ABOUT THIS BOOKStarting Over with John Lennon & Yoko Ono: The History of a Photograph and a Day 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.
On August 7, 1980, the Boston photographer met the famous couple at the Dakota and documented their fateful trip to Manhattan’s Hit Factory, where Lennon and Ono recorded their Grammy-winning LP Double Fantasy. For Farrington, the whirlwind opportunity would be life-changing in more ways than one. Farrington’s photography would land him in a high-profile dispute with notorious publicist Charles J. Cohen. Things would become even more harrowing with Lennon’s assassination only a few months later, an event that would plunge the world into mourning.
Working with renowned Beatles scholar Kenneth Womack, Farrington captures the amazing story of working with John and Yoko on that fateful day.
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHYKENNETH 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.