Money - John Lennon & Plastic Ono Band - Toronto 1969

http://gravityworld.tv/Video_Content/lennontoronto.html

It was a pleasantly warm September afternoon in London circa 1969 when I dropped in at the Apple Corps offices on Savile Row — not knowing that music history was about to unfold.

I'd come in to confirm an interview with George Harrison that had been scheduled after the weekend
to discuss the about-to-be-released Abbey Road album. But hearing me chatting in the corridor outside the Bag One offices — I had interviewed him earlier that year in Canada — John Lennon called me in for "some advice." Can you imagine? The honor of being asked by a sage such as John for any kind of advice . . .

Turned out that a Toronto promoter named John Brower was on the phone trying to convince John and Yoko they should attend a September 13 musical event in Canada featuring a host of '50s rock 'n' roll legends. Maybe, suggested the ever-keen and eager Brower, John might even consider a performance piece? I knew Brower and his partner, and I instinctively felt they would try to do right by an inquisitive and frustrated John . . .

Two days later, the Lennons had gathered at Heathrow Airport with guitarist Eric Clapton, Klaus
Voormann (bass player with Manfred Mann), Alan White (drummer working with Alan Price), Beatles
manager Allen Klein and roadie Mal Evans for the flight to Toronto and a show later that evening.
Only three first-class tickets were available, so the newly formed Plastic Ono Band gathered in the
rear of the 707 jet, vamping their acoustic way through a cluster of classic rock 'n' roll favorites.
Songs that the principal players worshipped.

Perhaps this in-flight camaraderie inspired the bout of intense honesty that unfolded en route to the
Toronto Rock 'N' Roll Revival concert. Later it came out that John had informed both Eric Clapton
and Klaus Voormann that he was thinking about starting a new group. It seems he went as far as to
enquire about their interest in joining him in this new enterprise . . .

At Varsity Stadium the jet-lagged John was extremely nervous. He hadn't been onstage in three years, and he admitted to throwing up from nervousness before the show — with abundant reason. "Imagine if you were in The Beatles from the beginning, and you were never in any other band?" he postulated. "Then all of a sudden you're going onstage with this group who've never played live together, anywhere. We formed on the plane coming over here, and now we're gonna play in front of 20,000 people."

A quick backstage rehearsal, and guest emcee Kim Fowley urged the audience to fire up their lighters and matches — and in the process light their communal fire, the early uprising of a collective
consciousness — to welcome onstage the Plastic Ono Band, in their debut performance.

"It was just getting dark, and the lights were just going down. This was the first time I'd ever seen an
audience light candles or lights all together . . . it was incredible!" John would comment.

What a night it was! All faithfully and creatively recorded on camera by award-winning filmmaker
D.A. Pennebaker, to follow his Monterey Pop and Don't Look Back triumphs. The audio would be
released in December of that year as the Plastic Ono Band's Live Peace In Toronto LP.

John bounced out onstage, bedecked in a white tropical suit overpinning a black shirt, and was
bedeviling with his new band. The Toronto audience was equally uplifted. After whipping through a
number of rock 'n' roll chestnuts, John plunged into "Yer Blues" from the White Album. And then, to
take proceedings to another level, he unleashed the debut of a new single that would be released five weeks hence, the hard-edged classic "Cold Turkey."

This was followed by a centerpiece selection that John graphically set up as: "This is what we really
came here for . . . Ev'rybody's talkin' 'bout Bagism . . . " They plunged into the tune that he and
Yoko — and assorted luminaries — had recorded at the historic Bed-In for Peace in a Montreal hotel
room some four months earlier, the paean to nonviolence: "Give Peace A Chance." And Yoko added
to the street-theatre vibe by performing two tunes in a bag!

Back in London after the momentous weekend in Canada, John was exuberant about the experience of being onstage again.

"I can't remember when I had such a good time," he enthused. "We did all the old things from the
Cavern days in Liverpool. Yoko, who you could say was playing 'bag,' was holding a piece of paper
with the words to the songs in front of me. But then she suddenly disappeared into her bag in the
middle of the performance, and I had to make [the words] up because it's so long since I sang them
that I've forgotten most of them. But it didn't seem to matter.''

History has shown it was this concert that finally convinced John there was indeed life beyond
The Beatles.

—Ritchie Yorke, 2009
Consultant, author, journalist, broadcaster, speaker

Category:

Music

Tags:

• John
• Lennon
• Yoko
• Ono
• Eric
• Clapton
• Toronto
• Peace
• Festival
• 1969
• Beatles
• Rock
• Money

[kevinreedmusic]

This is religious, we got Jesus on rhythm guitar/vocals and God on lead!

[Fooblestheclown]

Oh shut up.  Yoko did not only break up the Beatles, she made a total ass of herself during this concert with her Heroin induced rants which had no artistic meaning what so ever. It's a shame how some people who like to lean on the left have chosen not to characterize Yoko. She also destroyed John's appearance on the Rolling stones rock n roll circus, along with other events. No wonder George Harrision didn't want her to appear on the concert for Bangladesh.

[voabarros]

@Fooblestheclown Do you really think Yoko broke up the Beatles? That's really not knowing their history. Lennon wanted to leave the band 4 years before he actually did, and he was not the only who had had enough of it. I don't like Yoko's performance at this concert, and maybe at any concert, but to understand why she was there doing this kind of stuff you have to understand what was going through John's mind at that time and what kind of art he was looking for, and all the criticism he was also

[thomasjakeprice]

@tannerleudy36 NO! GEORGE GEORGE GEORGE

[tannerleudy36]

@McCarthy360 well actually joey your a bit of a fuck tard.. my sources could be wrong but you have a guitar pick head, besides paul is better then john

[koulis16gr]

that song saya to mutch 

[refusetolose103]

@Fooblestheclown Yea but dont you think it's time to act grown up and get over it all the negative anti yoko bullshit isint gonna change history he brought her there she's in the history books next to john for the time she was end of story its allmost like if yous say the yoko slander enough you can erase her out of the history never gonna happen its an opinion that people are entitled to but seems kind of immature to keep going on and on about it when it's obvious most of you are lennon fans.