Today in news about scraping the bottom of the barrel, Sotheby’s London will be selling a sheet from John Lennon’s detention book, which documents the 29 times that he was sent to detention between September 9, 1955, and July 11, 1956, at Quarry Bank High School. My press release states, “The frequent entries on this sheet from six different teachers reveal that John Lennon’s rebellious nature and irreverence for authority were well established traits of his character even at the age of fifteen.”
September 12, according to Sotheby’s, was a particularly good day for Lennon:
[He] received no fewer than five separate detentions from two different teachers beginning with: “No Hwk” [homework] and continuing with …”Impertinence”…”Talk after 2 warnings” and “Further talk”. John’s lack of homework is reported on three further occasions, other misdemeanours include: “Groaning at me…”, “Nuisance in class” (mentioned four times), “silly conduct”, “Foolish remarks”, “Disturbance”, “Inattention”, “Not wearing school cap”, “Very late” and “Failing to report for class detention…”
Sotheby’s is selling the detention sheet at its “Rock & Pop” sale, where it is estimated to sell for £2,000–£3,000 ($3,050–$4,580). Other items in the sale include Bob Dylan’s type-written lyrics to “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall” and a grand piano belonging to ABBA.