John Lennon Said He Sounded ‘Absolutely Depressed’ on 2 Albums

Some of John Lennon‘s albums came from a difficult place for the former Beatle. For example, he said two of his albums were “rough” because he wrote them when he was away from Yoko Ono. One of those records produced his first solo No. 1 hit.

Immigration problems influenced 2 of John Lennon’s albums

During a 1980 interview with the Los Angeles Times, John discussed his mid-1970s career. “That period of Mind Games and Walls and Bridges was pretty rough going,” he recalled. “I’m not ashamed of the albums, but if you listen to my voice on Bridges you can see how tired I was.”

John elaborated on his mindset. “I was absolutely depressed,” he remembered. “Yoko and I were apart. I had been through the immigration [threatened deportation] stuff and there was all the pressure of the music business.” For context, John had issues immigrating from England to the United States.

The former Beatle said he was dealing with a mental ‘cloud’ when he wrote those albums

The former Beatle revealed he lost his vigor for his art form. “Making music was no longer a joy,” he said. “For 20 years, I had been under this pressure to produce, produce, produce.

“My head was cluttered,” he said. “Every time I’d sit down to write, there would be a cloud between me and the source, a cloud that hadn’t been there before. I was trapped and saw no way out.” It’s a testament to John’s talent that he was able to write classic albums even when he wasn’t enjoying himself. Furthermore, the former Beatle managed to sound enthusiastic at some points on both of those albums in spite of his emotions.

How those 2 albums and their singles performed on the pop charts

Mind Games became a hit for John. The album reached No. 9 on the Billboard 200, staying on the chart for 31 weeks. The album produced the minor hit “Mind Games.” That track reached No. 18 on the Billboard Hot 100 and lasted on the chart for 13 weeks.

Walls and Bridges became a much bigger hit. That record reached No. 1 for one of its 35 weeks on the chart. It gave us two top 10 singles. The song “Whatever Gets You Thru The Night” was No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for a single week, becoming John’s only solo chart-topper during his lifetime. “Whatever Gets You Thru The Night” spent 15 weeks on the chart, more than any of his other singles from the 1970s.

The other hit from Walls and Bridges was “#9 Dream.” That record fittingly reached No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 and remained on the chart for 12 weeks. With its nonsensical lyrics and dreamy melody, “#9 Dream” became John’s most avant-garde hit as a solo artist. Notably, Walls and Bridges became the only solo album John released in his lifetime that spawned multiple top 10 singles.

Mind Games and Walls and Bridges weren’t fun for John to make but they’re fun to play.