill Maher’ and during that, Neil deGrasse Tyson comments on time travel,” Hartwell said. “And Lennon goes on Fox News with (Sean) Hannity. John Oliver does a commentary on Lennon’s return. John Lennon gets interviewed on “Megyn Kelly Today.”Two big “what ifs” that take place are the remaining Beatles answering Lorne Michaels’ invitation to perform on “Saturday Night Live” for $3,000 (nearly 45 years after the SNL producer made the original offer) and a Beatles reunion concert (featuring Paul, John, Ringo and George Harrison’s son Dhani Harrison) in front of 3 million people in the Arizona desert, along with special guests Julian and Sean Lennon.Other key scenes in the book include a very emotional meeting between Paul and John, a very funny reunion with Paul and Ringo, a worldwide bed-in and a series of coinciding concerts in several major cities in the world, and John and Yoko together again and dining with President Trump at the White House. And, yes, Lennon gives the commander in chief a piece of his mind on terrorism and the current state of affairs.“John never minced words,” Hartwell said. “And he wasn’t afraid to tackle the big issues, no matter who he was talking to and what venue he was in.”

Source: Former Worcester musician pens novel on John Lennon’s return