April 23rd 1964 John Lennon Gives Short ‘In His Own Write’ Speech

On April 23rd 1964, John Lennon took a break in the filming of A Hard Day’s Night to attend the Foyles Literary Lunch, held in his honour at the Dorchester Hotel. John had just brought out his book, ‘In His Own Write’ which was a best seller.

John thought it is only a small casual affair, and had been clubbing at the Ad Lib with Cynthia the night before, only to wake up the next morning very hung over. When he and Cyn arrived at the Dorchester, they were shocked to see hundreds of people, and even more shocked when John realised he had to give a speech. He hadn’t prepared anything, so just stood up and said “Thank you very much, and god bless you’ and then to the person next to him ‘You’ve got a lucky face’.
People at the lunch were expecting a long speech – but certainly didn’t get it! John did sign scores of his book ‘In His Own Write’