Starting Over with John and Yoko
The Photographs
Kenneth Womack author Roger Farrington author
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Rutgers University Press
Published:8th Sep '26
Should be back in stock very soon
"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.
"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
"Historic images. . . . In retrospect, the photos would be painfully poignant." - God Is In the TV
"OK, Beatles buffs. Get ready to make a bit more room on your bookshelves. . . . This is a small but captivating story that slipped under the radar." - ArtsFuse
"If you're a fan of John Lennon and The Beatles, check out this story and these photographs. They are amazing!" - Soundwaves
ISBN: 9781978849211
Dimensions: 178mm x 152mm x 15mm
Weight: 340g
164 pages