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TL;DR:

  • John Lennon’s son, Sean Ono Lennon discussed the former Beatle’s affair with May Pang.
  • Sean revealed what he thought of the music his father made during this time.
  • Some of the songs John made during the affair became hits.
Julian Lennon, John Lennon, May Pang, and another woman on a seat
Julian Lennon, John Lennon, May Pang, and another woman | John Rodgers/Redferns

John Lennon‘s son, Sean Ono Lennon, discussed the time his father had an affair during his marriage to Yoko Ono. Sean liked a hit song John wrote during this period. Subsequently, Sean revealed what he thought of the affair.

John Lennon’s son doesn’t look at the affair as ‘a dark time’ for the former Beatle

During a 2020 interview with Rolling Stone, Sean discussed a lot of his father’s songs. He praised the song “#9 Dream.” Sean noted John crafted the song during the former Beatle’s “Lost Weekend.” This was a time during his marriage to Yoko when he had an affair with his personal assistant, May Pang. Sean noted John didn’t say kind things about “#9 Dream.”

“I don’t know if it was him being sensitive to my mom, because that period was famously the Lost Weekend, when my mom and dad had split up for 18 months and he had been with May Pang,” Sean said. “A lot of people might think about the Lost Weekend period as a dark time for my dad, but I don’t think you should look at it that way. I mean, I think he drank too much.”

Sean Lennon thought the Lost Weekend was ‘important’

Notably, John made songs from his album Walls and Bridges during his Lost Weekend. “I think it was a really important time for him musically,” Sean opined. “This record is a perfect example of that. And he also got to really connect with [his other son] Julian [Lennon]. For a dad, I think nothing is more important than connecting with your kids.”

Sean felt the Lost Weekend had a positive effect on John and Yoko’s marriage. “So I look at the Lost Weekend as complex,” he said. “I think it was probably a break that was needed, and I probably wouldn’t be here if he hadn’t taken that break, because sometimes couples just need to take five, you know?”

John Lennon's son, Sean Ono Lennon, near a window
John Lennon’s son, Sean Ono Lennon | Paul Bergen/Redferns
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How audiences reacted to John Lennon’s ‘Walls and Bridges’ and its singles

Walls and Bridges became a hit. It reached No. 1 for one of its 35 weeks on the Billboard 200. Two songs from the album were singles: “Whatever Gets You Thru the Night” and “#9 Dream.” “Whatever Gets You Thru the Night” was John’s first solo No. 1 single on the Billboard Hot 100 whereas “#9 Dream” reached No. 9 on the same chart.

Walls and Bridges became a hit in the United Kingdom too. According to The Official Charts Company, it hit No. 6 in the U.K. and stayed on the chart for 10 weeks. Meanwhile, “Whatever Gets You Thru the Night” and “#9 Dream” hit No. 36 and No. 23 on the chart there.

Sean felt the Lost Weekend was necessary and it definitely gave the world some classic music.

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