[15][16] "Dad and I got on a great deal better then," recalls Julian. He appreciated everyone who's on the street: the cops, the sanitation men.". [5] Pang coordinated an art exhibition in Syracuse, New York, on October 9, 1971, for Ono's This Is Not Here art show at the Everson Museum. [2] Pang was then asked to be Lennon and Ono's secretary and factotum/gofer in New York and Britain, which led to a permanent position as their personal assistant when the Lennons moved from London to New York in 1971. Who better to tell the story than me? I had a strange feeling, a premonition that something was not going the right way, said May. next to the Roxy. The words had no meaning, but summed up the ethereal atmosphere Lennon conjured up in the lyrics and production. The book, published in 2008, includes intimate shots of the legendary musician, and one of the last known photographs of Lennon and Paul McCartney together. Yet this was the bed-hopping, do-what-you-feel 70s, so it all seemed a little less weird at the time. I used to study the liner notes to learn about the songwriters and producers. Pang replied that she could never start a relationship with Lennon, as he was her employer and married. I just wanted to treat him as a regular person. The original 500-page Loving John book focused mainly on Pang's role on Lennon's albums and sessions. Little did I know, she was cheating on him at the same time. For the record, she said, her favorite Beatle was Ringo. You speak English. In a new documentary, the woman who went from assistant to lover of the ex-Beatle talks about her side of a misunderstood story, Smack in the middle of the 1970s, John Lennon experienced what he famously called a lost weekend, echoing the title of a classic 1945 movie about an out-of-control alcoholic. The two were watching Reverend Ike on TV one night when the famous preacher suddenly yelled, "whatever gets you through the night! The couple later moved back to New York City. "I don't think she even thought for a minute that we were gonna fall in love," Pang said an interview with Sandy Kenyon. While he was married to Yoko. May Pang - IMDb "I was devastated," she said of Cynthia Lennon's death. [20][21] In the early summer, Lennon was working on his Walls and Bridges album when the couple moved into a penthouse apartment at 434 East 52nd Street. Ive been told by men that Ive gone out with that Im stronger than most women, she said with a laugh. He always had a pad and his pencil or Flair pen, and he writes it down," Pang said. And, because I was 10 years younger, we were getting to do all the things young couples do., Pang insists that the ex-Beatle only used the term lost weekend to refer to that time because he was tired of the press constantly asking him about two high-profile incidents in 1974 in which he was tossed from an Los Angeles club for being inebriated and verbally abusive. May Pang, John Lennon's Lover During "The Lost Weekend", Shares Rock 'n Lennon later referred to this time as his "Lost Weekend". Pang remains in touch with some of the people from her time with Lennon, and Paul McCartney invited her to Linda McCartney's memorial service. "Well are you kidding? No one experienced it like I did. John Lennon, who was shot and killed Dec. 8, 1980, would have turned 75 this year. Lennon had an 18-month "long weekend" starting in 1973, separating from Ono and engaging in an affair with May Pang, the couple's assistant (via Biography). John Lennon's Ex May Pang Reveals She Cried the First Time - People At one point, he even asked Pang: "what do you think if I write with Paul again? Its been covered by everything from E! If he didnt, I wouldnt have gone out with him, Pang said. They were like two magnets that were repelling against each other, she said. [22] On the night in question, a naked Lennon excitedly called Pang to join him on the deck outside and they both watched a circular object silently floating less than 100 feet away. [32] It was edited down to 300 pages, concentrating mostly on the sensational aspects of their relationship. But she relates, with a dailiness thats convincing, how she and John became convivial and erotic companions, their affair rooted in a genuine affection and in Lennons discovery that he didnt have to live in a way that was always so chained to his legend. Variety is a part of Penske Media Corporation. [11] While there, Lennon was inspired to embark on two recording projects: to make an album of the old rock 'n' roll songs that inspired him to become a musician, and to produce another artist. May Fung Yee Pang (born October 24, 1950) is an American former music executive. If there's one thing that May Pang has been fighting for the last 28 years, it's the idea that John Lennon was depressed, isolated and out of control during . [42] She was an invited guest at The Concert for George in 2002 and remained close to Cynthia Lennon and Lennon's first son, Julian. And ya know what? "He loved being able to walk around and being able to talk. An archival photo of John Lennon and May Pang in "The Lost Weekend: A Love Story" (Photo courtesy of May Pang Collection/Iconic Events) . Pang, 64, gained fame in the early 1970s as John Lennon's girlfriend. I didnt want to be his mother, but I did act as his secretary, his personal assistant. So that's where I started out.". Dismissed by her stern father, who imagined he was still king of the roost back in China, May found herself subject to the ancient cultural tradition of sons being superior to daughters. The couple had a daughter, Kyoko. "Yoko walked into my office and said, 'John and I are not getting along. Afterwards, Id say to him, Where is this going? And hed say, I dont know. At 7 p.m. Monday, Pang is scheduled to talk about her life with Lennon and the Beatles at the Haverstraw King's Daughters Public Library in Garnerville. The period became notorious due to a few incidents in LA of very public drunkenness while the star was out in public. Yoko had observed Johns infidelity, so she figured that she would let him stray with a woman she could control. "George and him had to mend fences. The Beatles almost reunited in Syracuse, and it started on John Lennon And what is she doing with all those mementos Lennon left behind, the doodles, drawings and photographs? Pang also worked on albums by Nilsson, Starr, Elton John and David Bowie. Yoko kept pushing, but I waited for John to make the first move, says May. [citation needed] She volunteers with an animal shelter called Animal Haven in New York and owned a dog that was rescued after Hurricane Katrina. Then she walked out the door. You better wonder if Paul McCartney really died in 1967? "I went to Westchester like everybody else," Pang said. "We had a lot of fun, laughed a lot and had a great time in general when he was with May Pang. In June 1974, Lennon and Pang returned to live in Manhattan. Lennon achieved his only number-one solo US single in his lifetime with "Whatever Gets You Thru the Night". The movie, directed by Eve Brandstein, Richard Kaufman, and Stuart Samuels, is told entirely from her point of view. But in The Lost Weekend, we see that May Pang was a tough ambitious city girl, who spoke with a slight but blunt New York accent, and that after dropping out of college she had the chutzpah to talk her way into a job at the Apple Records offices on Broadway. Ive been told by men that Ive gone out with that Im stronger than most women. [10], Pang still resides in New York City. May is best known for her 18 month relationship with John Lennon, often referred to as 'The Lost Weekend' and her subsequent marriage to music producer, Tony Visconti. We were going to buy a house! she said. My mother used to tell me, You have a mouth. Lennon stopped drinking and concentrated on recording. May Pang, who dated Lennon during a separation from Ono, confirmed to The Post-Standard in 2010 that Lennon had talked about getting the band back together in Syracuse. I said: Congratulations. John loved movie stars. In the trailer, Pang says the romance which was later dubbed Lennon's "lost weekend" "wasn't so lost; people saw more of John than they had in previous years," and rattles off a list of stars with whom they hung out, including Mick Jagger, Ringo Starr, Harry Nilsson, Elton John and David Bowie. [2], While visiting Mick Jagger at Andy Warhol's compound in Montauk, New York, Lennon and Pang saw a Scottish-style cottage for sale close to the Montauk Point Lighthouse. ", The film even explains how Lennon's only number one single as a solo artist came to be written in the small apartment. He understood what to do to make it work in the media, she said. I knew that John and Yoko, after marrying in 1969 and seeming like inseparable soulmates in art and life, began to have problems as a couple. John was drinking, but that was overblown in retrospect, says Pang, who'd like to remind the world that the ex-Beatle had a major career renaissance during their time together in the mid-'70s. When May Pang's relationship with John Lennon ended in 1975 after a whirlwind 18 months, she didn't know at the time how difficult it would be to love again but the late Beatle did.. Pang, 72, tells PEOPLE in this week's issue that after her "lost weekend" with the musician ended and he went back to wife Yoko Ono, Lennon shared a warning about her future romances that rang true in the . Not so much Ringo, but with George.". He came from a lower middle class background, says Pang, "so he appreciated people. Ono had told Lennon she knew a way to get him to stop smoking through hypnosis. That in L.A., John, for the first time since the breakup of the Beatles (and maybe since the Beatles began), let his hair down and began to enjoy a more relaxed, fraternizing, at times carousing rat-pack existence. Thirty years ago, Pang wrote a book, Loving John, that detailed hers, asserting her relationship with Lennon wasnt just a passing fling or fluke, as characterized by some, but a deep and abiding love. The Guardian reached out to Onos representative for her reaction to Pangs version of events. American former music executive May Pang worked for John Lennon and Yoko Ono as a personal assistant and production coordinator, and when Lennon and Ono separated in 1973, Pang and Lennon began a relationship that lasted more than 18 months. Yoko Ono Wikipdia A love story that took 50 years to tell, "The Lost Weekend: A Love Story" explores the 18-month romantic relationship between John Lennon and his Chinese-American assistant May Pang, See production, box office & company info. He wasnt jumping for joy, she said. Pang's is the voice whispering Lennon's name on "#9 Dream". The first guy I ever lived with turned out to be John Lennon Imagine that.. The women who shaped, seduced and scarred John Lennon Pepper. There are moments in the film when Yoko, to say the least, does not come off well notably in Pangs description of how Yoko attempted to cut off Lennons relationship with his son, Julian. Victorian postmortem photos did exist, no one denies that, however, they were never taken in a standing pose using a stand. Review: 'The Lost Weekend: A Love Story,' starring May Pang Pang, 64, gained fame in the early 1970s as John Lennon's girlfriend. 'The Lost Weekend: A Love Story' Review: May Pang Tells - Variety There was a more artistic feel on this side of the border. The daughter of Chinese immigrants (her Chinese name, Fung Yee, means "Phoenix bird"), May Pang grew up in New York, living with her parents and an adopted brother. In December 1973, Lennon collaborated with Phil Spector to record the oldies album Rock 'n' Roll. Yoko Ono [1], ne le 18 fvrier 1933 Tokyo au Japon, est une artiste plasticienne, pote, performeuse, musicienne, chanteuse, compositrice, crivain, comdienne et cinaste japonaise.. Membre de l'avant-garde new-yorkaise dans les annes 1960, qui gravite autour de John Cage, Yoko Ono dveloppe des formes artistiques entre posie, performance, cinma et musique exprimentale. Lennon never did return that night, instead landing back with Ono at their Dakota apartment for what turned out to be five years of house-husbandry and raising their son Sean until his murder in December, 1980. That became impossible starting one day in 1973 when Ono came to Pang and told her she and Lennon werent getting along and that she believed he was going to start seeing other women. The romance between the two started just shortly before they left for Los Angeles in 1972. Maybe not to anybody else. Have a breaking news tip or an idea for a story we should cover? I thought: Oh God, theres going to be more people involved now? Pang recalled. Walls and Bridges rose to the top spot on the album charts. Why AI Has Some Viewers Asking Which Film Actors Are Real. Pang tells her version of what happened in "The Lost Weekend," which is billed as a love story. A love story that took 50 years to tell, "The Lost Weekend: A Love Story" explores the 18-month romantic relationship between John Lennon and his Chinese-American assistant May Pang,A love story that took 50 years to tell, "The Lost Weekend: A Love Story" explores the 18-month romantic relationship between John Lennon and his Chinese-American assistant May Pang,A love story that took 50 years to tell, "The Lost Weekend: A Love Story" explores the 18-month romantic relationship between John Lennon and his Chinese-American assistant May Pang, Acclaimed Film Archivist Erik Taros, who also worked on Ron Howard's Eight Days A Week, contributed to thus film. There was so much he was missing., She believes that Lennons guilt over the estrangement made him awkward with Julian at first. Lennon and Ono were having marital problems and Ono suggested to Pang that she become Lennon's companion. Pang said that the last time she spoke with Ono was a call she made to her after Lennon had returned to her. After enjoying 12 hours with May in her home-and at a nearby Gilligan's Seafood Restaurant near Pomona, NY,- us two Texans . A fond look at Lennon's 'Lost Weekend'. John Lennon: #9 Dream - song facts, recording info and more! | The I was definitely an innocent, says Pang, who appears as wide-eyed and more than a bit naive in the footage. [20] Lennon called Bob GruenLennon's "official" photographerand told him what had happened. She was credited with facilitating his relationship with his young son, Julian. Lennon himself used the words "lost weekend" to describe his time of drinking and drugging while apart from his wife. John Lennon's Ex May Pang Recalls Yoko Ono Asking Her to Date the Beatle in 'The Lost Weekend' Trailer. The so-called Lost Weekend, when John Lennon, from late 1973 through 74, separated from Yoko Ono and relocated to Los Angeles, where he became a hard-drinking rock-club night owl while carrying on an affair with the 22-year-old May Pang (who had been John and Yokos assistant), has long been part of rock mythology. Whenever I would tell people about it, they would say: You should write a book, Pang said. The event is free. She would say: I just wanted you to know that I took a walk around the block.. [35], The Tribeca Film Festival announced the 2022 premiere of The Lost Weekend: A Love Story, a 97-minute documentary about Pang's life and relationship with Lennon, on June 10th via virtual home viewing. That appearance shook the rafters and became famous, but what's less well known is how the former Beatle had re-connected with his bandmates, Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney. Their popularity pe 35 Vintage Photos of May Pang and John Lennon During Their Dating Days, The 1942 Genesee Hotel Suicide: The Story Behind the Photo Which Was Titled The Despondent Divorcee, Vintage Album Covers Featuring Miss Dolores Erickson, The Lost Janis Joplin Topless Photos in Copacabana, Rio De Janeiro in the Summer of 1970, Glamorous Photos of Janice Dickinson in the 1970s and 80s, 30 Cool Pics That Capture Naughty Ladies of the 1950s, Victorian Postmortem Photography: The Myth of the Stand Alone Corpse, Early 1950s Tijuana Bible, a Humorous Pamphlet About Urination. She was asking me that but, at the same time, she said: You will! Pang said. Pang readily admits that, in that era and afterwards, Ono endured a great degree of sexism and racism from the public, which fueled that cruel view of her. [37] Cynthia Lennon also provided a back cover endorsement, acknowledging Pang's role in reuniting Lennon with his estranged first son, Julian. "The two talking nothing about business, just as friends.". All Rights Reserved. Now theyll see it as it was., The Lost Weekend: A Love Story is out in US cinemas on 13 April with a UK date to be announced. I had no real abilities, she admits of getting her start at Apple, but answering the phone was easy enough. 'People will find out': May Pang on her time with John Lennon and Yoko It wasnt Yokos idea that the two of them move to L.A.; that was Johns impulsive decision. Moreover, she said Lennon would side with Pang in defiance of Ono. [39], Pang started her own jewelry business. ABC7 New York 24/7 Eyewitness News Stream, Download the abc7NY app for breaking news alerts. We see Pangs photograph of Bob Gruen snapping his famous photograph of Lennon in a New York City T-shirt. The alcohol-fueled recording sessions became legendary. A documentary about their relationship, The Lost Weekend: A Love Story, was produced in 2022. Pang said she and Lennon remained romantically involved for several years afterward. But Pang remembers the period differently. It fills in a famous episode in rock mythology, enriching the story. His violent death was a sudden and tragic end to the life of a talented singer and musician who wanted to make a difference in the world. [3][4], Pang was asked to help Lennon and Ono with their avant-garde film projects, Up Your Legs Forever and Fly, in December 1970. ", "I'm not even gonna say what happened, some of it was ridiculous," he says. In 1970 you joined Allen Klein's ABKCO Records as a receptionist. At one point, George turned to me and said, May, this is the third party weve been to this week People are going to start talking about us. He was such a lovely man. I told her I wasnt interested at all. Variety and the Flying V logos are trademarks of Variety Media, LLC. Eliot, Only Murders in the Building Season 3 Premiere Date Revealed by Steve Martin and Martin Short at Comedy Show (EXCLUSIVE), Bill Hader Stopped Signing Merchandise After Fed Up Encounter With a Star Wars Fan: Im Not Signing Any of This S—, Jock Zonfrillo, MasterChef Australia Judge, Dies at 46, Matthew Lawrence: 'My Agency Fired Me' After I Refused to Take My Clothes Off for an Award-Winning Director, Woody Harrelson Ignored Backlash Over SNL Covid Conspiracy Monologue: I Dont Look at That S and It Doesnt Change My Life One Bit, Aerosmith Retiring From the Road, Announces 40-Date Arena Farewell Tour, Willie Nelsons 90th Birthday Is Smoking, With Snoop Dogg, George Strait and Neil Young Among the Party Favorites at the Hollywood Bowl, Super Mario Bros. Movie Officially Smashes $1 Billion Globally, May December First Look: Natalie Portman Wants to Become Julianne Moore in Todd Haynes Cannes Premiere (EXCLUSIVE), The Morning Show Renewed for Season 4 on Apple TV+ Ahead of Season 3 Debut, COVER STORY | How a Sex Scandal, Big Egos and Putin Led to Jeff Shells Sudden, No Payout Exit From NBCU, Ryan Goslings Greta Gerwig Barbie Tee and Margot Robbies Pink Two Piece Embrace Barbiecore, The Brilliance of Harry Belafonte in 12 Songs, Bob Odenkirk Joins The Bear Season 2 (EXCLUSIVE), Is This 'Beau Is Afraid' Character a De-Aged Joaquin Phoenix? Lennon later referred to this time as his Lost Weekend. In this photo, he's wearing her bell bottoms. John Lennon is pictured above with May Pang in 1974. People will find out: May Pang on her time with John Lennon and Yoko Ono. Perhaps Ill pass them on to my kids, but I cherish all of it. Moving into a penthouse apartment, both May and John claimed later to have seen a UFO, hovering around their block. Pang moved to Rockland County in 1991. John Lennon (1940 - 1980) with Yoko Ono, December 1968. To gain access to the deck, Lennon and Pang had to climb out of their kitchen window. Pang pulled out her Nikkormat and captured the moment. What do you think I said?. In 1975, Lennon and Pang moved back to New York but lived in their own apartment away from the Dakota. Theyve read about it by other people. Gruen called the local police precinct which confirmed that three other people had reported a sighting, and the Daily News said that five people had reported a sighting in the same area of New York where Lennon and Pang lived. By what name was The Lost Weekend: A Love Story (2022) officially released in Canada in English? The movie is also a portrait of Pangs romantic passion, which as she portrays it was both innocent and deeply serious. But she hasn't ruled out a future run for local office. To say that she was in over her head would be an understatement. Letting him? And she said, 'I think it's time. The press keeps repeating the same stories over and over., May does admit she eventually fell for Lennon. Lennon bought Julian a Gibson Les Paul copy guitar and a drum machine for Christmas in 1973, and encouraged Julian's interest in music by showing him some chords. John Lennon: The Beatles star's former lover May Pang spoke out about reunion plans (Image: GETTY) It was in 1973 that Lennon embarked on an 18-month affair with his and Ono's assistant,. (modern). John Lennon's Ex May Pang Says He Warned Her She'd Have 'Problems All Rights Reserved. Within minutes after being shot, John Lennon was dead at age 40. Although May has written a pair of books about her relationship with Lennon including 1983s Loving John: The Untold Story and 2008s Instamatic Karma: Photographs by John Lennon she has hesitated until now to participate in a documentary, finally agreeing to work with a trio of producer-directors in Eve Brandstein (best known as the casting director for This Is Spinal Tap), Richard Kaufman (Real Life: The Musical) and Stuart Samuels (docs on Bob Marley and Midnight Movies). [2] Pang's early jobs included being a song-plugger, which meant encouraging artists to record songs written by songwriters. He would sarcastically say to them: Hey it was a drunken weekend, OK? Pang said. In 2011 music enthusiast Liz Hajek and I traveled to New York to spend a day with May Pang, Lennon's girlfriend for almost two years in the early 1970s. ALSO READ | Eyewitness to the Death of John Lennon, * Download the abc7NY app for breaking news alerts. He wouldve been very vocal about what he was going on in the world. Interviewing John Lennon's Lost Weekend Girlfriend. I was able to do whatever they asked me to do, she said. May Pang plans to talk about her life with John Lennon and The Beatles at 7 p.m. Monday at the Haverstraw King's Daughters Public Library, 10 West Ramapo Road, Garnerville. His comment suggests that their separation was always contingent on an understanding between them. "At first I said, 'No, I'm not interested,'" Pang said. In 1970, she used her chutzpah to bluff her way into a job at the office of Allen Klein, whose management office represented Apple Records and all the Beatles but Paul. May Pang interview (January 2011) | The Beatles Bible It was later updated and renamed John Lennon: The Lost Weekend. They lived together in Los Angeles and New York from 1973 to early 1975, before the ex-Beatle reunited with wife Yoko Ono. John was drinking, but that was overblown in retrospect, says Pang. Another song, "Surprise, Surprise (Sweet Bird of Paradox)", was written about her. Variety and the Flying V logos are trademarks of Variety Media, LLC. Pang was born in New York, New York to Chinese parents.. Pang was a secretary at ABKCO, a management company started by Allen Klein, in New York City. But it's not the whole story. All Rights Reserved. PEOPLE is exclusively premiering the trailer for The Lost Weekend: A Love Story, which will tell the tale of a young Pang's 18-month relationship with the former Beatle during his marriage to Yoko Ono. When John came home, he claimed, Im going to be a free man in six months.. May Pang . "It hits you in the gut because this has been my home for a while," she said. At the time, she was married to producer Tony Visconti, who worked with artists including David Bowie. Variety is a part of Penske Media Corporation. She also said that she continued to see him, and be intimate with him, until his death. I wanted it to be just me and him.. [24][25] In the same month, Lennon and Pang were also planning on visiting Paul and Linda McCartney in New Orleans, where Wings were recording the Venus and Mars album, but Lennon reconciled with Ono the day before the planned visit, after Ono said she had a new cure for Lennon's smoking habit. This beautifully done documentary brought me TOTALLY in to the life of John, his breakup with Yoko, his relationship with Julian, and his life saving love story with May Pang. She wanted to be a model, but the modeling agencies told her she was too "ethnic". "She thought it would be two weeks, gone, goodbye. Lennon and Ono reunited in 1975, although he and Pang remained close up until his death. In 1969, at the age of 18, she said she walked into the New York office of Apple Records and landed a job.