Psychics try to contact Lennon in TV seance
Ex-Beatle John Lennon, who was murdered over 25 years ago, is the latest subject of a pay-per-view seance in the US, arranged by the producers of a 2003 attempt to contact the dead Princess Diana.
The show made money, but was slammed by critics as hitting a new low in television tastelessness.
"People say this is disgusting, and I accept that criticism, but we're making a serious attempt to do something that many, many millions of people around the world think is possible," said Paul Sharratt, who heads Starcast Productions.
The Diana show drew over half a million US viewers willing to pay $20.27 to watch it.
The Lennon show would air on April 24, on a pay-per-view channel, and cost $13.49.
Mr Sharratt himself is a "non-believer," and admits to not being totally convinced after psychics attempted to contact the dead princess in the 2003 program.
Nevertheless, he said it made for some great television.
"I have to say that I'm a sceptic," Mr Sharratt said.
"I went into it very sceptically and I didn't come out a total believer, but it was good for a lot of people as a tribute to Diana," he said.
Mr Sharratt said he chose Lennon because the former Beatle, like Diana, is an icon and was also a deeply spiritual person.
"Lennon was very interested in the spiritual world. It's a natural follow-up to the Diana seance," he said.
The show, The Spirit of John Lennon, is being done without the knowledge or consent of John Lennon's estate.
A spokesman for Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono, had no immediate comment.
Mr Sharratt said, "We are writing to Yoko and contacting friends this week to see if any people associated with Lennon would take part."
The program would show psychics travelling to sites of significance to the former Beatle, including New York's Dakota apartment house, where he lived and was fatally shot by a deranged fan, Mark David Chapman.
Psychics would also visit the Capitol Records Building in Los Angeles where the Beatles recorded and a town in India where Lennon pursued a spiritual retreat.
Mr Sharratt said the Indian sequence would feature a spirit reader at an ashram who believed he could contact Lennon to receive musical notes and lyrics from the other side.
Any notations would be flown to Los Angeles, where a composer would arrange the notes, add vocals and backgrounds to produce a new song.
The special would culminate as psychics, colleagues and confidantes sat at a seance table for 30 minutes surrounded by infra-red cameras that could capture any "presence" or spirit that entered the room.
