Why John Lennon didn’t join Ringo Starr on the Queen Elizabeth 2
In May 1969, Beatle Ringo Starr and actor Peter Sellers drew mass attention when they were among the 570 passengers boarding the second voyage of the Queen Elizabeth 2.
The two stars were going to the US to complete a film called The Magic Christian, the adaption of Terry Southern’s novel.
Ringo revealed that his fellow band member John Lennon was hoping to go on the exciting voyage with him but was unable to after he failed to get a visa in time.
John Lennon and wife Yoko Ono were waiting at Basingstoke for clearance from American immigration to also board the ship.
The clearance never came but John was hoping for good news, preparing to join the ship at Le Havre later in the day.
His visa was denied in the US because of the couple’s convictions for drug offenses.
Reportedly, one day on the ship Peter Sellers cheekily told a little girl on the ship that John was nearby and that she should “get his autograph”.
Peter was travelling with his four-year-old daughter Victoria and a nanny.