A new book claims to reveal a side of Beatles front man John Lennon never before known to the public — bulimia.
While eating disorders among men are not highly publicized, they are very real. Author of “BackStage Pass VIP” Debra Sharon Davis writes that Lennon, who died in 1980, was constantly hungry, but would make himself vomit after meals to avoid feeling full, according to RadarOnline. Davis discusses how an eating disorder was not necessarily common place among rock star musicians.
“Lennon was surrounded by talented musicians, but many had drinking and drug problems – so it was hard for them to see Lennon’s purging behavior as extraordinary,” Davis writes. “One must also realize that at that time the public and the media were unaware of bulimia as an addiction and health risk – which made it all the more frightening for John Lennon. He literally had no point-of-reference on what he was experiencing.”
The book also includes an interview with late singer/songwriter Harry Nilsson, a close friend of Lennon. He told Davis back in the 1980’s that Lennon saw his eating disorder as a sign of weakness.
“John and I were having a heart-to-heart. Then all of a sudden John went off about how powerful men had ravenous appetites and wanted to swallow the world whole,” Nilsson said. “And he thought that was why he had this horrible problem — being hungry all the time and overeating. He said he often fantasized about large quantities of ‘forbidden’ foods.’ He said food was ‘sacred’ to him and it frightened him. He saw it as ‘a great weakness’ and he referred to it as ‘a lack of discipline.'”
Davis details Lennon’s secret food fetishes, including “huge bowls of Rice Krispies with large scoops of ice cream on top.”
“He enjoyed putting ice cream on everything when he could. There were also numerous bowls of snacks throughout his grand estate, Tittenhurst Park, near Ascot when he lived in England in the late 1960s and early 1970s,” Davis writes.
The book also calls George Harrison a “purveyor of capitalism” and claims Mick Jagger is a conservative who desperately seeks his mother’s approval.
