BED IN (Room 413)
BED IN (Room 413)
After John and Yoko had been married in Gibraltar on March 20th 1969, they wasted no time in maximizing the potential for publicity by staging a seven-day ‘bed in’ at the Amsterdam Hilton. “We’re staying in bed for a week to register our protest against all the suffering and violence in the world. Can you think of a better way to spend seven days? It’s the best idea we’ve had”, boasted John. It was wacky, it was daft, it was tongue in cheek but it was also a PR brainwave. As a stunt (or an event as John and Yoko called it) it had a few equals. The Lennon’s received huge press coverage all over the world and if people were laughing at them, so be it, that was a small price to pay to get their message of peace onto a world stage. In essence, John and Yoko had invited the world press to their honeymoon and whereas they were hoping for sex they were sold a message of world peace. The media, on the other hand, had a field day believing John had gone stark raving mad. The success of the ‘Bed In’ was so spectacular that they decided upon a second ‘Bed In’ to be staged in New York… but John was refused an entry visa as a result of his recent marijuana arrest. Instead the decision was to stage it in Montreal, Canada near to the US border at the Hotel Queen Elizabeth on May 26th. The Lennon’s stayed in bed for a week (actually 8 days) and worked tirelessly giving countless TV, radio and newspaper interviews espousing their demands for peace. Once again ridicule was guaranteed, but again John and Yoko had the upper hand as for eight consecutive days (and beyond) the issue of Peace was headlines the world over. To reinforce the message on the last day of the Bed In, they recorded a new song live in the suite “Give Peace A Chance”, with a back up chorus that included Timothy Leary, Allen Ginsberg, Phil Spector, and the Smothers Brothers. Under the auspices of the ‘Plastic Ono Band’ the single was released the following month and bizarrely, due to contractual obligations, despite absolute no input at all from Paul the song-writing credit was Lennon-McCartney. The Lennon’s now had an anthem to go with their cause.
Artwork painted and owned by ©SHANNON
BED IN (Room 413)
After John and Yoko had been married in Gibraltar on March 20th 1969, they wasted no time in maximizing the potential for publicity by staging a seven-day ‘bed in’ at the Amsterdam Hilton. “We’re staying in bed for a week to register our protest against all the suffering and violence in the world. Can you think of a better way to spend seven days? It’s the best idea we’ve had”, boasted John. It was wacky, it was daft, it was tongue in cheek but it was also a PR brainwave. As a stunt (or an event as John and Yoko called it) it had a few equals. The Lennon’s received huge press coverage all over the world and if people were laughing at them, so be it, that was a small price to pay to get their message of peace onto a world stage. In essence, John and Yoko had invited the world press to their honeymoon and whereas they were hoping for sex they were sold a message of world peace. The media, on the other hand, had a field day believing John had gone stark raving mad. The success of the ‘Bed In’ was so spectacular that they decided upon a second ‘Bed In’ to be staged in New York… but John was refused an entry visa as a result of his recent marijuana arrest. Instead the decision was to stage it in Montreal, Canada near to the US border at the Hotel Queen Elizabeth on May 26th. The Lennon’s stayed in bed for a week (actually 8 days) and worked tirelessly giving countless TV, radio and newspaper interviews espousing their demands for peace. Once again ridicule was guaranteed, but again John and Yoko had the upper hand as for eight consecutive days (and beyond) the issue of Peace was headlines the world over. To reinforce the message on the last day of the Bed In, they recorded a new song live in the suite “Give Peace A Chance”, with a back up chorus that included Timothy Leary, Allen Ginsberg, Phil Spector, and the Smothers Brothers. Under the auspices of the ‘Plastic Ono Band’ the single was released the following month and bizarrely, due to contractual obligations, despite absolute no input at all from Paul the song-writing credit was Lennon-McCartney. The Lennon’s now had an anthem to go with their cause.
Artwork painted and owned by ©SHANNON
BED IN (Room 413)
After John and Yoko had been married in Gibraltar on March 20th 1969, they wasted no time in maximizing the potential for publicity by staging a seven-day ‘bed in’ at the Amsterdam Hilton. “We’re staying in bed for a week to register our protest against all the suffering and violence in the world. Can you think of a better way to spend seven days? It’s the best idea we’ve had”, boasted John. It was wacky, it was daft, it was tongue in cheek but it was also a PR brainwave. As a stunt (or an event as John and Yoko called it) it had a few equals. The Lennon’s received huge press coverage all over the world and if people were laughing at them, so be it, that was a small price to pay to get their message of peace onto a world stage. In essence, John and Yoko had invited the world press to their honeymoon and whereas they were hoping for sex they were sold a message of world peace. The media, on the other hand, had a field day believing John had gone stark raving mad. The success of the ‘Bed In’ was so spectacular that they decided upon a second ‘Bed In’ to be staged in New York… but John was refused an entry visa as a result of his recent marijuana arrest. Instead the decision was to stage it in Montreal, Canada near to the US border at the Hotel Queen Elizabeth on May 26th. The Lennon’s stayed in bed for a week (actually 8 days) and worked tirelessly giving countless TV, radio and newspaper interviews espousing their demands for peace. Once again ridicule was guaranteed, but again John and Yoko had the upper hand as for eight consecutive days (and beyond) the issue of Peace was headlines the world over. To reinforce the message on the last day of the Bed In, they recorded a new song live in the suite “Give Peace A Chance”, with a back up chorus that included Timothy Leary, Allen Ginsberg, Phil Spector, and the Smothers Brothers. Under the auspices of the ‘Plastic Ono Band’ the single was released the following month and bizarrely, due to contractual obligations, despite absolute no input at all from Paul the song-writing credit was Lennon-McCartney. The Lennon’s now had an anthem to go with their cause.
Artwork painted and owned by ©SHANNON