‘My pal was nowhere near as stern as Nowhere Boy film shows’ - Judith Simons defends Lennon's aunt Mimi in movie portrayal

JOHN Lennon’s Aunt Mimi, the woman who gave the Beatle somewhere to live after his mother abandoned him, gets scathing treatment in a new movie.
But following the release of Nowhere Boy – a film about Lennon’s upbringing – a former showbiz journalist from West Hampstead has spoken out in her defence.
Judith Simons, an 85-year-old former hack who struck up a lasting friendship with Mimi after touring with the band in their early days, has attacked the “stern” treatment Mimi has continually received over the years.
Ms Simons – who was the only journalist permitted to sleep in the band’s own private tour suite – described Mimi, played in abrasive style by Kristin Scott Thomas, as “eternally misunderstood”.
“She has always been seen as this cold-hearted woman but that wasn’t true,” said Ms Simons. “She was always very fond of John.
“She even had a plaque in her living room for John, as an ironic joke at herself, that said ‘I think the guitar is a very nice hobby but what are you going to do for a ­living?’”
Ms Simons, who has welcomed a host of stars into the Mill Lane flat she has lived in for 42 years, first met the Beatles as a reporter for the Daily Express.
She was given exclusive access to the band as their manager Brian Epstein came from her home town of Sheffield, and she knew his ­family. The Beatles’ publicist Derek Taylor was also a former Express journalist, and was keen to help her.
Soon the celebrity writer – dubbed “Judith Christ Superfag” by Ringo Starr, owing to her heavy smoking – was a regular part of the band’s entourage. She describes it as “the time of her life,” and said the band welcomed her with open arms.
Ms Simons recalled: “They were such ­wonderful company and they knew I wouldn’t give away their secrets. They even came to rely on me.
“I remember George Harrison coming to my room one night and asking me for his mother’s phone number so he could call her – I thought it was terribly funny that he had to ask a journalist for his own mother’s phone ­number.”
She later struck up a relationship with Mimi after John – who had a difficult relationship with the aunt who raised him – failed to meet her at the airport, leaving Ms Simons to show her the sights of London. The pair remained in contact until Mimi’s death in 1991.
Ms Simons only lost touch with the band members following their split in 1970. She recalls the last time she saw John Lennon in New York.
“I was at a party hosted by Rod Stewart and I approached them,” said Ms Simons. “Yoko told me to leave them alone, so I walked away, but John tottled up after me. We had a long chat and he was very friendly. It was clear who wore the trousers in their ­relationship, and I never saw him again.”
JOSIE HINTON