Marcus Cahill

Imagine John Lennon was formed in 2003, featuring Marcus Cahill as John. Marcus has been a professional performer for over twenty years, and, according to John's sister, Julia Baird, "He sounds uncannily like John..."

Marcus was born in Ireland in 1971 and became a Beatles fan at a very young age. He got his first guitar when he was five and learned to play some of his favorite Beatles songs. He played with a few different bands during the 80s and 90s before he founded Imagine John Lennon in 2003.

In 2004, Marcus's dream came true, and he was able to play the Cavern Club in Liverpool during International Beatle Week. He has also been able to play at the Australian Beatles Festival and Abbey Road on the River in the USA. He has met Pete Best, Louise Harrison, and many others that knew the Beatles.

You can purchase his CD of Lennon and Beatles songs, The Sound of Lennon, as well as other Imagine John Lennon merchandise, on his website.

Below is an eight-question interview I did with Marcus; he was very kind to take the time to answer these questions. Thanks again, Marcus!

Q: Soon you will be going to Liverpool to play some gigs for International Beatle Week. What things in Liverpool are you looking forward to the most?

Marcus: I have to say playing in front of a crowd in the Cavern is something I've been looking forward to for quite some time as I've been dreaming of doing a show there since I was kid, and now my dream is finally going to come true. Meeting up with all the great people there and the bands too, it's going to be so much fun. I cant wait.

Q: What kind of guitars do you play on stage, and do you have a favorite?

Marcus: I use three guitars like the ones that John played, a replica of John's Gibson J160, I have the Gibson Epiphone J160E. I also use a Rickenbacker, which John made famous in the early years of the Beatles' careers. But my favourite would have to be my Revolution Casino, which is the blonde (natural finish) guitar that John used on the roof top show; I prefer the Casino over the others because it plays better and feels better, however I do know that John has been quoted as saying that he hated that guitar as it used to hurt him to play it... he'd yell, "I've got blisters on my fingers." Now I know it's Ringo on the White Album, but I have bootlegs where I've heard John saying, "Does anyone have a band-aid? I've got blisters on my fingers" (1969).

Q: What songs of John's do you like the best?

Marcus: That's a tough one as I like so many (nearly all of them), but if I had to choose, I guess I'd pick "Tomorrow Never Knows," "A Day in the Life," "Anytime At All," "Hey Bulldog," "Happiness is a Warm Gun," "Nobody Told Me," "Isolation," "Nobody Loves You (When You're Down and Out)," "Starting Over," "Stand By Me," and, of course, "Imagine." I could have easily typed in the whole Beatles and Lennon catalog, but I've done my best to narrow it down a bit.

Q: Not too long ago, you met Pete Best, Julia Baird, and Louise Harrison. Are there any memories you could share about these meetings that particularly stand out?

Marcus: Well, I had the pleasure of meeting Pete Best (drummer before Ringo) and Julia Baird (John's sister) at the first "Australian Beatles Festival" in Adelaide, South Australia, in 2004. I recall hanging out the back of the Hyatt Hotel with Pete just after he had completed an interview with TV station ABC. We talked for about two hours and it was so great to think I was just hanging out with an ex-Beatle. I tried not to pry into his past too much as I'm sure he's sick of being asked about that, however I did get the chance to ask him after a bit of tip-toeing through the tulips, "So who kicked you out of the group?" and he just looked at me... and he looked at me as if to say you don't really wanna know, and then he said "Nobody actually kicked me out. I heard it on the streets first, then Brian Epstein called and told me," and so I just said, "Geez that's an awful way to find out." I got to ask other questions like, "Was Paul jealous of your good looks?" and I'll save the answer for that one for another interview with Holley at a later date... haha.

And now for a meeting I'll never forget, meeting the beautiful Julia Baird. Julia and her husband had just got back from being out dancing at the Casino and as they arrived at the Hyatt Hotel (where we were all staying) she noticed a few of us performers sitting around having a few drinks and chatting, next thing I know she's standing right next to me and I got the courage up to ask her "So did you catch my show today?" And she turned and looked at me and said, "Mmm... no, sorry, I don't recognize you," and my heart sank a million feet. Then just as she was about to address the group she turned to me again and said, "Oh, wait, are you the guy that was singing John songs, wearing the white suit?" I said, "Yeah that was me," and then she leaned over and said to me, "You're the best John I've ever heard," at which point I felt like there was an earthquake beneath my chair as I started to tremble and tears ran down my face with a mixture of sadness for missing John and happiness that the comment was coming from his sister, next thing you now shes holding me in her arms saying, "There, there." I mean to hear such a comment coming from your hero's sister is as good as it gets; I will never forget that moment for as long as I live. The next day Julia gave me a piece of paper with a comment on it that can be seen on my website. I can't thank her enough for her kindness.

I recently got to meet George Harrison's sister, Louise Harrison, in America as part of the "Abbey Road on the River" Beatles festival. She's a lovely lady and misses George very much. We chatted briefly about George, how he was a lot more fun in real life compared to what we had seen or heard (she was referring to the fact that George was known as the quiet one). I agreed with her saying that I had an idea that he was a bit of a character, and she replied, "He was beautiful," as she signed another autograph for her book and then a picture. It was nice to meet her as it gave me an idea what George would have been like, you know, through his family etc. RIP John and George. We all miss you dearly.

Q: Do you think you'll be able to meet Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr?

Marcus: I'd love to meet either Paul or Ringo one day. Who wouldn't? However, I doubt I ever will, but it would be a magic moment in this Beatles fan's life.

I've often daydreamed of playing with all four Beatles, but, of course, we're down to two now and what a shame that is. I think Ringo would be a bit more approachable with regards to just having a jam as he's such a happy-go-lucky fella, whereas with Paul I fear that I'd have to go through his management company just to ask the question "You wanna jam?" which is understandable what with freak fans trying to get to him every day. It just makes it very difficult to talk to him. But hey, if it ever happened I'd treasure it forever; if it happens it happens.

Q: Do you collect much Beatles/Lennon memorabilia?

Marcus: I don't have a big memorabilia collection at the moment in my opinion, however I do have a few items for e.g. a Super 8mm reel of John in 1975 singing "Stand By Me" and "Slippin' & Sliding," which I got recently via ebay. I mainly collect bootlegs and videos of the Beatles and John. I've got 1000’s of bootleg albums of the Beatles and their solo careers. I like to collect them as they give me insight into the recording process and how the songs are actually played or sung. One other item that I have among my framed Beatles posters and pictures is a photo taken by Astrid Kirchherr of John in Stuart [Sutcliffe's] attic a few days after Stuart had died. I bought this picture because I thought it captured John's heart completely, all be it that he looks very sad in the photo. RIP Stuart.

Q: Will you be making any more CDs in the future?

Marcus: Yeah, I've already started recording a follow up to my first album (CD) "THE SOUND OF LENNON." I haven't decided what to call the second album just yet, but it should be available some time early 2006. I know that some of my fans are anxiously awaiting the second CD as they've played the first one to death already, so rest assured I'm busy making the next installment as we speak. I hope to record as many albums as possible. I'm even considering recording some of my original material on this next CD. We'll see.

Q: What bands do you like besides the Beatles and John Lennon?

Marcus: Well, I like a very diverse cross section of bands besides the Beatles, groups like Frank Zappa, John Zorn, Mr. Bungle, Faith No More, Something Happens, A-House, Pink Floyd, Primus, Dire Straits, The Shadows and many more. I like a lot of these bands because of the talent and the great arrangements and concepts they use. I would definitely recommend checking out some of these artists as they are truly amazing.

. . . get back