Tag Archives: Yoko Ono

‘War Is Over!’ Animated Film Coming to YouTube

Posted on by
Reply

The Academy Award winning film War Is Over! is getting a wider release.

We’ll finally be able to see it in full on YouTube from 1 December.

And here’s the trailer:

The countdown to launch day is on at the official John Lennon YouTube page. To see the film in full (from December 1) click on this link below:

While you wait, to whet your appetite here are some stills from the film:

It looks like it’s an incredible animation with a great message and we’re very much looking forward to seeing it after waiting almost two years.

The Lennon Estate is using the film’s premiere, and the release of the ‘War Is Over (If You Want It’ Zoetrope 12″ single, to raise awareness and much-needed funds to help children around the world affected by war.

Right now is one of the deadliest times to be a child this century.

When war breaks out, children don’t just lose their toys, homes and schools. In conflict zones like Gaza, Ukraine and Sudan, kids are going through such trauma they can often no longer eat, speak or sleep. 

So, if you can, as we approach this holiday season please think about the millions of children facing the horror of war and donate to the charity Warchild using this link:

https://www.warchild.org.uk/donate-war-is-over-film

Your donation, no matter how small, will help.

If you’d like some more background as to how the War Is Over! film came to be, and some insight into the creative process, check out our post from February last year!

The Background to the “One To One” Concerts

Posted on by
3

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 by
6

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 by
Reply

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.

Check out the full Record Store Day 2025 list here.

News Round-Up: Some Films and Books On The Way

Posted on by
2

There are not one but two John Lennon and Yoko Ono films set for release shortly.

The first, and the most interesting, is One to One: John & Yoko which has just premiered at the Venice International Film Festival and is getting very good reviews. It is a documentary set in New York in 1972 exploring not only John and Yoko’s new-found love of that city, but also their musical, personal, artistic, social, and political lives – all with a backdrop of that turbulent year in American history. At the film’s core is the One to One charity concert for special needs children, Lennon’s only full-length concert between the final Beatle concert in 1966 and his death. The footage and music from that Madison Square Garden show has been restored with Sean Ono Lennon and his team producing a superb sound remix. This is one to look out for when and if it makes it to Blu-Ray. We can only wish for some sort of soundtrack audio release of the concert as well. For a great article on the film check out The Hollywood Reporter.

The second film, also set in 1972, is another John and Yoko feature-length documentary called Daytime Revolution. This details five crazy days the pair co-hosted the iconic Mike Douglas Show, at the time the most popular show on US daytime TV reaching an audience of 40 million viewers a week. As producers and hosts, Lennon and Ono where allowed to pick their guests including Black Panther Chairman Bobby Seale, social activist Jerry Rubin, and political activist and consumer advocate Ralph Nader. They conducted candid Q&A sessions with their studio audience, had conversations about police violence and women’s liberation, mounted conceptual art events, and made one-of-a-kind musical performances, including playing live with Chuck Berry and a poignant rendition of Lennon’s ‘Imagine’.

It looks like Daytime Revolution is set for a theatrical release in the US on John Lennon’s birth date, October 9, so look for it in a cinema near you. It will then be released on DVD and Blu-ray on November 26.

And of course September 26 sees the worldwide limited cinema release of One Hand Clapping, the film by David Litchfield documenting Paul McCartney and Wings live at Abbey Road Studios in August, 1974.

One Hand Clapping (and it’s accompanying soundtrack album) captures a moment when Wings had found and defined their sound. The documentary gives an insight into the inner workings of the band as they work and play together in the studio. The film, originally shot on 1970s videotape (code for “It looks pretty awful!”), has been scanned and restored at 4K. The between song dialogue has been de-mixed using Wingnut’s MAL software and the film features a new Dolby Atmos audio mix by Steve Orchard and Giles Martin. Find out if One Hand Clapping is showing near you and order tickets online.

Meanwhile, we’re still awaiting news of any film/music releases in celebration of The Beatles conquering America 60 years ago this year.

Rumor has it (from Ringo at least….) that there is some sort of Beatle film product on the way, possibly based around a re-issue of the Mayles brothers’ excellent backstage documentary The Beatles: The First U.S. Visit. Don’t know if this will be a stand-alone physical release on Blu-Ray, or if it will simply pop up as a streaming-only offer on Disney+ at some stage. Watch this space.

On the book front the next eagerly anticipated release is Mind Games, the companion piece to the audio of Mind Games The Ultimate Mixes. It’s due in shops from September 24. Like the John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band The Ultimate Collection and Imagine The Ultimate Collection remixes which also had separately-sold thick books to accompany them, this book will be far more detailed than the 136 page book included in the 6CD/2 Blu-Ray deluxe box set. That book’s purpose is to unpack the music on those CDs and Blu-Rays. The separate Mind Games book goes much wider, examining not only the creation of the album in greater detail, the times in which was recorded, and what John and Yoko where up to.

Then, in December, comes the much-anticipated The McCartney Legacy, Volume 2 1974-80. This is the follow-up to 2022’s The McCartney Legacy, Volume 1 1964-73, described as the most complete work on the life and work of Paul McCartney ever published.

If authors Allan Kozinn and Adrian Sinclair bring the same level of exhaustive research to Volume 2 that made the first installment such a critical success, then this book will be a must-have. It is released on December 10 and is available for pre-order in the U.S. here and in the U.K. here.

For those of you with deep pockets who want to celebrate the Beatles continued domination of popular music in America in 1964, then Genesis Publications has a high-class book of photographs from the time for you.

Mania Days is described as “…the ultimate photographic record of the Beatles’ tour of the USA, as captured through the lens of the band’s photographer Curt Gunther, with introductory quotes from the Beatles’ press officer, Derek Taylor. Mania Days is a must-have book for Beatles aficionados and anyone interested in the transformative power of music and popular culture. The final 100 copies are now available in a new and updated binding and slipcase, specially designed to commemorate 60 years of The Beatles in the USA and 50 years of Genesis Publications in 2024.”

It has to be said that Mania Days contains some brilliant images capturing Beatlemania in all its crazy glory. Curt Gunther has a good eye and his black and white images are often striking. The only drawback is the £265 price tag. That is $514 Australian or $347 US. Granted, Genesis Beatle books have a tendency to hold or even increase their value, but it’s still a lot for a book! They must be selling them though as there are only 30 copies left, and the even more expensive “Deluxe” edition is listed as sold out on the site.

Remember this?

Posted on by
3

Back before Christmas you might recall us running a story about Yoko Ono and Sean Ono Lennon sending out another batch of rare, specially cut acetates to a select group of 50 charities. You can read about that here.

Well, one of the charities has been in touch to let us know how they are using their acetate to raise much needed funds to promote the cause of peace. Here’s their press release:

Limited-edition John Lennon and Yoko Ono ‘Give Peace a Chance’ vinyl acetate available in prize draw to fight extreme poverty

International humanitarian organisation Concern Worldwide is running a prize draw for the exclusive vinyl acetate, newly released in 2023 and hand-cut at Abbey Road Studios. It is one of 50 that has been gifted by Yoko Ono and Sean Lennon to charities that support peace.  

Funds raised from the prize draw will go directly towards Concern’s work across 26 countries to end hunger and extreme poverty.  

“It’s amazing to be able to offer our supporters the chance to win such an exclusive item, with such an important and unique history, and we’re grateful to Sean and Yoko for including us,” says Lucy Voakes, Fundraising Innovation Manager at Concern.  

“The prize draw will raise vital funds at a time when nearly 300 million people around the world need humanitarian assistance and protection, due to conflicts, climate emergencies and other economic factors.” 

Concern delivers life-changing interventions in some of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable communities, including emergency response, health and nutrition, livelihoods and education.  

The record bears a machine-printed signature from Yoko Ono and is a collector’s item. It also includes the B-Side ‘Remember Love.’  

‘Give Peace a Chance’ was first produced fifty-five years ago in June 1969, during John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s “bed-in for peace” in Montréal, Canada.  ‘Give Peace a Chance’ quickly became the anthem for the anti-war movement at the time.  

To enter the prize draw, visit the charity’s crowdfunder page. Tickets are £5 for a single entry. To enter the draw for free, submit your entry via post. Visit the crowdfunder page for more information: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/give-peace-a-chance-vinyl  

So, that means we know where limited edition acetate number 14 of 50 was sent, and how they intend to use it to help fight poverty.

But what of the other 49? We know where they’ve gone (scroll down the News page on the official John Lennon site to see the full list of charities), but what are they actually doing with them?

As we did for the 50 acetates that the Lennon estate sent out to record stores previously, we decided to have a look around the web to try to find out.

However, it’s proving a much more difficult task this time around because not many of the charities have (yet) openly publicised their intentions. Here’s our very short list to date:

9/50 Thanks to Discogs we know that this one went to British Red Cross. Not sure what they did with it, but here are a couple of small, somewhat fuzzy images we found:

14/50 as we know went to Concern Worldwide. They are selling raffle tickets for a prize draw (as per the details above). This closes on May 31. More info can be found at www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/give-peace-a-chance-vinyl. Here’s their disc:

45/50 War Child UK. They are holding a timed online auction 24 April – 16 May called Spring Clean for War Child. Lots of other rock and pop culture memorabilia is available to bid on, but you’ll need to register. Details on the acetate they were sent – it is Lot 59 – is available here. As of the date of publication the current bid is £500, and there are 13 bidders:

46/50 One of our readers won this disc! It was raffled by War Child Canada and Barry our reader made the winning bid. He’s kindly sent in a couple of photographs, probably the best close-up look at this collectible item we’ve seen yet:

50/50 This was sent to World Vision UK and Liverpool Lighthouse. After hanging on to it for almost a year and a half, they will auction it during a Liverpool Lighthouse event called the Liverpool Gospel Music Festival on Sunday, May 4, 2025 at the Liverpool Olympia. All proceeds will help transform the lives of vulnerable children worldwide:

And finally this one, which shows that the record is indeed a rare, specially cut acetate:

Unknown disc number. Sent to Refugees International. They’ve already held an online auction and it ended on April 30, 2024. The winning bid for the limited edition acetate was $500. See: refugeesinternational.afrogs.org/#/view/942515 for more.

Unknown disc number. Beyond Conflict UK. Details of just how they intend to raise funds are unknown at present. They have posted online that they will disclose details “in the new year”. So we guess it is a case of ‘watch this space’. beyond-conflict.co.uk/mediahub/blog/john-lennon-donates-rare-give-peace-a-chance-record-to-bc/

And that is it!

So far we’ve been able to track down just 7 of the 50 acetates!

If you know where any of the others have ended up, and what the plan is on how to use them, please let us know!

‘Give Peace A Chance’ – Another Charity Acetate From Yoko & Sean

Posted on by
1

Yoko Ono and Sean Ono Lennon have donated specially created Limited Edition acetates to 50 charities for them to raise money for peace and love this holiday season.

The pair, in association with Abbey Road Studios and Universal Music, commissioned 50 rare and strictly limited 12″ vinyl acetates of the Ultimate Mixes of the Plastic Ono Band single ‘Give Peace A Chance’/’Remember Love’.

This is a repeat of what they did in 2021 when 50 ultra-rare 12″ copies of ‘Happy Xmas (War Is Over)’ acetates where made. They sent these discs to 50 independent record stores, asking each to sell, auction, or creatively fundraise in any way they saw fit and donate the money to a charity of their choice. We tried to follow what happened to each of those discs and you can read about that here.

This time the discs are going direct to 50 charitable organisations to use as they please. In a note accompanying each record, Sean Ono Lennon says:

‘Happy Holidays. To raise the spirit of Peace and Love this December, here is one of only fifty Limited Edition acetates that have been hand-cut at Abbey Road. It’s yours – to sell, auction, raise money to help your charity or to fund your Xmas party – to GIVE PEACE A CHANCE and REMEMBER LOVE.

We’d like to follow the journey these acetates take and the goodwill that they spread – please use the hashtag #GivePeaceAChance and we’ll re-tweet and share their progress on social media to help promote the good causes and good vibes.’

The 50 double-sided 12” acetates have been individually hand-cut on the lathe at Abbey Road Studios by mastering engineer Sean Magee. The acetates use the latest ‘Ultimate Mix’ version of the songs, produced by Sean, mixed by Paul Hicks, engineered by Sam Gannon and executive produced by Yoko Ono.

Each edition is stickered and numbered out of 50 and includes a machine printed signature from Yoko Ono Lennon, making them incredibly collectable.

As we said back in 2021, we reckon this is a fantastic initiative by Yoko, Sean, Abbey Road Studios, UME, and the John Lennon Estate to do some good and promote some much-needed peace in the world this particular holiday season. Good on them for using ‘Give Peace A Chance’ in this creative way.

You can read more and find a list of the 50 chosen charities on the official John Lennon website.

Happy Xmas (War Is Over) – 50 Acetates for 50 Years

Posted on by
Reply

In the lead up to Christmas what a fantastic idea from the John Lennon Estate to mark the 50th anniversary of the release of the Plastic Ono Band song, ‘Happy Xmas (War Is Over)’.

They have sent selected record stores and charities across the UK a very, very limited edition 12″ single of the song in the form of an acetate, each individually cut at Abbey Road Studios.

Only 50 of these have been produced – so they are instant rarities and valuable collectors items. The outer sleeve is stamped with the signature of Yoko Ono, and each recipient received a letter signed by Sean Ono Lennon outlining the Estate’s request that they use the disc (in which ever way they please) to help raise much needed funds for charity. Brilliant!

The entire idea is fully outlined on the John Lennon official site.

That got us curious to see how many of the 50 individually numbered acetates we could track down in the wild. We’ve pulled together these images of the discs – and sometimes their new owners who are charged with on-selling them for charity. Each recipient is doing this in their own way – so check out their details for how you could possibly secure one of these 50 rare acetates for yourself. You’ll be helping a good cause along the way!

03/50 Assai Records – Dundee, Scotland. They have decided to run an auction with bids lodged via email. Details here.

05/50 Dig Vinyl – Liverpool:

07/50 Five Rise Records – Bingley in Yorkshire. They’ve chosen the eBay option to raise funds for charity. See their eBay auction here.

10/50 Jacaranda Records – Liverpool. They have taken the online raffle route.

11/50 Kelly’s Records – Cardiff, Wales:

12/50 Monorail Music – Glasgow, Scotland: They are holding an eBay auction.

13/50 The Musical Box Records – Liverpool:

15/50 Probe Records – Liverpool:

16/50 Resident Music – in Brighton, UK. They’re running a raffle where every purchase at their store gets an entry. Money raised goes to the Gig Buddies charity.

18/50 RPM Music – Newcastle upon Tyne:

20/50 Skeleton Records – Liverpool. They’re auctioning their acetate on Boxing Day. Watch this space for more details.

21/50 Spillers Records – Cardiff, Wales. Spillers have given their record to Oasis, a charity doing good work with refugees and asylum seekers in Cardiff. They in turn are holding a raffle by donation. i.e. you make a donation and go in the draw to win! Details here.

22/50 Spinning Discs – Sheffield:

24/50 Kingbee Records – Manchester:

25/50 Vinyl Revival – Manchester:

26/50 The Vinyl Whistle – Headingly – Leeds (These guys have decided to sell raffle tickets. At £2 quid each you can buy as many as you like and go in the draw to win!):

27/50 Wax and Beans Records – Bury (near Manchester):

29/50 Attitude is Everything – a UK charity based in London working on giving deaf and disabled people better access to live music.

31/50 Collage Arts is in London. It works in the community and offers artist studios, creative enterprise training, young people’s arts programmes, live music and events. They joined in a group of seven other recipient charities and used Crowdfunder to raise £13,720!

32/50 went to Earth Percent, a charity set up in part by Brian Eno to raise awareness of climate change. Watch their Twitter account for plans on how they’ll use the gift to raise funds.

33/50 Glasgowbury – Northern Ireland’s emerging music festival, established from a need to support and develop homegrown artists. They’re HQ is located in Draperstown and they’re taking bids via email.

34/50 This acetate went to Help Musicians UK, an independent charity that provides support and opportunity for professional musicians of all genres and career stages. They also joined in a group of seven other recipient charities and used Crowdfunder to raise £13,720!

?/50 Sister Ray Records – Soho, London (Not sure of what number these guys got, but they decided to hold an auction across their various social media sites – for example Instagram). It raised £2,300. Not bad!

35/50 Hen Hoose – Scottish female and non binary songwriters and music producers. (They have also posted a lovely video unboxing on Twitter). Their auction via the Omega Auction house raised £4,320!

37/50 Karousel Music CIC – This is a London-based music industry hub promoting collaboration amongst artists, songwriters, musicians and industry. See their ticket raffle here.

39/50 Moving On Music – Located in Belfast, this is an independent, not-for-profit and registered charity. It provides an eclectic mix of music and education services to the entire community in Northern Ireland. See their eBay auction here.

40/50 Music Broth – Scotland’s musical instrument and equipment library. Social enterprise and charity improving access to music making for all:

41/50 The Music Venue Trust is a London-based registered charity which acts to protect, secure and improve grassroots music venues. They have uploaded a Facebook unboxing and appear to be totally surprised by what they find in the package! See their ticket raffle here.

42/50 Music Place North-West is a music therapy charity from Liverpool’s Merseyside and they are auctioning their acetate through Bonhams. It will be auctioned in the new year so watch their Twitter account for details.

45/50 Phoenix Arts Club is also located in London and they too have done a Facebook video unboxing in which they are absolutely bowled over by the generosity of Sean and Yoko in choosing them. Watch it. It’s great!

46/50 SWIM stands for Scottish Women In Music. It is a collection of music creators and industry professionals who identify as women working in all music industries. It’s committed to achieving a level playing field for women, pushing for gender equality. They’ve decided on an eBay auction for their acetate.

47/50 The Brain Charity is based in Liverpool and does amazing work helping those affected by neurological conditions to live longer, healthier, happier lives. They also decided to auction their ‘Happy Xmas (War Is Over)’ acetate disc on eBay – and it sold for £4,900. Wonderful effort!

48/50 The Glad Foundation is a charity in Glasgow. It provides a wide range of free and affordable music workshops for people of all ages and abilities:

?/50 The Coda Club in London seems to be associated with the Phoenix Arts Club (see 45/50 above) because their acetate disc is mentioned and seen still sealed in the Phoenix Arts Club Facebook video. The Coda Club is a meeting and support network for retirement-aged classical/jazz/session musicians to reconnect and meet and combat loneliness.

We reckon this is a fantastic initiative by Yoko Ono, Sean Ono Lennon and the John Lennon Estate to do some good in the world this holiday season. In it’s 50th anniversary year good on them for having the vision to use ‘Happy Xmas (War Is Over)’ in this creative way.

Rare John & Yoko Limted Edition Interview 10″ Vinyl

Posted on by
1

As we eagerly await the release later this week of the Plastic Ono Band super deluxe editions it’s been interesting to listen to two rare John and Yoko interview discs recorded during the same era.

The two discs are John Lennon & Yoko Ono Special Interview (January 25, 1971, in Tokyo), and John Lennon & Yoko Ono Special Interview (September 2, 1971 in New York).

Both these were only made available recently, and only in Japan. The one place to purchase them was from the museum shop at the Double Fantasy – John & Yoko exhibition, held at the Sony Music Roppongi Museum in Tokyo in late 2020/early 2021. We were lucky as a family friend who lives there got both discs for us and sent them via snail mail to Australia. It took a while, but they eventually got here!

As the titles suggest, these recordings date back to 1971, and hearing John and Yoko talking about their then just-released Plastic Ono Band LPs (one from John, one from Yoko), and also about Lennon’s Imagine LP, adds to our understanding: what they were thinking and saying about the albums at the time.

As you can see, these have been lovingly created in the typical Japanese style. They both come in gatefold sleeves with Grapefruit OBI strips, and they’re both pressed on lovely 10″ clear vinyl.

Gatefold for John Lennon & Yoko Ono Special Interview January 25, 1971
Gatefold for John Lennon & Yoko Ono Special Interview September 2, 1971

Both album sleeves say “Printed in Japan”, and state that the vinyl is pressed in Czech Republic. However, inside the labels say “Made in USA”. Confusing.

Instead of Apple labels, these are on Grapfruit labels (just like the ones used for Yoko Ono’s album re-issue campaign with Secretly Canadian).

(Click on any images to see larger versions)

On the OBI strip and on the record labels there are Columbia Records logos (i.e. Sony Music), while on the covers there are Sony Music, Secretly Canadian and Chimera Music logos printed on the rear sleeves.

And of course being Japanese releases, these both have a paper sheet inserts printed on both sides with more detail and info (in Japanese!) about the EP and the Double Fantasy exhibition:

One of these interview discs at least (John Lennon & Yoko Ono Special Interview (September 2, 1971 in New York) has been previously released. This was back in 1971 in Japan – and it came out on the Apple label. This release was a fan-only, 7″ 45rpm EP. It has the same artwork throughout as this 2020 re-issue and came in a gatefold cover too. Apparently in Japan in 1971 the first 1,000 copies of of Imagine contained a postcard which the buyer could use to order the interview EP for free:

Seeing the original Japanese Apple labels from 1971 reminds us of the amazing attention to detail the Japanese go to when recreating re-issues. If you look closely you can see that even the lettering has been meticulously copied from the Apple original to the 2020 version on the Grapfruit label:

The interview on January 25, 1971 took place in Tokyo’s Teikoku or “Imperial” Hotel. It is conducted in English and Japanese – but mostly Japanese. The Lennon’s state that they are in the country to visit Yoko’s family and are trying to keep a low profile, so it is not an official visit as such. But they’ve obviously called a short press conference to talk briefly about what would have then been their latest releases, the two Plastic Ono Band LPs.

As you can see from the sleeve images above, the two are photographed holding these albums (and The Wedding Album) on the front, rear and gatefold covers.

Here’s a short extract from this disc to give you a feel for what it contains. John is asked about the direct nature of his lyrics on Plastic Ono Band. Is it something like Japanese Haiku poetry?  

John Lennon & Yoko Ono Special Interview January 25, 1971 c. 2020 Yoko Ono Lennon

“This album is shibui!” he declares. Shibui refers to a particular aesthetic of simple, subtle, and unobtrusive beauty. Like other Japanese aesthetics terms, it can apply to a wide variety of subjects, not just art or fashion (see Wikipedia).

There is a small amount of original music on the January 25, 1971 interview disc. At one point Yoko is busy speaking in Japanese to the interviewer while John Lennon in the background has obviously picked up an acoustic guitar and gently finger picks the melodies of ‘Sun King’ and then ‘Dear Prudence’. And at the very end of the press conference there is a short live version of ‘Give Peace A Chance’.

The interview on the second 10″ clear EP takes place in New York on September 2, 1971. Here they talk a lot more about Imagine as it has just been released, but John compares it to Plastic Ono Band, the LP which precedes it. Lennon says the Imagine album is more relaxed compared to Plastic Ono Band. And ‘Imagine’ the song, he says, has almost the the same story as the song ‘Working Class Hero’ from Plastic Ono Band, only ‘Imagine’ is expressed in a more “child-like” way. 

Sound-wise he says he wanted Plastic Ono Band to be very spare, but this time (on Imagine) he wanted strings and saxophone, and to work using more musicians. The other contrast between the two LPs he makes is along the lines of: “Last year [when I made Plastic Ono Band] I had long hair and a beard. Now I’ve got short hair and no beard. So it’s like shaving. It’s a bit cleaner looking, more acceptable to people”.

So, two interesting releases to have in the lead-up to the Plastic Ono Band The Ultimate Collection box sets and vinyl re-issues. These will sit alongside them quite nicely.

‘Double Fantasy – John & Yoko’ Exhibition – Tokyo

Posted on by
6

There’s a terrific exhibition on at the moment in Tokyo called Double Fantasy – John & Yoko:There are a couple of interesting collectors items that you can purchase from this exhibition. The first is the official exhibition catalogue – a thick book that serves as a comprehensive overview of everything on display:

It’s in Japanese and English, and packed with a wealth of great photos detailing all the displays. It’s available through the gift shop at the exhibition venue (Tokyo’s Sony Music Roppongi Museum), from Amazon Japan, or The Blue Sheep Shop.

We also liked the look of these two Limited Edition, 10-inch clear vinyl records which are only available through the Double Fantasy – John & Yoko museum store:

These contain interviews with John and Yoko. The first is ‘John Lennon and Yoko Ono – Special Interview, January 25, 1971 at the Imperial (Teikoko) Hotel’.

The second is ‘John Lennon and Yoko Ono – Special Interview, September 2, 1971 New York’. They are both on the same label as Ono’s album re-issues for the Secretly Canadian/Chimera label in the US, and the Sony Records International label in Japan – featuring a cut grapefruit instead of an apple.

There’s also this Limited Edition Yoko Ono single on white vinyl, released on November 25. Again this appears to be exclusive to the exhibition store:

Double Fantasy – John & Yoko is a large-scale exhibit which was first mounted in John Lennon’s hometown of Liverpool (at the Liverpool Museum in England) between May, 2018 and November, 2019.

In 2020 that very same exhibition has come to Yoko Ono’s hometown, Tokyo.

There are many connections for the couple with Japan. John, Yoko, and Sean Ono Lennon visited the country every year between 1977 and 1979 and enjoyed numerous family trips to various places as John’s green card (granted to him in 1976) made it possible for them to once again travel outside the United States.

Japan’s NHK TV last week ran a story about the exhibition. It included this insightful interview with Sean who shared his memories of visiting Japan, about growing up as the son of two of the most famous people in the world, and the role his parents played in promoting peace – it’s well worth a look.

Yoko was deeply involved in the curation of Double Fantasy – John & Yoko and it contains a wealth of rare original historic documents, photographs, films, objects, artworks and personal items from key moments in the lives of the two. It apparently takes more than two hours to view everything and get a thorough overview of what is on offer:   One of the treasures is John’s hand-made, teenage satiric magazine (from c.1957) containing his cartoons and drawings called The Daily Howl:

There’s also an original copy of Yoko’s book Grapefruit which she gave to John as a gift. First published in 1964, Grapefruit represents a seminal piece of conceptual art that had a direct influence on the lyrics and concepts behind the song ‘Imagine’:

Also on display are numerous handwritten lyrics by Lennon including ‘Imagine’, ‘In My Life’, ‘Give Peace a Chance’, ‘Happy Xmas (War is Over)’, and ‘Woman’.

There’s also one of the famous works that Yoko showed at her Unfinished Paintings and Objects exhibition at the Indica Gallery in London in 1966. It’s where John first encountered her art up close:Of course there’s also the previously mentioned Museum Shop offering a wide variety of other merchandise…..

Double Fantasy – John & Yoko opened at Tokyo’s Sony Music Roppongi Museum on October 9, the 80th anniversary of John Lennon’s birth.

It runs until January 11, 2021, and has marked the 40th anniversary of his death by setting up a place for visitors to remember John by leaving messages and floral tributes.