Music / Double Fantasy

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Double Fantasy is the tenth studio album recorded by John Lennon since his departure from The Beatles, and his fifth with wife Yoko Ono. It was released through Geffen Records on 17 November 1980.

When Lennon's son with Ono, Sean, was born in 1975, he decided to step aside from recording to help raise him. He would occasionally record demos in his New York City apartment, frequently with Ono.

In June 1980, John sailed on his boat, and encountered a severe storm. Oddly, he was the only one of his crew not overcome by seasickness in the rough seas, and he had to take the helm on his own for 6 hours. They got through, but it had the dual effect of boosting his self-confidence while also drawing him to contemplate the fragility of life.

This would become a copious fount of songwriting material. This also inspired Ono, who saw similarity between her earlier work and then-current Pop. Citing, in particular, "Rock Lobster".

But what got John to commit to actually recording the music was his fresh contact with former bandmate Paul McCartney. Paul's latest hit single, "Coming Up", would be the final catalyst. John thought the song was great, and felt the time had come for him to record new material.

Recording took 2 1/2 months to complete. And it ended with a shock: their signing by newcomer Geffen Records. It was David Geffen himself that insisted John and Yoko share equal billing on the album. Without hearing a single song.

Initial reviews were negative, with Kit Richalis of the Boston Phoenix being annoyed at their return. The fans, however, were willing to give it a chance. Their first single, "(Just Like) Starting Over", was working its way up the charts—initially peaking at #8 in the U.K., and just entering the Top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100—in the first week of December 1980.

Tragically, Lennon would not have long to enjoy the album's rise to glory: On 8 December 1980, he was shot to death in front of his NYC apartment. His killer, Mark David Chapman, was a fan of the Beatles who was incensed by Lennon's affluent lifestyle and public statements, including lyrics in several of his songs ("God" and "Imagine") and his infamous 1966 remark that the Beatles had become "more popular than Jesus"; after committing the act, he was taken into custody without resistance and later sentenced to 25 years to life in prison.^note Following his conviction, Chapman was initially reluctant to be interviewed, partially on the grounds of not wanting to seem like he murdered Lennon for fame or notoriety, and so far the most he's said regarding the ordeal was in several audiotapes provided to journalist Jack Jones, for the purposes of publishing an investigative book about the incident in 1992. Despite being eligible for parole in 2000, it has yet to be granted to him and he remains incarcerated as of 2026.

His sudden death led to several major publications withholding negative reviews—for example, Geoffrey Stokes of The Village Voice had written one saying that he found the theme and concept of the album to be "basically mysoginist"—as they sought to re-evaluate the album. The result was a more sympathetic judgment of the material, with ratings being readjusted from largely negative, to mixed-to-positive.

Double Fantasy promptly hit #1 on the Official Charts Company and Billboard 200 album charts. "(Just Like) Starting Over" would hit #1 in both the U.S. and the U.K. His other two singles from the album, "Woman" and "Watching the Wheels" would also be hits, with "Woman" being his final #1 single in the U.K. That title would go to the previous song in the U.S., as "Woman" stalled at #2 on that side of the pond (but did reach #1 on the Cashbox Top 100).

In the end, AllMusic rated the album 4 out of 5 stars, with Stephen Thomas Erlewine left thinking about what could have been: "These are really nice tunes and what's special about them is their niceness – it's a sweet acceptance of middle age, which, of course, makes [Lennon's] assassination all the sadder."

In 2000, the album was reissued by Capitol Records on CD with two added songs and a brief dialogue track with John and Yoko. In 2010, Yoko Ono and album producer Jack Douglas produced a "Stripped Down" version of the album that greatly simplified the production of the tracks. While Ono felt the reduction in instrumentation emphasized John's voice, Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic panned it as unnecessarily meddling with an already perfected album.

Tracklist

1. "(Just Like) Starting Over" (3:56)
2. "Kiss Kiss Kiss (2:42)
3. "Cleanup Time" (2:58)
4. "Give Me Something" (1:35)
5. "I'm Losing You" (3:57)
6. "I'm Moving On" (2:20)
7. "Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)" (4:02)

Side Two

1. "Watching the Wheels" (4:00)
2. "Yes, I'm Your Angel" (3:08)
3. "Woman" (3:32)
4. "Beautiful Boys" (2:55)
5. "Dear Yoko" (2:34)
6. "Every Man Has a Woman Who Loves Him" (4:02)
7. "Hard Times Are Over" (3:20)

Bonus tracks from 2000 reissue

1. "Help Me to Help Myself" (2:37)
2. "Walking on Thin Ice" (6:00)
3. "Central Park Stroll" (dialogue) (0:17)

"I'm just sitting here watching the tropes go round and round:"

• The Atoner: "Woman" continues a common theme in John's work of remorse for the way he previously treated women.
• Call-Back: The "ting ting ting" of a little chiming bell^note It's Yoko's wishing bell - ring it and make a wish. Yoko still asks fans to ring wishing bells. that opens "(Just Like) Starting Over" on Double Fantasy is a Call Back to the heavy, doom-laden church bell that opens "Mother" on Plastic Ono Band. Lennon said in the last interview he ever gave that this was deliberate, meant to symbolise that he had come through all of his issues, and his "lifetime's work. From the boyhood paintings and poetry to when I die... To me, my work is one piece."
• Silly Love Songs: In spite of his original distaste for Paul's penchant for this, John has more with "Woman" and "Dear Yoko".