John Lennon left this earth on Dec. 8, 1980. But the way Yoko Ono sees it, the Beatle’s joyously populist specter has never been busier.
“Now that John’s a spirit, he has a different effect on people than when he was alive,” Ono, 78, says during a call from Tokyo, where she’ll attend a concert of Japanese musicians performing her husband’s works.
“Spirits talk on a pure level and don’t get distracted by people saying things like, ‘That’s nice, but why’s he wearing that?’ ” she says in a slightly weary voice that betrays the midnight hour. “Of course, it would still be better if John was around.”