May Pang was John Lennon’s partner during the period commonly known as his “Lost Weekend.”
Pang worked for Lennon and Yoko Ono as a personal assistant and production coordinator. When Lennon and Ono separated in 1973, Ono encouraged Pang to become Lennon’s companion. Pang and Lennon began their relationship that year, and it lasted more than 18 months.
The relationship spanned Lennon’s work on albums including Mind Games and Walls and Bridges. They spent time in Los Angeles, where Lennon became involved with musicians and friends while also drinking heavily. Lennon later used the phrase “Lost Weekend,” borrowed from the title of a film and novel, for this turbulent period of separation from Ono.
The label can be misleading: the period was not literally a single weekend, and it also included productive music-making and important personal experiences. Pang later published the memoir Loving John and the photo book Instamatic Karma, preserving her account of those years.