Watch John Lennon and Yoko Ono Perform ‘Give Peace a Chance’ From Plastic Ono Band Box

1970’s John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band album

The 50th anniversary of the album, John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band, will be commemorated this year with the release of a variety of new editions including a super deluxe box set on 8 discs featuring 159 new mixes including outtakes, demos, jams and more. The set, also available on 2-CDs and 2-LPs, arrives on April 23, 2021 via Capitol/UMe.

Many of these revelatory recordings and footage have been released in advance of the collection.

Before famously recording their legendary pacifist anthem “Give Peace A Chance” at their Bed-In for Peace at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal on May 31, 1969, John Lennon & Yoko Ono rehearsed an early version of the song while at the Sheraton Oceanus Hotel in the Bahamas just days before, May 25.

The performance, which was captured by the Lennons’ film cameraman Nic Knowland and sound recordist Mike Lax, has never been released until now and is the earliest known recording of the song.

The video features Lennon humorously ad-libbing lyrics for the verses before being joined by Ono for the memorable chorus that became an anti-war anthem for a generation and which remains an enduring protest song more than 50 years later.

On April 6, an exploration of the recording session for “Instant Karma!” was released. The clip consists of ten takes on multitrack, featuring Lennon, George Harrison, Klaus Voormann, Billy Preston, Alan White, Phil Spector and Yoko Ono, recorded on January 27, 1970.

Listen to the “Instant Karma!” sessions

Of the song, Lennon famously said, “I wrote it for breakfast, recorded it for lunch and we’re putting it out for dinner!”

For more on the “Instant Karma!” sessions, click here.

On April 1, a clip of intimate, never-before-seen 8mm film footage of John Lennon and Yoko Ono Lennon, captured at home in 1968, was released. It’s paired with the brand-new Ultimate Mix of “Look At Me” for a new video. Filmed by camera operator William Wareing and his crew, the clip features black and white and color footage on “home movie” Standard 8 film filmed between takes of the couple’s films, “Film No. 5” (“Smile”) (conceived by Yoko) and “Two Virgins” (conceived by John and Yoko). The unearthed film reels from the Lennono archives are presented here for the first time, with the black and white and color footage side-by-side, accompanied by the new mix of “Look At Me.”

The album, which Lennon once described as “the best thing I’ve ever done,” was originally released on Dec. 11, 1970. Watch the official trailer for the new collection, which answers the question “Who Are the Plastic Ono Band?” below.

Photo: Richard DiLello © Yoko Ono Lennon; used with permission

The Super Deluxe Edition, says the March 4 announcement, on 6-CDs and 2-Blu-ray discs is completely remixed from the original multi-tracks by Grammy Award-winning engineer Paul Hicks, and overseen by producer Yoko Ono Lennon. The recordings feature Ringo Starr, George Harrison, Eric Clapton, Billy Preston, Klaus Voormann, and Phil Spector. The set spans more than 11 hours including Ultimate Mixes, outtakes, “elements,” raw studio recordings, “evolution,” demos, jams and Ono live sessions featuring brand new HiRes 192/24 transfers. The Blu-rays feature high-definition, studio quality 192kHz/24bit audio in stereo and enveloping 5.1 Surround and Dolby Atmos mixes. The 6 CDs include 102 new mixes, and span 6+ hrs. There are 87 never-before-heard recordings. The edition comes with a 132-page hardback book with rare photos, memorabilia and extensive notes, plus a WAR IS OVER! poster and two postcards.

A 2-CD version includes the Ultimate Mixes of the original album plus three singles, “Give Peace A Chance,” “Cold Turkey” and “Instant Karma! (We All Shine On).” The second CD contains outtakes of each. A 2-LP gatefold edition includes a second LP of outtakes. All mastered at half-speed, pressed on 180gm vinyl, with a booklet and WAR IS OVER! poster. A single CD includes the Ultimate Mixes of the original album plus the three singles (above).

On March 15, a jaunty, never-before-heard jam featuring two of the Beatles – Lennon (on vocals and guitar) and Starr (on drums) – plus Voormann (on bass) and Preston (on piano), was shared. (The track was recorded during an Oct. 9, 1970 session, Lennon’s birthday.) The brief clip, just 59-seconds, features original illustrations by Lennon, animated by Jamie Hewlett/Gorillaz’ company, Zombie Flesh Eaters. The song, “It’ll Be Me,” was written by Jack H. Clement for Jerry Lee Lewis, while Clement was a producer and engineer for Sam Phillips at Sun Records in Memphis, Tenn., and was first released as the B-side to Jerry’s single “Whole Lot of Shakin’ Going On.”

While John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band had no big radio hits, one of its best known songs is “Mother.” Watch the video, released on Julia Lennon’s birthday (March 12), of the Ultimate Mix.

On February 14, for Valentine’s Day, Lennon’s social media platforms shared various mixes of the album’s “Love,” in a film montage. Watch it below.

Much more info, including the complete track listing, is below the links.

Super Deluxe 6-CD Track Listing

CD1: THE ULTIMATE MIXES (53 mins)
1. Mother
2. Hold On
3. I Found Out
4. Working Class Hero
5. Isolation
6. Remember
7. Love
8. Well Well Well
9. Look At Me
10. God
11. My Mummy’s Dead
12. Give Peace A Chance
13. Cold Turkey
14. Instant Karma! (We All Shine On)

The original John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band album has been faithfully remixed from the ground up by Paul Hicks at Abbey Road Studios under the supervision of Yoko Ono Lennon. Hicks utilized high-definition 192kHz/24bit audio transfers of the original first-generation multitrack recordings to create the best possible recreations of the originals. The result is these new Ultimate Mixes now reveal whole new levels of sonic depth, definition and clarity, especially in 5.1 Surround Sound and Dolby Atmos. Says Hicks: “Yoko is very keen that in making The Ultimate Mixes Series, we achieve three things: remain faithful and respectful to the originals, ensure that the sound is generally sonically clearer overall, and increase the clarity of John’s vocals. ‘It’s about John’ she says. And she is right. His voice brings the biggest emotional impact to the album.”

CD2: THE ULTIMATE MIXES/THE OUT-TAKES (49 mins)
1. Mother/Take 61
2. Hold On/Take 2
3. I Found Out/Take 1
4. Working Class Hero/Take 1
5. Isolation/Take 23
6. Remember/Rehearsal 1
7. Love/Take 6
8. Well Well Well/Take 2
9. Look At Me/Take 2
10. God/Take 27
11. My Mummy’s Dead/Take 2
12. Give Peace A Chance/Take 2
13. Cold Turkey/Take 1
14. Instant Karma! (We All Shine On)/Take 5

The collection includes unreleased stereo outtakes of each song which have been mixed with a balance and EQ more akin to the original album mixes, with a little bit of additional effects – in the style of a “rough listening mix” that John & Yoko and Phil Spector would have used to play them back at Abbey Road. Highlights include “Mother” (Take 61) which removes the opening bell and has the drums mixed in mono, “Love” (Take 6) with John performing the song on acoustic guitar without the aid of Spector on piano and the first rehearsal of “Remember” (Rehearsal 1), which started off as a slower, more subdued, song than the rollicking one it evolved into, “Well Well Well” (Take 2) which ends with an instrumental jam, the alternate clawhammer strumming on “Look At Me” (Take 2) and “Cold Turkey” (Take 1) with some seriously funky guitar playing by John and Eric Clapton.

CD3: THE ELEMENTS MIXES (60 mins)
1. Mother
2. Hold On
3. I Found Out
4. Working Class Hero
5. Isolation
6. Remember
7. Love
8. Well Well Well
9. Look At Me
10. God
11. My Mummy’s Dead
12. Give Peace A Chance
13. Cold Turkey
14. Instant Karma! (We All Shine On)

CD4: THE RAW STUDIO MIXES (74 mins)
1. Mother/Take 64
2. Hold On/Take 32
3. I Found Out/Take 3 Extended
4. Working Class Hero/Take 9
5. Isolation/Take 29
6. Remember/Take 13
7. Love/Take 37
8. Well Well Well/Take 4 Extended
9. Look At Me/Take 9
10. God/Take 42
11. My Mummy’s Dead/Take 1
12. Give Peace A Chance/Take 4 Extended
13. Cold Turkey/Take 2
14. Instant Karma! (We All Shine On)/Take 10
15. Mother/Take 91
16. I Found Out/Take 7
17. God/Take 1

CD5: THE EVOLUTION DOCUMENTARY (72 mins)
1. Mother
2. Hold On
3. I Found Out
4. Working Class Hero
5. Isolation
6. Remember
7. Love
8. Well Well Well
9. Look At Me
10. God
11. My Mummy’s Dead

CD6: THE JAMS & THE DEMOS (71 mins)
1. Johnny B. Goode (Jam)
2. Ain’t That A Shame (Jam)
3. Hold On (1) (Jam)
4. Hold On (2) (Jam)
5. Glad All Over (Jam)
6. Be Faithful To Me (Jam)
7. Send Me Some Lovin’ (Jam)
8. Get Back (Jam)
9. Lost John (1) (Jam)
10. Goodnight Irene (Jam)
11. You’ll Never Walk Alone (Parody) (Jam)
12. I Don’t Want To A Soldier Mama I Don’t Wanna Die (1) (Jam)
13. It’ll Be Me (Jam)
14. Honey Don’t (Jam)
15. Elvis Parody (Don’t Be Cruel/Hound Dog/When I’m Over You) (Jam)
16. Matchbox (Jam)
17. I’ve Got A Feeling (Jam)
18. Mystery Train (Jam)
19. You’re So Square (Jam)
20. I Don’t Want To Be A Soldier Mama I Don’t Wanna Die (2) (Jam)
21. Lost John (2) (Jam)
22. Don’t Worry Kyoko (Mummy’s Only Looking For A Hand In The Snow) (Jam)
23. Mother (Home Demo)
24. Hold On (Studio Demo)
25. I Found Out (Home Demo)
26. Working Class Hero (Studio Demo)
27. Isolation (Studio Demo)
28. Remember (Studio Demo)
29. Love (Home Demo)
30. Well Well Well (Home Demo)
31. Look At Me (Home Demo)
32. God (Home Demo)
33. My Mummy’s Dead (Home Demo)

Lennon and the Plastic Ono Band, which sometimes included Yoko, Billy Preston and Phil Spector, had fun in between takes by spontaneously jamming classic rock ‘n’ roll songs, improvisations and even early versions of some of Lennon’s other songs. For the first time, these 22 jams are being made available and are presented in the order they were recorded. Some of the many gems include impromptu performances of Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode,” Fats Domino’s “Ain’t That A Shame” Little Richard’s “Send Me Some Lovin’” and a sendup of Elvis Presley. Other highlights include loose run throughs of “Hold On” and a couple early attempts of “I Don’t Want To Be A Soldier Mama, I Don’t Want To Die,” which would end up on his next album, Imagine.

2 Blu-ray Track Listing

THE ULTIMATE MIXES (53 mins)
1. Mother
2. Hold On
3. I Found Out
4. Working Class Hero
5. Isolation
6. Remember
7. Love
8. Well Well Well
9. Look At Me
10. God
11. My Mummy’s Dead
12. Give Peace A Chance
13. Cold Turkey
14. Instant Karma! (We All Shine On)

THE ULTIMATE MIXES/THE OUT-TAKES (49 mins)
1. Mother/Take 61
2. Hold On/Take 2
3. I Found Out/Take 1
4. Working Class Hero/Take 1
5. Isolation/Take 23
6. Remember/Rehearsal 1
7. Love/Take 6
8. Well Well Well/Take 2
9. Look At Me/Take 2
10. God/Take 27
11. My Mummy’s Dead/Take 2
12. Give Peace A Chance/Take 2
13. Cold Turkey/Take 1
14. Instant Karma! (We All Shine On)/Take 5

THE ELEMENTS MIXES (60 mins)
1. Mother
2. Hold On
3. I Found Out
4. Working Class Hero
5. Isolation
6. Remember
7. Love
8. Well Well Well
9. Look At Me
10. God
11. My Mummy’s Dead
12. Give Peace A Chance
13. Cold Turkey
14. Instant Karma! (We All Shine On)

THE DEMOS (45 mins)
1. Mother (Home Demo)
2. Hold On (Studio Demo)
3. I Found Out (Home Demo)
4. Working Class Hero (Studio Demo)
5. Isolation (Studio Demo)
6. Remember (Studio Demo)
7. Love (Home Demo)
8. Well Well Well (Home Demo)
9. Look At Me (Home Demo)
10. God (Home Demo)
11. My Mummy’s Dead (Home Demo)
12. Give Peace A Chance (Home Demo)*
13. Cold Turkey (Home Demo)*
14. Instant Karma! (Studio Demo)*

THE RAW STUDIO MIXES (59 mins)
1. Mother/Take 64
2. Hold On/Take 32
3. I Found Out/Take 3 Extended
4. Working Class Hero/Take 9
5. Isolation/Take 29
6. Remember/Take 13
7. Love/Take 37
8. Well Well Well/Take 4 Extended
9. Look At Me/Take 9
10. God/Take 42
11. My Mummy’s Dead/Take 1
12. Give Peace A Chance/Take 4 Extended
13. Cold Turkey/Take 2
14. Instant Karma! (We All Shine On)/Take 10

THE RAW STUDIO MIXES/THE OUT-TAKES (50mins)
1. Mother/Take 91
2. Hold On/Take 18*
3. I Found Out/Take 7
4. Working Class Hero/Take 10*
5. Isolation/Take 1*
6. Remember/Take 1*
7. Love/Take 9*
8. Well Well Well/Take 5*
9. Look At Me/Take 3*
10. God/Take 1
11. My Mummy’s Dead/Take 2*
12. Give Peace A Chance/Take 4*
13. Cold Turkey/Take 2*
14. Instant Karma! (We All Shine On)/Take 5*

THE EVOLUTION DOCUMENTARY (93 mins)
1. Mother
2. Hold On
3. I Found Out
4. Working Class Hero
5. Isolation
6. Remember
7. Love
8. Well Well Well
9. Look At Me
10. God
11. My Mummy’s Dead
12. Give Peace A Chance*
13. Cold Turkey*
14. Instant Karma (We All Shine On)*

THE JAMS/LIVE AND IMPROVISED (36 mins)
1. Johnny B. Goode
2. Ain’t That A Shame
3. Hold On (1)
4. Hold On (2)
5. Glad All Over
6. Be Faithful To Me
7. Send Me Some Lovin’
8. Get Back
9. Lost John (1)
10. Goodnight Irene
11. You’ll Never Walk Alone (Parody)
12. I Don’t Want To Be To be A Soldier Mama I Don’t Wanna Die (1)
13. It’ll Be Me
14. Honey Don’t
15. Elvis Parody (Don’t Be Cruel/Hound Dog/When I’m Over You)
16. Matchbox
17. I’ve Got A Feeling
18. Mystery Train
19. You’re So Square
20. I Don’t Want To Be A Soldier Mama I Don’t Wanna Die (2)
21. Lost John (2)
22. Don’t Worry Kyoko (Mummy’s Only Looking For A Hand In The Snow)

YOKO ONO/PLASTIC ONO BAND – THE LIVE SESSIONS (110 mins)
1. Why*
2. Why Not*
3. Greenfield Morning I Pushed An Empty Carriage All Over The City*
4. Touch Me*
5. Paper Shoes*
6. Life*
7. Omae No Okaa Wa*
8. I Lost Myself Somewhere In The Sky*
9. Remember Love*
10. Don’t Worry Kyoko*
11. Who Has Seen The Wind*

On October 10th, the day after Lennon’s 30th birthday, Yoko, John, Klaus and Ringo recorded a freeform experimental jam session that would be edited into Yoko’s concurrent album, Yoko Ono/Plastic Ono Band. For the first time ever, the full session, more than three times the length of the original album, can be heard as part of the Blu-ray in its entirety. Newly mixed by Sam Gannon, it is being presented in high-res audio and in its originally performed speed with no edits, with tracks like “Why” clocking in at 18 mins and “Why Not” exceeding 21 minutes. The live session is bolstered by three improvisations that have never been released before: “Life,” “Omae No Okaa Wa” and “I Lost Myself Somewhere In The Sky.”

*BLU-RAY DISCS ONLY

Last fall, on Nov. 17, 2020, a book, John & Yoko/Plastic Ono Band, from Thames and Hudson, and credited to authors John Lennon and Yoko Ono, arrived roughly one month after what would have been Lennon’s 80th birthday.

The John & Yoko/Plastic Ono Band book includes first-hand commentary by John & Yoko, Ringo Starr, George Harrison, Eric Clapton, and many others. It also includes previously unseen photographs by Annie Leibovitz, Ethan Russell, Richard DiLello, Iain Macmillan, John Reader and David Nutter.

The book is available for order in the U.S. here and the U.K. here. and is described as “a definitive, in-depth, revelatory exploration of John Lennon’s intensely personal first major solo album after the breakup of the Beatles.”

Cover art for the John & Yoko/Plastic Ono Band book

A new collection of Lennon’s solo work, titled Gimme Some Truth, was released on Oct. 9, his 80th birthday.

After the Plastic Ono Band album was released in 1970 on the Apple label, it ultimately peaked at #9 in the U.K. and #6 in the U.S. To put the album in historical context, Lennon’s acclaimed LP, Imagine, was released nine months later in Sept. 1971.

On Aug. 20, Lennon’s Facebook page shared Starr’s extensive essay. “[The] emotion on this record… is just mind-blowing,” he writes. “The sparseness of the band, the force of John. That’s why he’s one of the greats.”

The new “Love” video includes various alternate takes and mixes of the recording, all of which will presumably included in the album’s 50th anniversary edition.  It features the story behind the song in Lennon’s words.

Filming was done at Battery Park, New York, on September 4, 1971; South Beach, Staten Island with the Verrazano-Narrows bridge in the background, on September 10 1971; and at Sperone Westwater Fischer Gallery, 142 Greene Street, New York, on November 26 1980.

Watch “Love,” the story behind the song

The Lennon-Ono social media team has set up a website for the Plastic Ono Band project.

From the book’s announcement: Described by Lennon as “the best thing I’ve ever done,” and widely regarded by critics as his best solo album, John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band was released on 11 December 1970. With first-hand commentary by Lennon, Ono and other members of the Plastic Ono Band, and packed with previously unseen photographs by those who documented their lives, this incisive volume offers new insights into the raw emotions and open mindset of Lennon after marriage to Ono and the break-up of the Beatles, through heroin addiction and primal therapy under Arthur Janov, to the making of the album and revealing interview with Jann Wenner in December 1970.

A montage of many of the photos in the book

After the Bed-In for Peace events held in Amsterdam in March 1969 Lennon and Ono decided that their future artistic endeavours would be credited to a conceptual vehicle, the Plastic Ono Band. The band featured a rotating line-up of musicians, including Eric Clapton, Klaus Voormann, Ringo Starr, Alan White, George Harrison, Billy Preston and Jim Keltner, all of whom played live with Lennon and Ono, and contributed to their recordings.

Ono, Lennon and Starr in the studio in October 1970 (Photo via Insight Editions; used with permission)

Recording sessions began at Abbey Road Studios on Sept. 26, 1970.

Primal therapy had a huge impact on Lennon’s song writing, resulting in the creation of tracks that are intensely personal and soul-baring, including “Mother,” “Working Class Hero” and “God.” This book takes those lyrics as a starting point and explores Lennon’s life, career and self-perception, from “performing flea” with the Beatles to authenticity as a solo artist.

2020 was expected to be another big year to celebrate the 50th anniversary of various 1970 Beatles-related titles. On March 10, 2020, it was announced that the Peter Jackson-directed film, The Beatles: Get Back, would be released in theaters on Sept. 4. That announcement noted, “the film will showcase the warmth, camaraderie and humor of the making of the legendary band’s studio album, Let It Be, and the entire 42-minute performance of their final live concert as a group, the iconic rooftop set on London’s Savile Row.” However, on June 12, the film was moved to Aug. 27, 2021, due to the pandemic.

A companion audio edition for the film has yet to be announced.

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