Beatles - John Lennon's Plastic Ono Band Rare Peace and Love for Christmas Poster (London, 1969)....

Description

Beatles - John Lennon's Plastic Ono Band Rare Peace and Love for Christmas Poster (London, 1969). A benefit concert took place at the Lyceum Ballroom in London on Monday, December 15, 1969, to raise money for UNICEF, a United Nations international fund for children and mothers in developing countries. Offered here is a rare poster, 16" x 22.5", from that event listing the participants and showing the ticket price as a very reasonable £1 (especially considering who all showed up to play). The date and place are actually hand-painted onto the poster. The Young Rascals, Jimmy Cliff, Desmond Dekker, Blue Mink, and Black Velvet were all on the bill along with the Plastic Ono Band, or the Plastic Ono Supergroup as it turned out. The group that took the stage consisted of John Lennon (in his last performance in Britain), George Harrison, Eric Clapton, Delaney Bramlett (all on guitars), Yoko Ono (vocals), Bonnie Bramlett, Alan White, Jim Gordon, (and briefly) Keith Moon (all on percussion), Klaus Voorman (bass), Billy Preston (organ), Bobby Keys (sax), and Jim Price (trumpet). Wow! They performed the two songs from the then-current single, "Cold Turkey" (seven minutes) and "Don't Worry Kyoko" (forty minutes). Both were eventually released on a bonus disc included with 1972's Some Time in New York City. A great memento of what must have been a great concert. In Very Good condition, with considerable creasing, smoothed folds, two 1.5" edge tears, and pin holes in corners.

We note a piece of black tape covering one of the acts at the bottom, Hughie Green The Cast of Hair. Green was a famous British talent and quiz show host. It's possible that the controversial nudity in Hair was judged unsuitable for a children's benefit.

John Lennon is quoted regarding this concert: "I thought it was fantastic. I was really into it. We were doing the show and George and Bonnie and Delaney, Billy Preston and all that crowd turned up. They'd just come back from Sweden and George had been playing invisible man in Bonnie and Delaney's band, which Eric Clapton had been doing, to get the pressure off being the famous Eric and the famous George. They became the guitarists in this and they all turned up, and it was again like the concert in Toronto. I said, 'Will you come on?' They said, 'Well, what are you going to play? I said, 'Listen, we're going to do probably a blues... or Cold Turkey, which is three chords, and Eric knew that.' And Don't Worry Kyoko, which was Yoko's, which has three chords and a riff. I said, 'Once we get on to Yoko's riff, just keep hitting it.'"

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