Maureen Cleave | |
|---|---|
 Cleave, 1964 | |
| Born | (1934-10-20)20 October 1934 |
| Died | 6 November 2021(2021-11-06) (aged 87) |
| Occupation | Journalist |
| Spouse | |
Maureen Diana Cleave (20 October 1934 – 6 November 2021) was a British journalist. She worked for the LondonEvening Standard from 1958[1] conducting interviews with many prominent musicians of the era, includingBob Dylan andJohn Lennon. Over 50 years, she continued to interview people in all walks of life, in theStandard, theTelegraph Magazine,[2]Observer Magazine,[3]Saga magazine,[4]Intelligent Life magazine,[5] and elsewhere.
Cleave was born nearDelhi,British India, on 20 October 1934.[6][7] She grew up in Ireland, her mother Isabella's country of origin[8] with an English father, Major John Cleave, of the 7th Rajputs. Cleave attended Rosleven boarding school inAthlone and Howell’s Girls’ School in Denbigh,[9] before reading Modern History atSt Anne's College, Oxford. There, she had the distinction of being the first woman asked to speak at theOxford Union.[6] She graduated withthird class honours in 1957.[9]
After graduating, Cleave first worked as a secretary for theEvening Standard. She convinced its editor,Charles Wintour, to make her ashow business correspondent and to let her write a pop music column called "Disc Date".[8][9] She travelled to Liverpool to interviewthe Beatles in January 1963 after a tip from a friend working there.[9] The piece, titled "Why the Beatles create all that frenzy" and published in theEvening Standard the following month, was among the first substantial critiques of the band.[10] It established a lasting friendship between Cleave and the Beatles as they gained international success.[11] Cleave began guesting on TV’s pop panel gameJuke Box Jury in 1964 alongside Millicent Martin, Matt Monro andBobby Vee.
In early 1966, Cleave interviewed the four Beatles and their managerBrian Epstein for a series of one-page accounts. Titled "How Does a Beatle Live?", the pieces were published in theEvening Standard from 4 March to 1 April on consecutive Fridays.[12] Cleave's interview with Lennon quoted him as saying that the Beatles were "more popular than Jesus now".[13] Five months later, on the eve of a 14-city US tour, an American magazine reproduced the remark, which led to a wave of anti-Beatle sentiment in many parts of the US, especially theSouth andMidwest.[14][13]
According to theBob Spitz biography of the Beatles, Lennon claimed a liaison with Cleave, inspiring the band's song "Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)".[15]Pete Shotton, a friend of Lennon's, also suggested Cleave,[15] though Cleave has said that in all her encounters with Lennon that he made "no pass" at her,[16] and Lennon later said he could not remember who the song was about.[17] It has also been said the woman in question wasSonny Freeman, wife of photographerRobert Freeman,[16]: 329, 387–8 who shot the photos on the covers of multiple Beatles albums, includingWith the Beatles,Help! andRubber Soul.[18] Cleave ended her association with Lennon in 1966, the same year she married.[9]
In addition to the Beatles, Cleave interviewedBob Dylan andthe Rolling Stones during the 1960s.[9] She favoured talking to individuals who were not celebrities and avoided actors and politicians "because they’ve said it all before".[6] Her choice of "remarkable people" to interview included for example Guinness heiressAileen Plunket (1983), rock starLittle Richard (1985), and Donald Maclean, who was chairman of the National Vegetable Society.[6] She later wrote a warm tribute to Lennon inThe Telegraph Weekend Magazine a decade after he wasmurdered in December 1980.[9]
Cleave married Francis Nichols in September 1966. They met while studying at Oxford and resided in Peru for three years during the late 1960s because of his job as an economist and farmer.[9][8] After his mother's death in 1972, they relocated to his family home inLawford Hall. They remained married until his death in 2015. Together, they had three children: Sadie, Dora and Bertie.[6]
Cleave was diagnosed withchronic fatigue syndrome, shortly after collapsing on the platform ofTottenham Court Road tube station in August 1992.[9] She died on 6 November 2021, two weeks after her 87th birthday. She suffered a short illness prior to her death.[9][8]
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