In the spring of 1969, John Lennon of the legendary "The Beatles" and his wife, Yoko Ono, held two peaceful protests to express their opposition to the Vietnam War and to promote their pacifist messages.
These protests took place "in bed", with the couple lying in bed, surrounded by posters with pro-peace messages on the walls, and went down in history with the name "Bed-In".
On this day, 51 years ago, on May 26, 1969, John Lennon and Yoko Ono staged the second of their two protests, in a Montreal hotel bed. A line from that day gave birth to the famous song "Give Peace A Chance".
The first Bed-In
As reported by SanSimera.gr, the first Bed-In took place from March 25 to 31, 1969 at the Hilton in Amsterdam. In room 902 John and Yoko were on their honeymoon and thought it would be a unique opportunity to push their plea for peace, taking advantage of the publicity from their recent wedding (March 20, 1969).
So, they decided to open the door of their room every day from 9 in the morning to 9 in the evening to the representatives of the press. Journalists flocked by the dozen, hoping to capture the pair in tender moments after they were photographed naked on the cover of their 'Two Virgins' album. Much to their dismay, John and Yoko, sitting on the bed in their room, were discussing peace and justice in the world with them. They recorded their experiences from this first Bed-In in their song "Ballad of John and Yoko".
The second Bed-In
They liked this idea and it was properly publicized, so they decided to repeat it in May in New York. The American authorities, however, denied them entry due to Lennon's conviction for possession of marijuana in 1968. Finally, they chose a neighboring country, Canada. John Lennon and Yoko Ono's second Bed-In began on May 26, 1969 at Montreal's Queen Elizabeth Hotel (Room 1472), a week later with a major musical event.
"Give Peace A Chance"
In the first days of their "bedside" protest in Montreal a journalist asked John why he was doing it and he replied "All we are saying is give peace a chance". Almost instantly, Lennon thought that his line could be made into a song, and thus came "Give Peace A Chance", a timeless anthem for peace. The song was recorded on June 1 in the hotel room with an 8-track cassette player, which he bought from a nearby store. Famous friends of the couple, such as Allen Ginsberg and Timothy Leary, participated in the vocals.
Despite the publicity received by the two Bed-Ins, there was widespread suspicion among a section of the press that they were done for advertising and revenue reasons. Let's not forget that in 1969 the "Beatles" practically did not exist and each "beetle" cared about his personal career. John Lennon replied to his critics that he could write a hit in an hour and make money sitting in a hotel room talking about peace.
