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TL;DR:

  • John Lennon made Double Fantasy after he heard one song by The B-52’s.
  • One member of the band took a while to accept that this happened.
  • The album was more popular in the United States than it was in the United Kingdom.

John Lennon‘s Double Fantasy (1980) was inspired by The B-52’s. One of the members of the band discussed how exactly they may have inspired the former Beatle. In addition, she revealed what she thought of John as an artist.

1 of The B-52’s was ‘blown away’ that the band inspired John Lennon’s ‘Double Fantasy’

A 2018 People article says John heard The B-52’s single “Rock Lobster,” which was influenced by the songs of Yoko Ono. Subsequently, he decided to get to work on new music. John’s next album, Double Fantasy, became his first album in five years and his first album of new songs in six years. The B-52’s’ Kate Pierson discussed what she thought of John. “I was a huge Beatles fan,” he said. “I still have a button that says, ‘I love John.’

“John Lennon was my idol, and to hear him say that he heard us and was inspired to write Double Fantasy, I couldn’t have been more blown away,” she added. “It was just incredible that he even knew about us, let alone inspired him.”

1 of The B-52’s believes the band reminded John Lennon that music is supposed to be fun

Pierson explained how she learned about John taking inspiration from her band. “It didn’t even sink in until I read the interview,” Pierson recalled. “Before that, we had just sort of heard about it. I think we were away on tour and people said, ‘Oh, John said such and such,’ and we were like, ‘What?!’ It really didn’t sink in until a little bit later and I actually read the words. It was incredible.”

The B-52’s Cindy Wilson discussed what John said about Double Fantasy. “We were so happy that we influenced or inspired him,” he said. “I don’t know if this is the truth or not, but my gut feeling is that he wanted to be playful again. Music is supposed to be creative and playful — you enjoy it!”

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How ‘Double Fantasy’ performed on the charts in the United States and the United Kingdom

Double Fantasy became a huge hit in the United States. There, it reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200 for eight weeks. Double Fantasy remained on the chart for 77 weeks. On the other hand, John’s second most successful album, Imagine, was No. 1 for one of its 47 weeks on the chart.

Meanwhile, Double Fantasy became a more modest hit in the United Kingdom. According to The Official Charts Company, Double Fantasy was No. 1 for two of its 36 weeks on the U.K. chart. By comparison, Imagine was No. 1 in the U.K. chart for two weeks, lasting on the chart for 101 weeks in total.

Double Fantasy is one of the most famous rock albums of the 1980s and it wouldn’t be the same without The B-52’s.

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