John Lennon and Yoko Ono Began Their ‘Bed-in’ 54 Years Ago, Promoting Peace to the World

John Lennon and Yoko Ono had been fierce activists for peace. The 2 attended rallies and protests and typically launched music that preached pacifism. In 1969, shortly after their wedding ceremony, Lennon and Ono held “bed-in” protests, inviting the media to their resort room and calling for peace of their mattress. 

John Lennon wasn’t afraid to preach his politics in his music

John Lennon and Yoko Ono | Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Photographs

Lennon was an activist for a lot of causes, together with anti-war, human rights points, and employee’s rights. Whereas his politics had been stored quiet with The Beatles, he expressed them continuously in his solo profession. A few of these songs sparked controversy, akin to “Woman is the N***** of the World”, “Attica State”, and “Bring on the Lucie”.

Nevertheless, his best-known protest songs had been ones the place he known as for peace, akin to “Imagine”, “Happy Xmas (War is Over)”, and “Give Peace a Chance”. His spouse, Ono, was additionally captivated with political points, and the two had been a united entrance in spreading their message. 

John Lennon and Yoko Ono started their ‘bed-in’ protests 54 years in the past

John Lennon and Yoko Ono had been married on March 20, 1969. The pair spent their honeymoon in the presidential suite at the Amsterdam Hilton resort on March 25-March 31. They invited the media into their resort, the place they known as for peace and protested towards the warfare in Vietnam. The couple sat in mattress of their pajamas, with two indicators that learn “hair peace” and “bed peace.”

“We knew whatever we did was going to be in the papers. We decided to utilize the space we would occupy anyway, by getting married, with a commercial for peace,” Lennon mentioned through The Beatles Anthology. “We would sell our product, which we call ‘peace.’ And to sell a product, you need a gimmick, and the gimmick we thought was ‘bed’. And we thought ‘bed’ because bed was the easiest way of doing it because we’re lazy.”

Following the first protest, Lennon and Ono held one other bed-in on Might 26, 1969, at the King Edward Lodge in Toronto, Canada. On the seventh day, the pair, and a number of colleagues they invited, carried out the peace anthem, “Give Peace a Chance.” Lennon and Ono additionally recorded the observe “Remember Love” in non-public.

Two hit songs got here from the ‘bed-in’ protests

“Give Peace a Chance” was the first solo single launched by John Lennon and was launched in 1969 with “Remember Love” as the B-side. The observe rapidly grew to become an anthem protesting the Vietnam warfare and the counterculture actions of the late Nineteen Sixties and early Seventies. It peaked at No. 14 on the Billboard Scorching 100 and No. 2 on the U.Ok. charts. 

In 1969, The Beatles launched “The Ballad of John and Yoko”. Written by Lennon, the observe chronicled John and Yoko’s wedding ceremony, their honeymoon, and the March bed-in protests. Lennon and Paul McCartney had been the solely two Beatles who carried out the tune. Upon its launch, “The Ballad of John and Yoko” peaked at No. 1 on the U.Ok. charts and at No. 8 on the U.S. Billboard charts. 



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