John Lennon's 'Girl'

 

"Is there anybody going to listen to my story, all about the girl who came to stay?"

Before the global fame, the Cavern Club, and even before Cynthia, there was Thelma Pickles. For Beatles historians and fans who love diving into the band’s formative years, John’s brief but fiery romance with Thelma at the Liverpool College of Art offers a fascinating glimpse into the teenage Lennon. Thelma was a confident, strong-willed, and somewhat rebellious student who immediately caught the eye of the restless, leather-clad "Teddy Boy" John.

Their relationship was the epitome of youthful impulsiveness. It was passionate, volatile, and deeply complicated by John’s emotional baggage. Unlike many girls who were simply mesmerized by his bad-boy facade, Thelma saw right through it. She recognized the profound grief and vulnerability stemming from his fractured relationship with his mother, Julia. John was drawn to Thelma’s independence, but that same independence clashed violently with his possessive nature. He wanted to dictate who she spoke to and how she behaved, a toxic trait born out of his terrifying fear of abandonment. She talks about about accompanying John Lennon to his home, where he lived with his aunt, Mimi Smith, and the two had "a kiss and cuddle" in Lennon's bedroom. At one point "Paul [McCartney] and George [Harrison] came round and we all had beans on toast, then they played their guitars in the kitchen," which means she may have been one of the first people to hear what would become The Beatles playing music together as a group.
Ultimately, Thelma was not willing to be subdued. She grew tired of his erratic moods, his sarcastic defense mechanisms, and his demands for complete submission. When she ended the relationship, it was a massive blow to John’s pride. As a fan analyzing this era, the romance with Thelma Pickles is incredibly revealing. It showcases a young, unpolished John Lennon desperately seeking a maternal figure and a romantic partner rolled into one, long before he found the emotional maturity to handle either. It is a vital chapter that highlights the raw, insecure teenager who was just beginning to channel his turbulent emotions into rock and roll. She briefly also dated Paul McCartney but went on to marry the Liverpool poet Roger McGough and later through her relationship with Tony Wilson she made a few programmes for Granada as a freelancer and had applied for a number of jobs as a researcher. On her third attempt she was finally offered a job though not before she had had to reproach Mike Scott who thought that she was too old. Thelma initially went to work in the new Liverpool office alongside Chris Pye.
She always felt that Granada missed a trick by not interviewing her who had been closer to the Beatles than almost anyone. She later worked on a range of Granada programmes such as the Krypton Factor, Take the Stage and Under Fives although she did manage to escape working on Down To Earth. Her fondest moment was doing an interview with Bill Shankly.
After Granada Thelma went to London Weekend Television to work on Surprise, Surprise. She also produced Blind Date and won a BAFTA with friend Cilla Black, a friend from her Liverpool Cavern days.