Words by Riley Fitzgerald
Graphic by Press

After finding fame with the Beatles, John Lennon would only sporadically visit his home city of Liverpool.

His last recorded visit was in 1969 and after gaining relocating to New York with Yoko Ono in 1971, John spent much of the remainder of his life living in the USA.

But in a new interview with podcast Beatles City, Julia Baird – Lennon’s half-sister by Julia Lennon, who lived with John before their mother was killed by a drunk driver in 1958 – reveals that less than a month out from his tragic death, John was planning to return home to host a family reunion.

“The last time I spoke to him, actually, was on November 17, just before he died,” Baird recalls. “John had talked of coming home to Merseyside and was even planning a reunion in Rock Ferry at Ardmore, a large house that had been in the family for many years.”

It is unclear if John’s estranged father Alfred or former wife Cynthia would have been invited.

“We were all waiting for him to come home,” she laments“And John said in November, ‘There are so many of you we will all have to get together at Ardmore. So we were going to meet in that house.’”

Unfrotunley, before the event come about Lennon was shot dead outside his New York apartment building on December 8, 1980.

You can listen to the full interview where Julia recalls her childhood, the chaos of early Beatles concerts and discusses her current role as co-owner of Beatles landmark the Cavern Club here.