Thursday 22 July 1971 | Tittenhurst Park, Ascot, Berkshire, England
On 22 July 1971, John Lennon and Yoko Ono gave a series of interviews to journalists at their home, Tittenhurst Park, in Ascot, Berkshire. The media representatives included writers from Disc and Music Echo, IT (International Times), and Time Out, as well as John Thompson, an Australian freelance journalist. The interviews took place at a pivotal moment in Lennon’s post-Beatles career, just weeks before his permanent move to New York City.
Tittenhurst Park: Lennon’s English Home
Tittenhurst Park was a Georgian mansion set in 72 acres of grounds in Sunninghill, near Ascot in Berkshire. John Lennon and Yoko Ono had purchased the property in August 1969 for £145,000, moving in shortly after the completion of the Abbey Road sessions. The estate became their primary English residence and the setting for some of the most significant creative and personal episodes of Lennon’s post-Beatles life.
It was at Tittenhurst Park that Lennon recorded much of the Imagine album in the spring of 1971, using the purpose-built Ascot Sound Studios that he had constructed in the grounds. The famous promotional film for Imagine — in which Lennon walks through the white rooms of the house to a grand piano — was also filmed there. By the time of the 22 July 1971 interviews, Tittenhurst Park was established as one of the most recognisable addresses in rock music.
The Interviews: Context and Publications
The journalists who visited Tittenhurst Park on 22 July 1971 represented a cross-section of the British music and counterculture press of the period:
- Disc and Music Echo — one of the leading British weekly music papers of the era, covering the pop and rock mainstream alongside more experimental artists. It had been a consistent chronicler of The Beatles throughout the 1960s.
- IT (International Times) — the underground newspaper founded in London in 1966, closely associated with the British counterculture, psychedelic music, and the alternative press. Lennon had been a supporter of IT since its early days.
- Time Out — the London listings and culture magazine, founded in 1968, which had rapidly become an essential guide to the capital’s arts and entertainment scene and a platform for longer-form cultural journalism.
- John Thompson — an Australian freelance journalist whose presence reflected the international interest in Lennon’s activities in the period following the Beatles’ dissolution.
The range of publications represented — from mainstream music press to underground counterculture to general arts journalism — reflects the breadth of Lennon’s audience and his deliberate engagement with multiple strands of the media landscape in 1971.
The Imagine Era: What Lennon Was Promoting
The 22 July 1971 interviews took place in the immediate run-up to the release of Imagine, Lennon’s second proper solo album, which would be released on 9 September 1971 in the United States and 11 October 1971 in the United Kingdom. The album — produced by Lennon, Yoko Ono, and Phil Spector at Ascot Sound Studios and Record Plant in New York — would become one of the best-selling and most critically acclaimed albums of the decade.
The title track, Imagine, had been recorded at Tittenhurst Park in May 1971 and would go on to become one of the most recognisable songs in popular music history. The album also contained ‘How Do You Sleep?’ — Lennon’s pointed and widely discussed attack on Paul McCartney, written in the context of the bitter personal and legal disputes that had followed the Beatles’ dissolution.
Lennon’s interviews in this period were characteristically wide-ranging: political, personal, and musical. He was an engaged and combative interviewee, willing to discuss the Beatles’ break-up, his relationship with Yoko Ono, his peace activism, and his views on the music industry with equal candour.
The Final Months at Tittenhurst Park
The 22 July 1971 interviews were among the last significant events at Tittenhurst Park during Lennon’s ownership. In August 1971, John and Yoko left England for New York City — a move that would prove permanent. Lennon never returned to live in England. He would spend the remainder of his life in New York, first at the St Regis Hotel and later at the Dakota building on Central Park West, where he was shot and killed on 8 December 1980.
Tittenhurst Park was sold to Ringo Starr in 1973. Ringo used the property as his home and recording base for several years, and the Ascot Sound Studios on the grounds were used for a number of his own recording projects. Ringo eventually sold the estate in 1988.
Key Facts: 22 July 1971
| Date | Thursday 22 July 1971 |
| Location | Tittenhurst Park, Ascot, Berkshire, England |
| Interviewees | John Lennon and Yoko Ono |
| Publications represented | Disc and Music Echo; IT (International Times); Time Out; John Thompson (Australian freelance) |
| Context | Pre-release promotion for Imagine (released September/October 1971); final months at Tittenhurst Park before permanent move to New York |
| Tittenhurst Park sold to | Ringo Starr, 1973 |
Tittenhurst Park, Sunninghill, Ascot, Berkshire — John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s home from 1969 to 1971, where the Imagine album was recorded and the 22 July 1971 interviews took place.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Tittenhurst Park?
Tittenhurst Park is a Georgian mansion set in 72 acres of grounds in Sunninghill, near Ascot in Berkshire, England. John Lennon and Yoko Ono purchased it in August 1969 for £145,000. It was sold to Ringo Starr in 1973 after Lennon permanently relocated to New York City.
Was the Imagine video filmed at Tittenhurst Park?
Yes. The famous promotional film for John Lennon’s Imagine — in which Lennon walks through the white rooms of a grand house to a piano — was filmed at Tittenhurst Park. The Imagine album itself was also partly recorded at Ascot Sound Studios, the purpose-built recording facility Lennon constructed in the grounds of the estate.
When did John Lennon leave England permanently?
John Lennon left England permanently in August 1971, travelling to New York City with Yoko Ono. He never returned to live in England. He spent the remainder of his life in New York, latterly at the Dakota building on Central Park West, where he was killed on 8 December 1980.
Who bought Tittenhurst Park from John Lennon?
Ringo Starr purchased Tittenhurst Park from John Lennon in 1973. Ringo used the property as his home and recording base for several years before selling it in 1988.
What was IT (International Times)?
IT, or International Times, was a British underground newspaper founded in London in 1966. It was closely associated with the counterculture, psychedelic music, and the alternative press of the late 1960s and early 1970s. John Lennon was a supporter of the publication from its early days.
When was the Imagine album released?
John Lennon’s Imagine album was released on 9 September 1971 in the United States and 11 October 1971 in the United Kingdom. It was recorded at Ascot Sound Studios at Tittenhurst Park and at Record Plant in New York, produced by Lennon, Yoko Ono, and Phil Spector.
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