John Lennon 1980: The Last Days in the Life

by Kenneth Womack

John Lennon, 1980: The Last Days in the Life traces the powerful, life-affirming story of the former Beatle's remarkable comeback after five years of self-imposed retirement. Lennon's final pivotal year would climax in several moments of creative triumph as he rediscovered his artistic self in dramatic fashion. With the bravura release of the Double Fantasy album with wife Yoko Ono, he was poised and ready for an even brighter future only to be wrenched from the world by an assassin's bullets. John Lennon, 1980 isn't about how the gifted songwriter died; but rather, about how he lived.

Genres: Biography, Music, Nonfiction, History, Audiobook

273 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 15, 2020

About the author

Kenneth Womack is a world-renowned authority on the Beatles and their enduring cultural influence. His latest book project involves a two-volume, full-length biography devoted to famed Beatles producer Sir George Martin.

Womack's Beatles-related books include Long and Winding Roads: The Evolving Artistry of the Beatles (2007), The Cambridge Companion to the Beatles (2009), and The Beatles Encyclopedia: Everything Fab Four (2014).

Womack is also the author of four novels, including John Doe No. 2 and the Dreamland Motel (2010), The Restaurant at the End of the World (2012), Playing the Angel (2013), and I Am Lemonade Lucy! (2019).

Reviews

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

2020 is the year that John Lennon should have celebrated his 80th birthday. It is also the 40th anniversary of his death. As such, there were bound to be a number of books about John Lennon this year and this is the first I have read and, I suspect, it will be the best of those on offer.

This starts in December, 1979, with Lennon pretty much holed up in the Dakota; raising son Sean and experiencing a pretty monotonous routine. However, considering how much he had already done in his life, perhaps some quiet time was in order and, certainly, he was never the hermit that the press made him out to be. He enjoyed shopping, drank endless tea and coffee, read a huge amount - mostly non-fiction - and, as always, had the television as his background noise.

There is much about John and Yoko's life in the Dakota here, and it is interesting to read new interviews, from people who came in contact with them at this time. However, there are also worrying signs that things are not quite right. These include lax security measures, as when fans get into the apartment itself, claiming to be repairmen. Of course, famously, John himself claimed he enjoyed walking around New York and not being bothered - whether going for lunch, or taking Sean swimming, he enjoyed his neighbourhood and felt at home there.

Still, he liked travelling too and, this man rumoured to be sealed up inside the Dakota was, of course, not at all. He travelled often in the year, from learning to sail, to visiting South Africa, among other places. He was concerned at Paul's arrest in Japan, considering it looked badly on him that he was arrested in Yoko's home country and later joked, on Paul's release, "I'm glad that's over. I feel like I've been keeping a vigil for him. Not that I care, you understand." He later also mused on the death of Peter Sellers, of whom all the Beatles were huge fans, and, like fans everywhere, sent out for the newspapers to read the obituaries written about him.

From the summer onwards, there is much about John and Yoko's return to the studio and the making of, "Double Fantasy." Not all of the reviews were kind. I remember rushing to buy a copy myself and my local branch of W.H. Smiths had about three copies on display. The next time I went in, the entire record section held little more than rows and rows of the album, with the distinctive, black and white, cover...

I think Kenneth Womack has written a wonderful book about the last year in the life of Lennon. Of his desire to come back to England. His sudden inspiration to return to the studio and make music. The author does not sugar coat Lennon's mercurial behaviour at times - his ranting about Paul, or Dylan, hid insecurities and - as he himself admitted - his ability to 'dish it out,' rather than take criticism himself. However, he puts Lennon's Dakota years in perspective and includes some new information, and interviews, which make this a worthwhile read even for long-time fans. A necessary addition to all Beatles fans bookshelves.

[Mickey McIntosh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great look into John Lennon's last year. It's more about his life and his music rather than his death. His murder is barely touched on. A great read for you Beatle fans.

[F.R. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eventually he and Yoko recorded DOUBLE FANTASY, but for most of the last year of his life John Lennon seems to have just hung out. It’s a credit to this book then that it is so engrossing and fascinating, and really captures a sense of the man.

[Tobin Elliott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Any book where I learn more than I already know about any of the Beatles, together or separately, is a good book. This is a good one, and this is what the utterly deplorable The Last Days of John Lennon should have been, but of course, was not.

Womack, who also wrote a two-volume biography of George Martin, busts out all his usual overused words (such as "calculus" and "bravura" for example) but he does a pretty good job of giving some context leading up to 1979 and 1980 in the life of Lennon and Ono.

Even better, he never names Lennon's murderer. He doesn't give him that power, and for that alone, this is a good book.

I will admit, when I got toward the end, knowing what was coming, I got the same lump in my throat, I got the same tears in my eyes, and I mourned for the loss of John Lennon all over again, 44 years after the first time.

Overall, despite some minor issues, this is a good capture of the last couple of years of Lennon's life.

[William Connelly · Rating 2 out of 5]

Slightly disappointed by this book. It is wafer thin - just over 200 pages. Much of the first half is taken up with the 1970s - Lost Weekend, immigration battles, etc - rather than 1980. It borrows heavily from Fred Seaman and Jack Douglas but none of the salacious stuff. So no Sam Havadtoy or Jack erasing the Record Plant tapes from the last night with John. It’s written in a very perfunctory journalistic style and the writer doesn’t offer any insight or opinion of his own.

[Gary Anderson]

The last year of John Lennon’s life opened with the music legend living as quietly as possible in the Dakota apartments that he shared with Yoko Ono and their son Sean. John spent much of his time reading, smoking, shopping, cooking, and walking in Central Park. Although he kept an audio diary and strummed guitars, he wasn’t interested in being a recording artist, much less a rock star. He had nothing left to prove in those areas, but he had a lot to prove about being a father to Sean.

As the year progressed, John became interested in boats and sailing. Because his money was almost limitless, he procured a boat and sailed with a small crew to Bermuda where he was joined by his family. This adventure awakened John’s muse, and some ideas about songs and an album concept began to take shape. That fall, John and Yoko went into a New York studio and recorded Double Fantasy. When the album was released in November, 1980, it was the rock music event of the year, and John and Yoko began planning a spring tour. Within a month, John was shot to death outside the Dakota as he returned home from a recording session for the follow-up to Double Fantasy.

In John Lennon 1980: The Last Days in the Life, Kenneth Womack fully energizes this outline of events. Womack provides the context readers need to understand how John Lennon experienced the final year of his life, including background on the Dakota, the relatively few people who circulated in John and Yoko’s world, John’s relationship with his former bandmates, and John’s attitudes toward contemporary music, politics, and … bodyguards.

The insights into John’s music-making during this year are fascinating as his post-Beatle family-centered world was shaped into songs intended to be meaningful to those who had lived through the turmoil of the 1960s and 1970s and were now in their middle years. The scenes showing John listening to new music have given me a new barometer for listening to music: What would John Lennon think of this? (John liked The Pretenders, The B-52s and Bruce Springsteen’s “Hungry Heart.”)

As the book moves toward its inevitable heart-breaking ending, I tensely wondered how Womack would handle it. All I’ll say here is that he handles it very well. We all know what happened; that doesn’t need to be retold in gruesome detail. Womack writes a fitting coda for the entire life and entire year rather than the single crushing event of that December night.

[Miguel Leffelaer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although you know what will happen, it still comes a shock what happens to the man you'll get to know on a daily basis in 1980. A rejuvenited, reinvigorated man on the verge of a new start. Until it happens... hope gets killed.

[Jim Swike · Rating 3 out of 5]

Based on title I expected more from the Last Days. It focused on earlier, maybe you will feel differently. Enjoy!

[Steve Cann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, this was such a great read - but so sad and poignant too.
Beatles' expert Kenneth has done such a great job here in charting John's final months, and how excited and inspired he was feeling as he set the wheels in motion to make a long-awaited and successful return to the music scene.

I learnt many new things too, such as the fact that the Lennons owned and spent time in two vast mansions on Florida and Rhode Island, as well as the time they spent at the Dakota.

It was interesting too to see how John's muse gradually returned as the songs for Double Fantasy started to emerge, and how this seemed to bring he and Yoko closer together once again.

This book is a must for any fan, and is lovingly put together with some great contemporary photos too.
It was fab to celebrate John's life, and I found the book very uplifting and inspiring, despite knowing how tragically it would all end.

[Brian Burris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful read, there is an incredible amount of detail in this book.
I learned a lot about a subject that I thought I already knew quite well.
Highly recommend

[M. Sarki · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book so gloriously rich and with promise. Please read my review here:
https://open.substack.com/pub/msarki/...

[Rob Branigin · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the very best Beatles books written in the past 20 years. Womack gathers the familiar Dakota-era strands of previous Lennon books, and weaves them into single compelling narrative - that of a great artist who, after 5 years adrift in a self-imposed creative limbo, finally, joyfully regains his muse. Womack neither ignores neither fixates on the familiar salacious details of John & Yoko's life together - heroin use, extramarital adventures, etc - and keeps his focus precisely where it should be - on Lennon's creative process and unsurpassed ability to create timeless art.

Another thing I greatly enjoyed about this book - Womack reclaims the narrative of John's life in fall 1980 for John. There is - rightly -no mention of John's murderer, or any discursion from John's story into that of the murderous psychopath who longed so desperately to attach his name to John's.

A wonderful book, even with the tragic ending we all know so well. Highest recommendation for Beatles and Lennon fans.

[Peter P. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hard to imagine a better treatment than Kenneth Womack's "John Lennon 1980" of the final year or so of John Lennon's life. Providing wonderful detail of the emergence of what became "Double Fantasy" against the backdrop of the hugely pivotal trip (including a harrowing and dangerous boat journey) to Bermuda, this book paints a very informative picture of where John Lennon had gotten to, as a musician, and as a husband and father after a period of professional hibernation. It explores Lennon's insecurities about how relevant he might be, his deep desire to see Yoko recognized as a legitimate artist, and a few interesting tidbits on Paul, Ringo and George. Loved the book and especially so the choices the author made about the final tragic act.

[Christopher Hellstrom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ken Womack, a world-renowned Beatles authority, does not disappoint in this engaging portrait of John Lennon's final days. Highly recommended!

[Linda Callahan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Touching

This book doesn’t focus on the untimely death of John Lennon. It is an extremely well researched look at Lennon’s life. Insightful and touching.

[Denise · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is easily one of the best books ever written about John. Very well-researched, very well-written and without a single tinge of judgment. You can tell that Womack has a lot of respect for John (and Yoko).

The title might be a "tad" misleading, as the book covers not only the last "days" but mostly the last 12 months or so of John's life, with the occasional excursion into earlier periods. The author doesn't take for granted that the reader has read a lot of books about John, and so tells a few stories about his past here and there to help understand the man. But even if you've read a lot of books about John, these passages well weaved into the narrative and nothing feels rehashed.

This is a book about John's relationships: with Yoko and Sean, with his staff, with his fans, with people who came into his life in that last year, but mostly with himself and his muse, the self-confidence that he had lost and that he regained after some life-changing events in the first half of 1980.

I especially appreciated being walked through the songwriting process that he went through during that year, and to see the evolution of the songs that would come to form Double Fantasy and Milk and Honey. And to see those songs evolve even more through the work in the studio. It was like witnessing John Lennon being reborn. And that made the end even more sad, poignant and devastating.

As a big Beatles and John Lennon fan, I'm really happy I read that book. I learned quite a few things. And I feel like I know John - who he really was - a little better. One thing that I'm really grateful for: nowhere in the book is the killer identified by name, and the famous picture of John with him is not in there either. His dark shadow is there in the final act, of course, but he remains an unnamed/insignificant actor in the story. For someone who killed "just to get attention", I think that's just perfect : that he would not be named, so that he is gradually forgotten.

And in the end, seeing how John was back in full force with lots of new songs, lots of energy and a renewed desire to help change the world, I get a real sense of everything we've lost.

A must-read for all Beatles/Lennon fans.

[Gene Shwalb · Rating 5 out of 5]

When this book came out, I immediately decided this was something I would never read. John's murder felt like a death in my own family, I couldn't listen to The Beatles for many years without feeling some sadness. Why revisit old pain? Here's why. And this sounds a lot like one of those "apart from that, Mrs. Lincoln, how did you like the play?" jokes. 1980 was one of John and Yoko's best years ever, certainly one of John's best. I don't want to give it all away so I won't describe the story. But in 1980 John overcame the fear that he'd never again be able to write and perform music and regained his confidence so that by the beginning of December, he was in a much better place as a person and musician.

I knew about John's future plans before reading this book. I read the final interview with him the day before his killing. So it had always made me sad that the happy days that he thought lay ahead, his growing old with Yoko, would never be. What I didn't know and now do, is what pleasure he got during that final year. Kenneth Womack tells of what the preceding few years had been like (not the best) and how dramatically different 1980 was for John. I'd swear it was like being in the room with John for those eleven months. And what a joy that was. Even his last night at the recording studio with Yoko was special.

There was no foreshadowing of what was to come to ruin the story. If you were reading this and somehow didn't know about the events of December 8th, they would have been a sudden surprise. And these were dispatched with briefly and in a dignified matter, you'd just lost a friend and you learned a bit about how others managed their grief and in a few pages it was over.

So, thank you Kenneth Womack. For sharing some happy memories of John that I didn't know about and that made me smile. The bad stuff I knew, it didn't add to my pain. I'm glad for having shared 1980 with John and Yoko.

[Tom Schulte · Rating 4 out of 5]

Despite the title of this book, it is really about the final decade than the last days. I suppose since the "lost weekend" was really like 18 months, this is all fine for a Lennon biography. Delving into the lover May Pang proffered by Ono, the complexities of the Yoko-John relationship navigated while seeking a life away from prying fans -- the curtain is pulled back by Womack. I particularly like the non-music parts of the Lennon life: avid reading, sailing, baking bread...

Also in the book All We Are Saying: The Last Major Interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono, this work features excerpts from a 1980 interview where John compared wittingly (and insightfully) puppies in the window to would-be presidents.. For context, the interview happened shortly after the election of President Ronald Reagan.

"So all these leaders ... are all substitute fathers, whether they be religious or political … All this bit about electing a president! We pick our own daddy out of a dog pound of daddies. This is the daddy that looks like the daddy in the commercials.

'He’s got the nice gray hair and the right teeth and the parting’s on the right side.'

OK? This is the daddy we choose. The dog pound of daddies, which is the political arena, gives us a president. Then we put him on a platform and start punishing him and screaming at him because Daddy can’t do miracles: Daddy doesn’t heal us; we don’t feel better. So then we move the daddy out in four years and we get a new daddy."

[John De Marchi · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author spends much of the book describing the Lennon's extravagant lifestyle in the last year of John Lennon's life. John Lennon liked to hang around New York going to expensive restaurants and shops. John later takes up sail boating. He would purchase an small sail boat and he would learn to how to sail. He would eventually capsize it. He would later sail with a group of sailors on a larger boat called the Megan Jayne. They would sail to Burmuda where John would stay there for a few months in a place called the Fairylands. There John would start writing songs for the next upcoming album for Double Fantasy. When John gets back to New York, he and Yoko and other artists that they selected would begin working on this album. The author would explain the process they would go through in over dubbing and re-recording the songs. They even brought in Rick Neilson and Bun E. Carlos from Cheap Trick. They even invited a homeless musician from the steets from New York who played the Dulcimer who had no idea who John Lennon was. The album was released on Nov. 17 , 1980. John wanted to work on a couple of disco songs for Yoko where she would be the lead singer. When they got home from the recording session on Dec. 8th, that is when John got shot. The author didn't mention the name of the shooter or what happened to him after his arrest.

[Ruby · Rating 4 out of 5]

John Lennon 1980: The Last Days In The Life is intense. There is a lot of detail about the last five (or so) years in the life of John Lennon, and I would say that it should not be read by anybody who is not a big fan of Lennon because otherwise you will be bored. It requires an immense amount of concentration to keep going with this book, and there was several times when I wanted to put it down and stop reading entirely...
But I persevered, and I was rewarded.

Yes, it is very detailed, but what you read about in the book is stuff which has not been written about before... at least, I haven't read about it before, and I've read a lot of Lennon books.
Kenneth Womack has a great way of writing which both holds your interest and does not add embellishments to make what he is saying more relevant or more interesting than it was.

John Lennon 1980: The Last Days In The Life was long. Whilst it wasn't long physically, the intense detail included in it made it so that the reader must concentrate a lot to understand what is being said, and this makes the book quite long to read because they must be 100% focused at all times. However, it was enjoyable and I loved learning new things about 1970s John Lennon (and 1980, of course) because I feel it is a time period of his life not very well researched nor written about. John Lennon 1980: The Last Days In The Life was fascinating.

[Dan Cross · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve been a lifelong fan of John Lennon. My absolute musical idol. Someone who I have admired as a truly gifted mind.

The same can’t be said of how I feel about him as a person. For all his wit and humour there is a somewhat insecure hypocrite underneath it all.

This work strengthens that opinion.

This book shows me John entered his last year in a depressive, resentful state. Hiding behind being a house husband but in fact not having the motivation to do anything else. Still slipping into Heroin and a life of excess, with a bitterness towards his old musical rivals who were still in the limelight.

With that though, comes the brilliant mind of Lennon. Producing arguably his best solo work that would ultimately become Double Fantasy and his posthumous Milk and Honey. From this lull and mindlessness, a spark was lit and he gifted us some absolute timeless classics.

In finishing this book, I have felt every emotion that John has given me over the years; admiration at his musical ability, love for his incredible mind, anger towards his hypocrisy, and ultimately a deep sadness to his ultimately death. I think what Kenneth Womack has done exceptionally well is emote these feelings in me through a thorough and remarkable account of Lennon’s last year.

I will absolutely recommend this to all other Beatle and Lennon fans.

[Shannonsongs · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book to be revelatory. If you are interested in knowing more about life at the Dakota, what kinds of artists John was listening to, what the recording process of Double Fantasy was like, or his personal and working relationship with Yoko was like, you are going to want to add this book to your library. Focused on Lennon's life, rather than the murder, this book veers away from the true crime genre and is the definitive look at the day-to-day operations at "Studio One". As one learns of the plans John had for touring in 1981 and his rejuvenated zest to return to the scene, one can only wonder how different to the world of music would be now had he lived. John Lennon was a complex person and was coming to terms with past issues but he was ready to address them and move into a new chapter of his life with wife Yoko and son Sean, which sadly never came.

[Joel · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent chronicle of John's life on an almost day-by-day basis through 1980. Womack starts in the 70's and shows how John retreated from public life, happy to be at home with his family but also in a creative funk. When he heard McCartney's "Coming Up" it set him off and sparked a fire of creativity in him which lead to his final album.
Lennon mused on death a lot. He had dreams of a violent death incoming six months before he was killed. On the other hand he said he didn't want to be a dead hero and planned to live a long, long time. It is hard to read about all the happiness in his life knowing that it is about to end. Womack pays no attention to his murderer, which is refreshing. This is a great read if you are a fan.

[Allan Heron · Rating 5 out of 5]

There were a number of books issued during the year of John 80th birthday or the 40th anniversary of his murder. I'll be very surprised if any of them are as good as this.

The focus of the book is largely on the genesis of the songs that made up Double Fantasy which were originated in ideas that arose in spurts from 1975.

The secondary focus is on life in the Dakota , all leading up to a detailed narrative of John's final year.

I recall a conversation with a friend when we were discussing The Beatles in 1969, coincidentally based on the same authors Solid State, and observing that the more you read of Lennon in this period the less you thought of him.

The Lennon of this period is the polar opposite, even given his self-mythologising, which makes his assassination all the more tragic.

[David Allwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

A thoroughly researched, beautifully written retelling of John Lennon’s final year, 1980. With the occasional, but necessary, digression into his past, the author completely achieves his goal of comprehensively covering Lennon’s last year highlighting his gradual motivation leading to Lennon’s creative high-point just prior to his tragic and unexpected death. The book, of course, focusses on the fascinating development of Lennon’s final album, Double Fantasy, with his wife and muse, Yoko Ono. This is a story very intimately and sensitively told which fully engages the reader, and places us in the Dakota apartment with John Lennon as a creative genius, and as a husband, father, and friend. This book is a great tribute to a great artist.

[Danny Pearman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Was a little unsure about this book because these type can be hit or miss, going to give this one 4/5.

I was looking forward to reading about 1980 when he got into the studio with Yoko and commenced working on Double Fantasy. I wanted to read this period of his life, this did not really come into it until midway through the book, before then, it was basically what he had been up to in the 70's.

Maybe this should have been titled 'John Lennon 1980: The Last Years in the Life'.

Saying that, it was an enjoyable read, some funny moments, some surreal moments, I would recommend this to any die-hard JL

I thought the final chapter was especially well done.

[Jojo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think I enjoyed reading Kenneth Womack's other book and I'm always interested in reading books on the Beatles but this one didn't quite do it for me. While I would say I learned some new stuff, which these days is how I feel I should judge books on the Beatles, the writing style this time wasn't as engaging as I would have liked. I don't really know how to explain what bothered me (well bothered might not really be the right word but anyway) but yeah to me it could have been better is the important part. But it's still a Beatles book and it's not as though I hated it so I'm still going to give it 3 stars but for a grade I think I'll go with a C+.

[Diane Lybbert · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an incredibly well-researched account of 1980, the last year of John Lennon's life. Drawing from other written resources as well as intense personal interviews with those who knew John and spent time with him in these last months, Womack paints a detailed picture of the rock icon. For me, there was way too much technical detail on the recording of Double Fantasy and all of its edits and remixes. But I really appreciated that he spent very little time and detail in the death itself, which has been covered already elsewhere. To have the focus on John's life rather than his death is a fitting tribute.

[Muhammad Salim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable volume; fab bio. Womack does a fine job of describing the year 1980, for the one and only J Lennon. John sought inspiration then, and wanted to be creative with a vengeance. Yoko was there; Sean and Fred the trustworthy one. N.Y. was his love and it got him all excited and ready for something special. John liked adventure and the exotic. And he took to music like a duck to water. He was also a great family guy, a big reader and a soul who loved to take it easy. The book is a cracking read and is a must-read for all J Lennon fans. Thumbs up, Mr Womack!

[John E. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating insight into the legend's final years

Engaging book focusing on John Lennon's personal and professional evolution during the latter part of the 1970's and 1980. The author's style gives one the sense of being in the studio with John, Yoko and the crew or strolling around Central Park West back in John's day. Well-researched facts regarding musicians, studios, production and even notable musical instruments. Highly recommend for John Lennon and Beatles fans.