Signed Double Fantasy

I recently acquired this signed Double Fantasy LP, inscribed and signed to Jay Hastings, who was a staff member at the Dakota and the person who attended to John Lennon immediately after he was shot. According to reports, Hastings removed Lennon’s glasses and covered him with a coat while waiting for help to arrive.

This appears to be one of John’s personal promotional copies—possibly among those he signed on November 21, 1980, just four days after the album’s release. It looks even better in person than I expected and is a truly remarkable piece.

I’ve wanted to add one of these to my collection for a long time. From what I can determine, they are exceptionally rare. I know of only seven examples that I believe are unquestionably genuine, though I suspect some members of our Autograph Live group may know of others. Does anyone here have information on additional confirmed copies?

Interestingly, the photograph from November 17, 1980, shows John signing six promotional LPs.

The lot also included other items belonging to Hastings, including the shirt he wore on the night of December 8.

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Permalink Reply by BallroomDays67 on July 24, 2026 at 4:25pm

Wow, congrats! I saw that those items were up for auction. I counted a total of 11 signed Double Fantasy LPs in my exemplar file including yours. 

Permalink Reply by Raul Serrano on July 24, 2026 at 5:48pm

Wow, congratulations! This really is a masterpiece.

Permalink Reply by Trazom1 on July 24, 2026 at 5:54pm

Thanks Ballroom and Raul...And thanks for the info on the 11 signed copies!

Permalink Reply by Bruce Juice on July 24, 2026 at 6:47pm

When is sold back in 2016, it came with this sleeve where John wrote "Autographed" 

Interesting why that wasn't included with the recent auction. 

My guess is that John signed at least 20-30 Double Fantasy LPs but don't have that many in my exemplar files. 

Permalink Reply by Trazom1 on July 25, 2026 at 8:23am

Thanks, Bruce! How many are in your exemplar file?

If you can, please add any examples I'm missing from my list. So far, I've only been able to specifically identify these:

  1. Jay Hastings
  2. Allan Tannenbaum
  3. Dick Clark
  4. Karen (employee)
  5. Tony (?)...looks genuine, but I can't make out the name
  6. Chapman
  7. Neil Goldberg (Hit Factory engineer)
  8. possibly "Cathy"? Atypical signature
  9. Gary Waldron (KCPX Radio) — signed the inner sleeve.

Please let me know of any examples that I'm missing. 

Thanks again—I really appreciate your help!

Permalink Reply by Bruce Juice on July 25, 2026 at 2:57pm

Here's some to add to your exemplar file. 

Permalink Reply by Trazom1 on July 25, 2026 at 7:52pm

I've seen all of those before except the last one. Two are on my list already. Can you identify the recipients? Thanks!

Permalink Reply by Bruce Juice on July 27, 2026 at 9:59am

which two can't you read? 

Permalink Reply by Trazom1 on July 27, 2026 at 11:39am

What I meant to ask was can you identify any or all of the recipients among the group that you sent? The only one I know is Allan Tannenbaum (previously sold at RR Auctions). The fourth is the one I thought might read "Tony," although I'm not sure if that's correct or who that might be.

Thanks, Bruce, for any additional information you might be able to share.

Permalink Reply by Raul Serrano on July 27, 2026 at 10:56am

Wow, I wasn't familiar with specimen number 3. It really reminds me of a signature I had the chance to buy years ago but hesitated on because of its simplicity; now that I see both, I think I should have gone for it.

Permalink Reply by a pug called eva on July 29, 2026 at 2:10am

If specimen 3 is the third of Bruce's images /not very legible), I'm not convinced by it or by the one you passed on. The angle of the "L" in relation to the "J" looks too extreme in both cases. I actually find specimen 3 even less convincing than "yours" - apart from the rather odd "J" the pen pressure seems too heavy and the drawn face and the year look too big in relation to the autograph. 

Permalink Reply by Jim Cushman on July 29, 2026 at 5:57am

John Lennon signing copies of his album, "Double Fantasy" and his office at the Dakota on November 21, 1980.

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