Elton John says he might have contributed to John Lennon and Yoko Ono's reconciliation after the couple took a break from their marriage.
British singer and songwriter Elton John looks back at his career and precious memories with celeb friends, from John Lennon to Yoko Ono to Andy Warhol, in his new documentary, Elton John: Never Too Late. The documentary premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 6, 2024.
While reminiscing a get-together he had with Lennon while they had "mountains of coke coming out of our noses," Elton said,
"I was probably the catalyst of John and Yoko getting back together."
He then recalled Lennon's surprise appearance at his Thanksgiving Day 1974 concert at the Madison Square Garden, where he met Yoko after an 18-month separation,
"If I hadn't told him to do the show, maybe he had never met Yoko again. Ofcourse, they did get back together and they had Sean (Lennon). He became in love again, and so his wildness, he kind of stopped the drugs, stopped the craziness. I was happy for him."
According to People, John Lennon and Yoko Ono separated in 1973, and Yono asked him to leave the house. They were separated for 18 months, during which time he began an affair with his assistant, May Pang. In the documentary The Lost Weekend: A Love Story in 2023, Pang mentioned that Yoko asked her to "go out with him."
The couple mended their relationship and renewed their vows in March 1975.
John Lennon and Yoko Ono's relationship timeline explored
English singer-songwriter John Lennon first met Yoko Ono in London in 1966 when The Beatles made an appearance at Ono's solo exhibit at the Indica Gallery. After Lennon divorced his first wife, Cynthia Lennon, in November 1968, Yoko and John released their first-ever musical collaboration, Unfinished Music No. 1: Two Virgins, in the same month.
The duo got married in Gibraltar in March 1969 and moved into a one-bedroom apartment in NYC in August 1971. In March 1972, the couple began their fight against deportation after becoming targets of the Nixon Administration. As per Billboard, the pair won the case in 1975 after being constantly trailed by the FBI for three years.
In November 1973, their battle against deportation put a strain on their marriage, and Yoko Ono asked John to leave the house. Ono opened up about their marriage to John's assistant May Pang, asking her to start an affair with him as per a 2023 The Lost Weekend: A Love Story.
Pang can be heard saying in the documentary,
"Yoko walked into my office and said, 'John and I are not getting along. 'I want you to go out with him.'"
To which Pang responded saying,
"Well are you kidding? I can't do that, he's my employer, he's my boss. He's your husband."
However, Yoko did not predict Pang and Lennon's affair to last long. As per Elton John, the couple reunited at his Madison Square Garden concert in 1974, which led to their reconciliation. The two renewed their vows in March 1975 and welcomed a son, Sean Lennon, in October 1975. The couple stayed together before Lennon's tragic death in December 1980.
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