Starting Over with John & Yoko traces the dramatic story of John Lennon and Yoko Ono's triumphant return to the recording studio after a self-imposed five-year absence. For photographer Roger Farrington, the opportunity to get "the shot" was the assignment of a lifetime.

"This is one to linger over." —Publishers Weekly

On August 7, 1980, John Lennon and Yoko Ono made their triumphant return to the recording studio after a self-imposed five-year absence. Roger Farrington, an up-and-coming photographer from Boston, was hired to get "the shot" that would announce their comeback. It would be Lennon's most intense press scrutiny since the heady days of the Beatles' maiden voyage to America in 1964, and for Farrington, it would be the assignment of a lifetime. Just four months later, Lennon's assassination would plunge the world into mourning.

Reproducing, for the first time, the entire run of Farrington's iconic photographs from that day, Starting Over transports readers back to 1980 and into Manhattan's Hit Factory, where Lennon and Ono recorded their acclaimed LP Double Fantasy. With supporting photos and other ephemera, Farrington and renowned Beatles historian Kenneth Womack capture a poignant moment in music history and provide an insider's look at celebrity photography in the pre-digital age.

Details

ISBN13: 9781978844797
Format: Paperback / softback
Number of Pages: 164
Edition:
Publication Date:
Publisher: Rutgers University Press
Publication City, Country: New Brunswick NJ, United States
Dimensions (cm): 17.8(H)x15.2(L)x1(W)226
Weight (gm): 226

Author Biography

Kenneth Womack is a professor of English and popular music at Monmouth University in West Long Branch, New Jersey. Over the years, he has authored numerous books, including Solid State: The Story of Abbey Road and the End of the Beatles, John Lennon 1980: The Last Days in the Life, and Living the Beatles Legend: The Untold Story of Mal Evans.

Roger Farrington is a Boston-based publicity photographer. His images have appeared in publications world-wide including, Time, Newsweek, People, Parade, Vogue, Town & Country, New York Times, Washington Post, Paris Match, and The Boston Globe. Besides his iconic 1980 images of John Lennon and Yoko Ono, other celebrities Roger Farrington has photographed include; Andy Warhol, HRH Prince Charles, Matt Damon, Cher, Richard Prior, Elton John, Jay Leno, Alec Baldwin, Dionne Warwick, Cyndi Lauper, Luciano Pavarotti, Frank Sinatra, Michael Douglas, Danny DeVito, Charlton Heston, Liza Minnelli, Billy Joel, Vanna White and many others. His work has been exhibited in Boston, New York City, Liverpool and Tokyo, and is held in private and public collections.

Reviews

"Photography buffs will appreciate Farrington's detailed discussions of choosing film, exposures, and framing, along with the complexities of dealing with photo requests from major news outlets after Lennon died just four months later. This is one to linger over."- Publishers Weekly

"Photographer Roger Farrington, who took some of the last pictures of John Lennon and Yoko Ono, has collaborated with Beatles historian Kenneth Womack to produce a compelling account of the final recording session of this remarkable creative partnership, enriched by a striking collection of photographs from the period. The book offers much more, including insights into Lennon's songwriting process at this late stage of his life. Readers gain an intimate view of the couple's relationship and a revealing portrait of Lennon's final days before his tragic death." - Kenneth L. Campbell, author of The Beatles and the 1960s: Reception, Revolution, and Social Change

"Farrington captured a cache of quiet, unguarded, and previously unreleased pictures capturing John and Yoko in their first tentative steps back into public life, at a time when few rock stars considered a comeback at forty. Rather than simply supplementing the Lennon story, this book expands it in unexpected ways." - Tim Riley, author of Lennon: The Man, the Myth, the Music—The Definitive Life