Beatle Films – Out Now and on the Way

Posted on March 19, 2026 by beatlesblogger

There’s definitely a bit of a rush on Beatle and Beatle-related documentaries and films at the moment.

First up is John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s Power to the People – live in concert.

This will obviously be a brilliant companion piece to the recent documentary One To One: John & Yoko by Kevin Macdonald, a revelatory inside-look at John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s life in Greenwich Village in the early 1970s.

The One To One doco featured music from the two benefit concerts the pair played at Madison Square Garden in August, 1972, all newly remixed and produced by Sean Ono Lennon. Now, we get to see the concert in full – with the best performances taken from the two shows – in multiscreen on the big screen. Power To The People will also form a great visual companion piece to the multi-disc box set, also called Power To The People, released last year.

Newly restored, re-edited and remixed by the Lennon Estate’s seven-times GRAMMY®-Award winning team, the film will premier exclusively in cinemas worldwide from April 29 for a limited time only. Tickets go on sale March 20. There’s no word of a physical release yet, but a Blu-Ray/DVD is expected later in the year.

You can sign up for more information at powertothepeoplefilm.com

Of course we’ve just had the release of the Morgan Neville-directed documentary Man On The Run, which follows Paul McCartney stepping out for the first time as a solo artist and forming his new band Wings during the 1970s:

But one of the other great stories in McCartney lore is the search for his legendary long-lost bass guitar – a 1961 Höfner 500/1 which was stolen in 1972. Now comes a behind-the-scenes documentary film about tracking it down and getting it back to it’s original owner, The Hunt For The Lost Bass:

From the official site:

“For over 50 years the disappearance of McCartney’s original Höfner bass has been one of rock ‘n’ roll’s enduring mysteries. McCartney: The Hunt for the Lost Bass tells the extraordinary story of this iconic instrument, and the fan-powered quest to find it. This rock ‘n’ roll detective story features exclusive interviews with McCartney, his brother Mike, Klaus Voormann, Elvis Costello and the roadies, journalists and fans who embarked on a mission to track down and restore the bass to its proper place in music history and to Paul. It’s a story about fandom, creativity, love, loss, memory and the transformative power of music.”

Gotta admit, this looks like it’ll be great fun. It is in cinemas only in the UK to start, on April 2 & 4. It’s unclear if other countries will be rolled in, if the film will be streamed at some stage, or if there’s to be a physical release for fans to buy. I guess it is a case of “watch this space”.

Last but not least is the official release of an extraordinary biographical doco on Billy Preston, That’s The Way God Planned It. This film follows the life and six-decade career of the Grammy Award-winning keyboardist whose sound helped shape the work of a virtual Who’s Who of the music world: The Beatles, Ray Charles, Mahalia Jackson, Aretha Franklin, The Rolling Stones, Barbara Streisand, Eric Clapton and many others. He had his own solo No.1 hits too including ‘Outa-Space’, ‘Will It Go Round In Circles’, ‘Nothing From Nothing’ and ‘You Are So Beautiful’. Billy’s first hit single, ‘That’s The Way God Planned It’ – recorded in 1969 for Apple Records – was produced by George Harrison.

Two variations of the film’s promo trailer are out there on YouTube, both with different cuts and content, so both are worth watching. Here’s the official trailer:

And this next one is great as it focuses specifically on Billy’s time with The Beatles:

Billy Preston, for a time, truly did deserve the title, “The Fifth Beatle”:

Not sure if this is coming to one of the streaming platforms after it’s cinema release (we certainly hope so) but for more info on That’s The Way God Planned It and where you can see it go to billyprestonfilm.com

Meanwhile, to tie in with the film’s release, Dark Horse Records has re-issued Billy’s two Apple Record LPs. Encouraging Words (produced by Billy and George Harrison) is now available to stream and to buy on gold vinyl:

That’s The Way God Planned It (produced by George) is available to steam and is also out on purple vinyl:

The Background to the “One To One” Concerts

Posted on September 1, 2025 by beatlesblogger

Ever wondered why the concerts, which form the centrepiece of the forthcoming John Lennon/Yoko Ono Power to the People box set, were called the One To One concerts?

The BBC has just released a backgrounder as part of it’s Witness History podcast series explaining it. You may need to register to listen (it’s free), but it is well worth it for a very informative 9-minute listen.

In 1972, after leaving The Beatles, John Lennon and Yoko Ono performed in the United States at the One to One benefit concerts at Madison Square Garden, New York.

They were helping to raise money for children with disabilities from Willowbrook State School, after a television exposé by journalist Geraldo Rivera showed the conditions and failings. It was watched by millions of people and led to a public outcry.

Sean Allsop speaks with Geraldo Rivera about breaking the story and organising the concerts.

If you want to view Rivera’s original documentary that blew the lid off the pain and misery of the the young Willowbrook residents who were being so appallingly treated check it out here. (Warning: it contains some very confronting scenes). This is what motivated John and Yoko:

Geraldo Rivera kept in touch with John and Yoko. Later in his life he reflected on meeting the pair and how he worked with them on such an important cause:

When you witness injustice “It’s up to you, yeah, you!”

John Lennon’s ‘Power To The People’ Announced

Posted on August 16, 2025 by beatlesblogger

As he promised months ago, Sean Lennon and the Lennon Estate have this week formally announced the release (on 10 October, 2025) of a mega box set focusing on John Lennon playing (mostly) live in New York in the years 1971 and 1972.

It’s called Power To The People (The Ultimate Collection) and the release is timed to celebrate what would have been John Lennon’s 85th birthday.

The big box set comprises 9 CDs and no less than 3 Blu-Ray audio discs, all packaged in the 10-inch sized slipcase size that’s been the hallmark of all the Lennon super-deluxe re-issues so far. This one will come with a cool lenticular cover of John & Yoko’s faces, presenting a “dynamic 3D effect”.

The box set will come with a 204-page hardback book designed and edited by long-time Lennon Estate historian and archivist, Simon Hilton (he’s done all the box sets so far and is great). It will feature an oral history about all the included music through the words of John & Yoko and those involved, sourced from both archival and new interviews.

The book will be illustrated with previously unseen photos, lyrics, drawings, tape boxes and memorabilia. Additionally, the set includes a newspaper print poster, sticker sheets and a VIP envelope containing replica concert tickets plus backstage and after-show passes that have all been uniquely reproduced with textured, archival materials.

The centerpiece of Power To The People is the ‘One To One Concerts’, which were Lennon’s only full-length concerts after The Beatles, and his final shows with Yoko Ono. They raised more than US$1.5 million (2025 equivalent of $11.5 million) to support children with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Both the afternoon and evening performances are being released together for the first time, though they’re not complete (see below).

Alongside those two concerts, Power To The People (Super Deluxe Edition) offers an aural time capsule of John & Yoko’s first NYC era, when they traded Tittenhurst Park, their estate in Ascot, England, for a small apartment located at 105 Bank St. in Greenwich Village in Manhattan, and includes the music they were inspired to make during a time of great civil unrest and the deeply unpopular Vietnam War. As a result the set will contain 92 bonus tracks.

Paramount to their recorded musical endeavors at this time was their 1972 political blockbuster album, Sometime In New York City, recorded by John & Yoko with legendary drummer Jim Keltner and New York band, Elephant’s Memory.

For this special collection, songs from the album have been completely remixed from scratch, stripped of the overly heavy production sound that constrained such inspired and inspiring songs as ‘Attica State’, ‘Angela’, ‘New York City’, and ‘Born In A Prison’.

Noticeably missing though is the controversial song (back then and perhaps now even moreso), ‘Woman Is The N***** Of The World’. Some fans are upset about that but the song is still easily available on streaming services and on CD if you want it. Live versions from the ‘One To One’ concerts can also be had on the Lennon Anthology collection from 1998 (evening performance), and on John Lennon – Live in New York City released in 1986 (afternoon performance). For those hoping the song might be a secret hidden track in this new box, a note has been added to the official website pre-order page: NB – This is the full track listing. There are no hidden tracks on the CDs or Blu-Rays.

For this box set the tracks from Sometime In New York City have been re-ordered, rejuvenated and completely re-imagined as a new set of Ultimate Mixes, and is now simply entitled New York City. It includes extended versions of ‘John Sinclair’ and ‘Sunday Bloody Sunday’, so while we lose one song we gain longer versions of others.

In addition to the Deluxe 9 CD/3 Blu-Ray box there will be a four LP version with the afternoon and evening ‘One To One’ concerts:

There’ll also be a 2LP edition on black vinyl featuring a “hybrid” best-of from both live shows:

This “hybrid” best-of will also be available as a Limited Edition 2LP in transparent green vinyl:

Both the afternoon and evening ‘One To One’ shows will be available as a 2CD Deluxe Edition housed in a triple gatefold digisleeve:

And there will be a 1CD Edition containing the “hybrid” best-of which, like the 2LP edition combines the two shows to create a one show best-of in a digisleeve:

Record Store Day 2025 – Lists Announced

Posted on February 7, 2025 by beatlesblogger

George Harrison’s song ‘Be Here Now’ has been named the RSD Song of the Year for 2025’s Record Store Day on April 12.

To celebrate the honor, a double A-Side 12” Single of ‘Be Here Now’ will be released featuring the 2024 mix of George’s original version. The flip-side will contain Beck’s recent cover of the track. Proceeds will go to the Material World Foundation.

It’s another hefty RSD for the Dark Horse label. It will also release a limited Zoetrope picture disc pressing of George’s All Things Must Pass. It is the next part in the plan to eventually issue Zoetrope picture disc pressings of George’s entire studio album catalogue:

The limited edition 3LP Zoetrope set will be the third title in this RSD series and follows Wonderwall Music and Electronic Sound from 2024. Like them, All Things Must Pass will come in an individually numbered sleeve.

And from the Record Store Day UK list, Dark Horse is continuing it’s Yusuf/Cat Stevens reissue program with the release of his 1976 LP, Back To Earth. Like the titles they’ve already put out it will come in a limited lenticular, gatefold jacket:

The Lennon Estate has also entered the RSD fray. They’re no strangers to using Record Store Day to give publicity to other projects they have on the go (see our article “Record Store Day and The Beatles – A History” for proof of this over many years).

This time it’s the turn of the new documentary film One to One: John & Yoko which looks at the couple’s life in 1970’s New York, exploring their musical, personal, artistic, social, and political world. Directed by Kevin Macdonald and set in 1972, the film has at it’s core the story of The One to One Concerts, John Lennon’s only full-length performances after The Beatles, accompanied by Yoko Ono, The Plastic Ono Band, Elephant’s Memory and a range of special guests. Together they headlined two historic benefit concerts at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The performances, held before a combined audience of 40,000 people, raised over $1.5 million to support schoolchildren with special needs.

The film has newly remastered and remixed sound from those concerts, produced by Sean Ono Lennon and mixed and engineered from the original tapes by Paul Hicks and Sam Gannon and for RSD 2025 they’re releasing what is described as an “extremely limited edition” 12″ EP featuring four tracks from the afternoon and evening concerts, including three previously unreleased performances. The EP is pressed on 180g yellow vinyl.