Paul McCartney and Yoko Ono have separately paid tribute to Cynthia Lennon.
The former wife of the late John Lennon – Ono’s former husband and McCartney’s Beatles bandmate – passed away on April 1 at her home in Mallorca, Spain, due to cancer. She was 75.
In a statement passed to NME, Paul McCartney said:
The news of Cynthia’s passing is very sad. She was a lovely lady who I’ve known since our early days together in Liverpool. She was a good mother to Julian and will be missed by us all but I will always have great memories of our times together.
Ono said: “I’m very saddened by Cynthia’s death. She was a great person and a wonderful mother to Julian. She had such a strong zest for life and I felt proud how we two women stood firm in the Beatles family. Please join me in sending love and support to Julian at this very sad time.”
Ringo Starr, the only other surviving Beatle, yesterday tweeted: “Peace and love to Julian Lennon God bless Cynthia love Ringo and Barbaraxx”
Cynthia Powell married John Lennon in 1962 after meeting him at college in Liverpool. The couple had their first, and only, child Julian in 1963. They divorced in 1968 after John met Yoko Ono. Cynthia remarried three times, and in 1978 published her autobiography, A Twist Of Lennon. She later published John, a new biography of her life with her former husband, in September 2005.
Julian Lennon was said to be at his mother’s bedside at the time of passing and has asked for privacy. He tweeted a link to a memorial site set-up in her honour.