John Lennon Gets The Chris Brown Sticker Treatment

Earlier in the week Music Feeds reported on an unusual warning sticker that appeared on the front of Chris Brown’s new album Fortune. The sticker, which was photographed adorning the album cover in Birmingham and London HMV stores, read “WARNING: Do not buy this album! This man beats women!” and turned out to be the handy work of an anti-abuse organisation that goes by the Twitter handle of @abusesticksout.

Now @abusesticksout have chosen a far more controversial target in regards to musical reverence, having recently slapped their anti violence against women sticker on the cover of John Lennon’s debut solo record Plastic Ono Band.

The timing comes as NME honoured Lennon as the ‘ultimate icon‘ during the publication’s 60-year existence. The title was bestowed upon Lennon as the result of a poll, with over 160,000 votes tallied, and led to the former Beatle appearing on the cover of the current issue of NME.

Apparently @abusesticksout didn’t take too kindly to the celebration of Lennon, who has been accused of having a violent personal history and at times committing acts of physical abuse against the woman close to him, Yoko Ono. Many of these apparent violent acts were reported in the Albert Goldman 1988 biography The Lives of John Lennon and again in 2008’s John Lennon: The Life, written by Beatles biographer Philip Norman.

@abusesticksout tweeted an image of the warning sticker plastered over the Lennon record and then suggested that NME editor Luke Lewis include it in NME’s tribute to the late and highly respected singer/songwriter. To Lewis’s credit he did just that, reposting the image on his Facebook page and his Twitter account.

Meanwhile, Lewis’s Facebook followers have replied with mixed reactions in regards to the actions of @abusesticksout:

“Just a tad out of order even if he did.” – Edward Charles Richmond

“dont agree with campaign but the sticker is justified even if its lennon.” – Richard Hanna

“They have gone to far now……….” – Nathan King

“no they haven’t. i’m sure you wouldn’t be saying that if you’re a woman. they need to carry on, make people aware, and stop people listenin to this crap.” – Chloe Banks

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