SEAN LENNON IN BARCELONA. NOVEMBER 1998

ON 13 NOVEMBER 1998, SEAN LENNON PLAYED AT THE SALA APOLO IN BARCELONA, WHICH WAS HIS ONLY CONCERT IN SPAIN.

THIS IS OUR REPORT:

OUR ADVENTURE BEGAN THIS SAME DAY, AT 10 a.m., WHEN WE RECEIVED A CALL FROM A FRIEND OF OURS, ALSO A BEATLEFAN, WHO TOLD US THAT HE HAD HEARD ON THE RADIO THAT SEAN WAS PERFORMING THAT NIGHT IN BARCELONA! BUT HE DID NOT KNOW WHERE!!

AFTER SEVERAL CALLS, WE FOUND OUT WHERE THE CONCERT WOULD BE HELD AND, IN FACT, IT WAS NOT A SEAN'S CONCERT, BUT HE WAS THE SUPPORT BAND OF THE FRENCH GROUP AIR. SO..., AFTER OUR PLACE OF WORK, WE GOT TWO TICKETS.

THE CONCERT STARTED AT 21:00, BUT WE WERE THERE FROM 19:00 IN THE HOPE OF MEETING A BEATLE'S SON AND, WHY NOT, IN THE HOPE OF GETTING AN AUTOGRAPH. WE ASKED IF HE WAS ALREADY INSIDE THE VENUE AND A MAN SAID: OH, YES, OF COURSE! WHAT A PITY, WE LOST OUR HOPE OF SEEING HIM ARRIVE! WE WERE THINKING ABOUT GOING TO GET A DRINK WHEN SUDDENLY, VERY NEAR TO US, WE SAW A COUPLE WALKING TOWARDS US. IT WAS UNBELIEVABLE, BUT YES!, IT WAS SEAN AND HIS GIRLFRIEND YUKA. THEY WERE WALKING CALMLY, ARM IN ARM, WITHOUT ANY BODYGUARD. SEAN WAS WEARING A PHOSPHORESCENT GREEN JACKET AND HE HAD A RADIANT LOOK, VERY THIN. DESPITE HIS EVIDENT ORIENTAL ORIGIN, HE HAD THE SAME FACIAL FEATURES AS JOHN. WHEREAS, YUKA WAS PALE, AND SEAN TOLD US LATER SHE'D HAD A STOMACH ACHE.

WE "ATTACKED" THEM THINKING THAT HE WOULDN'T BE APPROACHABLE AND THAT HE WOULDN'T SIGN ANYTHING. BUT, IT WAS SURPRISING! IMMEDIATELY HE CONSENTED TO POSE WITH US AND HE SIGNED OUR TICKETS, A SINGLE OF HIS AND SEVERAL PHOTOS, WITH DEDICATION INCLUDED. WE WERE CHATTING A WHILE AND HE EVEN APOLOGISED FOR STAYING ONLY A FEW MINUTES WITH US BECAUSE YUKA FELT ILL. WE COULD NOT BELIEVE IT! WE HAD BEEN CLOSE TO THE PERSON WITH WHOM JOHN HAD DEDICATED NEARLY THE 5 LAST YEARS OF HIS LIFE.

AFTER THIS EXCITING TALK WITH HIM, WE MET WITH A 10-PEOPLE GROUP. THE ONLY PEOPLE THERE WHO WANTED TO SEE SEAN IN CONCERT. IT WAS OBVIOUS THAT MOST YOUNGSTERS THERE WANTED TO SEE AIR. WHILE EVERYBODY WAS TALKING AND DRINKING WE TOOK A PLACE NEAR THE STAGE, DETERMINED TO LISTEN SEAN AND HIS BAND. FINALLY, WITH A LITTLE DELAY, SEAN APPEARED ON STAGE AT 21:30, DRESSED INFORMAL. HIS PERFORMANCE LASTED ABOUT 45 MINUTES IN WHICH THE BAND PLAYED AN ENJOYABLE SET OF SONGS FROM HIS ONLY LP, "INTO THE SUN" (SPACESHIP, HOME, MYSTERY JUICE...) AND ALSO NEW SONGS. BETWEEN SONGS HE EVEN TRIED HARD TO BE POLITE AND TO SPEAK SOMETHING IN SPANISH. IT WAS AN AMUSING AND VARIED CONCERT. HE PLAYED EVEN A RAP!. WE WANT TO POINT OUT THE MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN SEAN AND THE BASS, AND ALSO THE GREAT SIMILARITY IN HIS FATHER'S WAY OF PLAYING GUITAR, GESTURES AND HEAD MOVEMENTS, IN SPITE OF THE DIFFERENT MUSICAL STYLES.

ALONG THE CONCERT WE COULD TAKE A LOT OF PHOTOS WITH NO PROBLEMS!

PERHARPS THE ONLY DISAPPOINTMENT OF THE CONCERT WAS THE DURATION OF THE PERFORMANCE, AND ESPECIALLY THE LITTLE ATTENTION GIVEN BY THE PUBLIC, EXCEPT OUR GROUP, BECAUSE MOST OF THE PEOPLE WERE WAITING FOR AIR TO PERFORM. IN FACT THAT WAS THE FIRST TIME THAT WE HAD BEEN TO A CONCERT TO SEE EXCLUSIVELY A SUPPORT BAND. FROM THE MOMENT SEAN'S PERFORMANCE FINISHED THE 10-PEOPLE GROUP ON THE FIRST ROW LEFT THE HALL. AFTER THE CONCERT THE GROUP WENT TO HAVE A DRINK AND TO CHAT ABOUT OUR DIFFERENT BEATLEMANIC EXPERIENCES. FINALLY, WE WENT HOME WITH THE PLEASING MEMORY OF SEAN SAYING "BUENAS NOCHES" AND PLAYING IN HIS OWN AND VARIED STYLE.

JORDI MELGOSA AND AMPARO GARCIA