May Pang is one of the
most famous figures in Beatles lore, thanks to her time as John Lennon’s companion
and lover during his tumultuous “Lost Weekend” period. Pang, who has written
several books about the period, documented her liaison with Lennon via a series
of intimate photographs she took at the time. A selection of her rare unseen private
photos of the rock legend will be on view in “The Lost Weekend: The Photography
of May Pang,” an exhibition at the Park Theater on June 28, 29, and 30.
Lennon’s “Lost Weekend” took
place in the mid-1970s during an 18-month interval when he was estranged from Yoko
Ono. At the time, he and Pang, then a music-industry administrator, had left
New York and were living mainly in the Los Angeles area. There, between his out-of-control
partying with a group that included Harry Nilsson, Keith Moon, and Ringo Star, Lennon
recorded the top-selling albums Mind Games, Walls and Bridges (with
his only number one solo single, 1974’s “Whatever Gets You Through the Night”),
and Rock and Roll. He also produced Nilsson’s 1974 album Pussy Cats and rekindled his relationship with Julian Lennon, his son from his first
marriage. Pang’s images capture the former Beatle during this pivotal, searching
point in his life and foreshadow his eventual reunion with Ono.
“The Lost Weekend: The
Photography of May Pang” will be on view at the Park Theater in Hudson on June
28 (4pm-7pm), June 29 (11am-6pm), and June 30 (12pm-4pm). Pang will be present
to meet and greet visitors and the works on display will be available for
purchase. Admission is free.
This article appears in June 2024.
