FEBRUARY 4, 1974 – John Lennon and Yoko Ono mutually agreed to a trial separation, which effectively kicked off John’s notorious fifteen-month “lost weekend.” Separating from Yoko, he took up with Ono associate May Pang and left for sunny Los Angeles on an extended bender, where he was often joined by his friends Harry Nilsson, Ringo Starr, Keith Moon, Mickey Dolenz, and Alice Cooper, leading to an unofficial drinking club called the Hollywood Vampires, who now have a plaque in the private upper room of the Sunset Strip’s famous Rainbow Room Bar and Grill to commemorate their favorite gathering spot away from the press and other prying eyes. Lennon began drinking heavily and making headlines for his drunken antics. Two widely publicized incidents occurred at The Troubadour club in March, the first when Lennon placed a menstrual pad on his forehead and scuffled with a waitress, and the second, two weeks later, when Lennon and Nilsson were ejected from the same club after heckling the Smothers Brothers.
