Elvis, Johnny and Mickey

As I wondered through the supermarket yesterday filling up the trolley with the usual essentials, I noticed a rack of t shirts. One had Elvis with some irrelevant nonsense written on it- “Heartbreak Hotel”… and right next to it, one with our Johnny on it with the immortal words “Working Class Hero”, all next to a t-shirt of Mickey Mouse! I’m thinking who would wear such a garment with such a proclamation on it? It's just plain not cool. I almost heaved my cookies when I looked at this total crass use of image and the company Johnny Rhythm was keeping. somehow my heart sank a little. Now, I don't particularly mind Elvis...but somehow the Mickey one said something to me.... It brought to mind a question…who gets permission for these gross product and more importantly perhaps, do they get permission to use such an image?
I appreciate that Yoko Ono has had a tough job walking the line between keeping John’s presence current, making money and keeping the fans happy with new releases. However, apart from the excellent Anthology CD box set from several years ago, I think she has totally failed. She has succeeded though in turning him into nothing more than some kind of corporate brand on the scale of Mr Walter Disney! I just wonder what the man himself would make of some of the nonsense that is available!! That t-shirt with its Working Class Hero slogan sums it up. The myth of that phrase is just gross. John Lennon was no working class hero. Fans and scholars know this. It’s an insult to Joe Public that is thrust upon them. Say it enough times and perhaps people will believe it right? John Lennon was a great man, but a flawed genius and he certainly wasn't some kind of Saint. I believe history yet to unfold and perhaps not in this generation will see that he had a forward thinking and clever mind. Forget all that Imagine no countries idealism stuff. Think about the untaught, raw musical genius he actually was. That’s where his true image lies. John was as sharp as a tack at all levels and his ripostes were legendary. However this was a person, NOT a product or a brand name to sell anything else but his own self generated music and art. Sure buy the records, the books and drawings and stuff, but perhaps not the baby clothes eh? We don't want Elvis Lennon now do we? It's one step away from canned McBeatle breath folks!