The album was preceded by the single "
(Just Like) Starting Over", which was backed with Ono's "
Kiss Kiss Kiss". Originally peaking at number 8 in the UK chart, after
Lennon's murder the single reached number one. It was overtaken to the
Christmas Number One Single rank by the
St Winifred's School Choir's "
There's No One Quite Like Grandma," finishing at
number 2 on that list. After two weeks at number one, a previous Lennon song, "
Imagine", replaced it. In the US, the single was inching upward in the top 10 before reaching number one following Lennon's death. Geffen had planned an elaborate cover for Lennon's comeback, but Ono could not decide on a photo. Not wanting to miss the Christmas release deadline, Geffen used the single sleeve as the front cover, while choosing an outtake from the same photo session for the back. The tracks were sequenced as a dialogue between Lennon and Ono; one of his songs followed by one of hers. On the initial pressings, the track listing was out of sequence on the album cover. Initial sales were sluggish. In the UK album charts, it had peaked at number 14 then slipped to number 46, while in the US, it had risen to number 11. Upon Lennon's murder, the album jumped to number 1 in the US
Billboard chart, where it stayed for eight weeks, and in the UK, it jumped to number 2, where it remained for seven weeks before finally spending two weeks at number 1. It was released on 12 January 1981 in the US and 16 January in the UK, reaching number 1 in the UK and in the US on the
Cash Box singles chart, Released as the final single from the album, "
Watching the Wheels", backed with Ono's "Yes, I'm Your Angel", peaked at number 10 and 30 in the US and UK charts respectively. The single was released in the US on 13 March 1981, and on 27 March 1981 in the UK.
Critical reception Initial critical reaction to the album was largely negative. The negative reviews focused on the album's idealisation of Lennon and Ono's marriage.
Kit Rachlis of the
Boston Phoenix admitted to being "annoyed" by Lennon and Ono's assumption "that lots of people care deeply" about them.
Charles Shaar Murray, of
New Musical Express, wrote that the couple's domestic bliss "sounds like a great life but unfortunately it makes a lousy record," adding that he wished Lennon had "kept his big happy trap shut until he has something to say that was even vaguely relevant to those of us not married to Yoko Ono."
Record Mirror gave the album a largely negative review, highlighting "Watching the Wheels" as the best track, but saying "(Just Like) Starting Over", "Woman" and "Dear Yoko" were "re-treading old ground", the latter two being "nothing more than
Imagine out-takes nine years on". including those by
Stephen Holden of
The New York Times, Tom Carson of
Rolling Stone, and Geoffrey Stokes of
The Village Voice (Stokes had found the concept and theme to be "basically misogynist").
Robert Christgau, the poll's creator, ranked it 7th on his own list of the year's best albums. Although he was put off by its simplistic lyrics and music upon first listen, Christgau said the music works a "minor miracle" with "rich, precise" song form and a "command of readymades" to put "the anonymous usages of studio rock to striking artistic purpose". He felt that the use of alternating Ono's improved vocals with Lennon's "makes the union come alive" better than his outspoken, straightforward lyrics and concluded that the album is not great but "memorable and gratifying" as rare, "connubial rock and roll". In 2020,
Rolling Stone included
Double Fantasy in their "80 Greatest albums of 1980" list, praising Lennon and Ono for their collaboration as "each song acts as a dialogue between the couple."
Lawsuit In 1984, Douglas filed a lawsuit against Ono over unpaid royalties for his work on
Double Fantasy and
Milk and Honey. Douglas recounted in a 1999 interview, "I waited like three years, then I finally said to Yoko, 'It's really a lot of royalties probably accruing here ... You don't have to deal with it, let's just sort it out, let our people sort it out.' And I got like a nasty letter, almost like, 'Fuck you, you're not getting anything.'" A jury ruled that Ono had wrongfully withheld royalty payments from Douglas and that he was entitled to $2.5 million from revenues for
Double Fantasy and an undetermined share of revenues from
Milk and Honey.
Reissues "Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)" was re-released as the B-side to a reissue of "
Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" to promote
The John Lennon Collection in November 1982. It was first released on CD on 13 October 1986 in the UK, and nearly a year later on 15 September 1987 in the US. The album was re-released on cassette, CD and vinyl in 1989, after EMI had obtained the rights to the album. Ono said of the remix: "This new version really allows us to focus our attention on John's amazing vocals. Technology has advanced so much that, conversely, I wanted to use new techniques to really frame these amazing songs and John’s voice as simply as possible. By stripping down some of the instrumentation, the power of the songs shines through with an enhanced clarity." ==Track listing==