May Pang Reclaims “Lost Weekend” Narrative
By Sena Maddison
The Backstory: For decades, the narrative surrounding John Lennon’s “Lost Weekend” — his 18-month separation from Yoko Ono in the mid-1970s — has been dominated by a familiar story: Yoko orchestrating a relationship between Lennon and their assistant, May Pang, followed by a year of debauchery in Los Angeles.
Reality Check: That’s not May Pang’s story. She’s now taking control of her narrative with a new documentary, “The Lost Weekend: A Love Story,” and a photography exhibition coming to Pensacola this weekend.
- Why it matters: Pang aims to correct years of misrepresentation, fueled largely by Lennon biographers relying on Yoko Ono’s perspective. “It’s about time I step out of the shadows,” Pang says, rejecting the passive shadowy “mistress” label.
Dig Deeper
Every Beatles fan knows the story about May Pang. How in 1974, sensing that John Lennon was losing interest, Yoko Ono ordered their young assistant to date John. They also know that Yoko sent them to Los Angeles for a year-long party that would become known as John’s Lost Weekend, as he partied, with May Pang in tow, with Harry Nilson, Elton John and Ringo.
Every Beatle fan knows the story about May Pang. Except… that is not her story. And with a new documentary and photography exhibition, May is reclaiming her own narrative.
It took her a long time. “At first, you say, oh, it’s a couple of things. I’ll let it go,” she says. “And then when it builds up, and everybody tells you they know everything about you, and then it comes back at you, not the way it is that you, I lived it. They didn’t. And they’re telling me, oh no, you are wrong. I knew then I had to do something.”
One of the reasons the story got twisted is that most Lennon biographers sat down with Yoko to get that part of the story. Although Yoko did ask May to date Lennon, she did nothing until John pursued her. And Yoko certainly didn’t orchestrate their escape to the West Coast. They did that themselves, completely spur of the moment. Once they were there, Yoko cut off Pang’s salary, and John’s money was mostly tied up in Beatles legal battles, so they didn’t have much spending money, but they had plenty of friends.
Pang told the story of that period by collaborating on a documentary from her perspective. “The Lost Weekend is now available on digital. It features her photographs from that period and includes stories that even the most devoted Beatlemaniacs have not heard.
Notably, the documentary reveals heartbreaking details from her early days as John and Yoko’s assistant. Pang recounts how Yoko routinely screened John’s calls, dictating which ones were put through. In a particularly poignant moment, Julian, as a young child, repeatedly called his father, only to be blocked by Yoko. After three attempts, Yoko relented but insisted Pang tell Julian it was his first call. “It was just awful when the first time it happened,” Pang recalls. “I kept having to brush him off for a while, and then by the time I could tell him she knew exactly what his answers would be, that she said, this is what you’re going to say. And I was like, okay, how did she know? But she knew.”
Later, during her time with John in Los Angeles, Pang facilitated a visit from Julian and his mother, Cynthia. Recognizing John’s nervousness after three years of separation, she took on the role of tour guide, aiming to create a positive experience. “John was nervous. He hadn’t seen his son in three years. What happened during that trip was I afforded them to actually have closure in their relationship that they had never had without Yoko being in the middle of it. And I was trying to make it work, and I also wanted him to reconnect with Julian. He had to reconnect with him.”
They visited Disneyland, where no one recognized John. They also snuck onto the Paramount lot, where a new show called Happy Days was filming. The cast recognized John and was thrilled. Julian was more excited to meet Jodie Foster, who was also there that day.
During this highly creative time for Lennon, Pang took candid photos of Lennon in a comfortable, relaxed environment. A collection of these private photographs will be on display and available for purchase at Artel Gallery this weekend. They are also not the pictures of Lennon most people remember. He is smiling and playful. “The difference when you see the pictures, when people come in, they see it. They go, oh my God, that doesn’t look like John. This is the John that I knew.”
Listen:
Check out the podcast interview and find out how Liz Taylor introduced May and John to David Bowie. LINK
See the documentary:
“The Lost Weekend – The Photography of May Pang” coincides with the recent digital release of the feature film documentary “The Lost Weekend : A Love Story,” produced by Briarcliff Entertainment. (Available on Amazon Prime, AppleTV, YouTube. Xfinity, Verizon and Vudu).
See the exhibition:
“The Lost Weekend – The Photography of May Pang”
Pang’s photos will be on display and available for purchase for three days only. Visit the show and meet May Pang from Friday, March 14, through Sunday, March 16, 2025.
Artel Gallery, 223 Palafox Place, artelgallery.org
A small bit of protocol: While Ms. Pang looks forward to meeting people, she regrets that she cannot sign memorabilia brought in by fans out of respect for the gallery.
Featured Image credit: hamdanjaz/Shutterstock.com
