18/08/2025
On the night of March 12, 1974, Los Angeles’ iconic Troubadour Club witnessed a scene that would become legendary in rock ’n’ roll lore. John Lennon, already notorious for his unpredictable antics, arrived with his friend and fellow mischief-maker Harry Nilsson, a cocktail in hand—specifically the Brandy Alexander, a potent mix of brandy and cream. It was Lennon’s first night trying the drink, and it seemed to awaken a wild streak that would soon spill out of control.
What followed was pure chaos. At one point, Lennon, ever the provocateur, wore a Kotex sanitary towel on his head, prompting a waitress to confront him. “Do you know who I am?” he demanded, only to be met with the sharp retort: “An as***le, with a Kotex on his head.” The exchange perfectly captured the collision of Lennon’s rock-star bravado and the absurdity of the night. Fueled by drink and mischief, the two friends relentlessly heckled the Smothers Brothers on stage, drawing the attention—and ire—of club security.
As tensions escalated, Lennon’s infamous temper flared. Security tried to remove him, but the former Beatle was uncooperative, losing his trademark glasses in the ensuing scuffle and even, according to Tommy Smothers, kicking the valet in the confusion. Actress Pam Grier, who happened to be nearby, was also caught in the storm and ejected alongside him. The scene was chaotic, surreal, and undeniably entertaining—a rock ’n’ roll disaster unfolding in real time.
Yet beneath the wild headlines and exaggerated tales lay Lennon’s own human vulnerability. The next day, he and Nilsson attempted to make amends, sending flowers to the Smothers Brothers and writing an apology to Pam Grier. Lennon himself later reflected on the incident with a mix of humor and regret, admitting that the drinks and his own reckless behavior had gotten the better of him. “I was drunk… It was a mistake, but hell, I’m human,” he confessed, revealing the man behind the legend.
This episode wasn’t the first time Lennon had made a scene at the Troubadour. A month earlier, he had shown up to see soul singer Ann Peebles and somehow ended the night with a sanitary napkin perched on his forehead. The same biting wit from the waitress returned: “You're some as***le with a Kotex on your head.” In those moments, Lennon was larger than life, chaotic yet charming, a living testament to the wild, unpredictable heart of rock ’n’ roll.
