The murder of John Lennon on December 8, 1980, sent shockwaves around the world. The most acclaimed singer/songwriter of his generation, first a Beatle and then a boundary-pushing solo artist, was senselessly silenced forever at age forty; immediately, his final musical statement, an intimate, pop-infused collection called Double Fantasy, released only weeks before his death, skyrocketed to #1 worldwide, as did its poignantly titled single, "(Just Like) Starting Over."
His first studio recording since 1975’s Rock ’n’ Roll—and his first musical endeavor of any kind since taking a much-needed hiatus to raise Sean, his son with Yoko Ono—Double Fantasy represents more than a comeback album to Lennon fans and music critics alike. It captures a cultural icon at the pinnacle of his creative success and personal fulfillment; thirty years later it remains a musical touchstone and an affecting reminder of what could have been.
Starting Over is an oral history of the making of Double Fantasy and the definitive account of John Lennon’s last days. From early demos to sessions at New York City’s The Hit Factory, from the electrifying chemistry of the studio band to keeping the project under wraps to the album’s release and critical reception, here is fascinating, insightful commentary from all of the key players involved in its extraordinary creation: Yoko Ono, David Geffen, producer Jack Douglas, engineers, arrangers, session musicians, music journalists, and even Lennon himself via archival interviews.
Featuring never-before-seen photos of John and Yoko in the studio, candid images taken by David M. Spindel and Roger Farrington, Starting Over is the essential portrait for anyone who hears both a beginning and ending in the tracks of Double Fantasy.
Here is an interview with Ken Sharp, author of the book Starting Over: The Making Of John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s Double Fantasy.
Lennon Examiner: First of all, Ken, this is an amazing book. You remind us that the Double Fantasy sessions were not like any other sessions. John was recording for the first time in five years; DF signified a new direction for him musically, and in his marriage to Yoko. It was also the last time he would record. So your book documents many things that are pivotal in his life. Is that why you chose to do this book?
Ken Sharp: Yes. I wanted to honor the time period and those sessions. You’re correct, it was sadly the end of John’s life. It’s very important to document these sessions because we find out that they were so full of positive vibes.And it was indeed a very important time in his life.
LE: Where did you come up with the concept of doing this the way you did? Each chapter is almost like reading a panel discussion—you have a theme, and then all the people who were there comment on it. You don’t analyze or give your own take on it, you just provide quotes. What made you want to do it that way?
KS: The concept came from wanting to do something different. I thought about Double Fantasy and how it’s the least known and understood of all the sessions, because no one has really talked about it. But there's alot of mystery about it. I wanted to evoke a fly on the wall type feeling, as though you are there listening to these people share their memories. It’s crafted like a documentary; wanting to let the voices come out on their own.
LE: Did you conduct all those interviews yourself?
KS: Yes I did. I did all my own interviews besides the archival Lennon quotes and one quote from Paul McCartney. I had to track down all those people and it wasn’t easy but it was very rewarding. For example, Cheap Trick has never spoken out publicly at any great length about their work with Lennon before. They kindly took part and provided a great deal of information. In many ways I had to be a detective when tracking them down. But I think what I had going for me is that people recognized my intentions were honorable and that I brought a great passion to my work, which helped me build a rapport with many of the key principals.
LE: And the interesting thing is that Cheap Trick didn’t even make it onto the album in the end.
KS: Right, none of those tracks were used.
LE: Which tracks did they work on?
KS: They worked on I’m Losing You and also I’m Moving On. Cheap Trick had a Plastic Ono Band feel to them, they were raw and punchy, and John liked that. Their version of I’m Losing You did end up on the Lennon Anthology Box Set in ’98 I think it was…and it’s really cool, it’s almost a Cold Turkey feel. But they did that animated film on it. (see you tube video on left panel.)
LE: Yes, that's right, I remember that. They animated John's drawings and put it to that music. Your book talks about some political stuff that was going on with that. That Yoko felt they were being given too much publicity, which wasn’t true, and that John got mad when someone leaked it to Rolling Stone that they were working with Lennon. Do you think that was the bottom line to them not being on the album? Or was it truly that it didn’t fit?
KS: No…really it just ended up not fitting with the harmonic theme of the album. It just didn’t work, and John saw that in the end.
LE: That’s great to know because I remember reading about that years ago, that you know, Yoko gave them the boot and they were angry about it.
KS: Yeah, right. But really, that’s not the case. John made the final decision.
LE: Did you interview Yoko Ono as well?
KS: yes I did, on the phone. She was a sweetheart. I spoke to her several times. The first time was in 1984 for the Ono Box and for John Lennon Live in NYC. I talked to her in the Dakota in her office. I saw John’s piano, and all the legendary stuff you hear about, in Studio One.It was amazing.
LE: Talk about John’s mood during those sessions. I was so surprised and pleased to read everyone’s feeling that John was in a great mood and that he was so healthy, which is so different from other accounts I’ve read.
KS: John was in a very “up” mood. He was funny, and easy to work with. He was also thin and healthy. He was very strict with sugar and was on a macrobiotic diet. You saw that picture of him with long hair at the beginning of the sessions. Look how blond his hair was! He had been in Bermuda, getting sun and rest. He’d been through that storm on the way there--taking charge of the helm when the crew got sick, he realized he was truly in charge of his life again. So his muse returned and he started writing music again. He was very happy.
LE: Yes I was also surprised at the description by those around him that he was healthy, because those later photos of him look so thin and so gaunt. And I read about how he was addicted to heroin and all this stuff. Your book doesn’t say that at all!
KS: No, not at all. The macrobiotic diet he was on will make you exceptionally thin. But he loved it. He felt very healthy. And there was no indication by anyone that he was taking anything.
LE: Other than Jack’s comment that he was smoking some pot at night…And the Brazilian coffee!
KS: (laughs)…yes the Brazilian coffee that could wake the dead…and he was on the money in those sessions. He couldn’t have been so productive if he’d been taking anything. And he was very dedicated and sharp.
LE: What interview struck you the most? Which was most poignant?
KS: I think Annie Liebovitz really got to me. She got emotional during the interview. She was friends with the Lennons, you know. She broke down and cried while we talked. She did that last photo session, of John curled up naked next to Yoko, and she talked about how Yoko wouldn’t take her clothes off, but John did. Looking at it now, it’s almost as if John somehow knew this was the end of his life. You go out with nothing—and he was baring it all for the world.
LE: Right—like in “the Ballad of John and Yoko”: you don’t take nothing with you but your soul.
KS: Right.
LE: Your book talks about that famous video footage that Jay Dubin filmed. There’s so much mystery about that footage, what happened to it...
KS: Yeah. There is still so much speculation about what happened to it. If it existed, you’d think you would have seen Yoko release parts of it by now. So I don’t know. The last thing anyone heard about it was that John didn’t like the way he looked, because his hair was still long and pulled back in a pony tail. On top of the fact that he was so darn thin, with his nose, he saw the footage I guess, and he hated it and said he looked like a bird. Supposedly he destroyed it, and the book talks more about that. People claim it’s around somewhere but you never know. He cut his hair after that, you know.
LE: Let’s talk about the photos. There are some brilliant ones in the book that I haven’t seen before.
KS: Yes there's many that haven't been seen. The one by Roger Farrington, check that out, the one on page 35. You see John taking something out of a brief case. He’s taking out a picture of Sean, which he taped over the TV set. And the way John loved TV, that was quite a statement he was making.
The saddest thing about all this was how upbeat John was at that time. The initial reviews were that the album was a little “soft”, but John didn’t care. He said “this is who I am now.” You know, he was a father, a husband, he was settled in. And that’s the generation he was talking to.Who knows what John might have produced after Double Fantasy? He was ready to tour, and talked a lot about it. He was going a new direction. I wish he was still here.
Наконец-то кто-то прояснил ситуацию с Cheap Trick: никто никого не намеревался "наказать", жёсткая аранжировка "I'm Losing You" просто не вписалась в альбом по настроению. И именно Джон принимал окончательное решение. Приятный факт.
