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Unseen John Lennon's Lyrics For ‘Give Peace A Chance’ To Be Sold At Bonhams
HONEYMOON-AS-ART WHICH PRODUCED FAMOUS LENNON PEACE SONG
 The song Give Peace A Chance, a record that emerged from John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s famous honeymoon ‘bed-in’ at Montreal, Canada, goes on sale at Bonhams auction of celebrity memorabilia in Knightsbridge, London on Wednesday 16 November 2005. This is the first time the lyrics have ever been offered at auction, estimated at £175,000-200,000.
Handwritten on Hotel paper stationary, Give Peace a Chance was created in-between the events and television debates that The Beatles participated in during May 1969.
Jon Baddeley, Director of Collectables at Bonhams comments: " The summer of 1969 was the height of the Flower Power era climaxing at the Woodstock festival in August, the anti Vietnam crusade was in full voice and the drug culture was becoming widespread among the young. Lennon's hastily composed anthem "Give Peace a Chance" vividly captures the atmosphere of the time and hints at his forthcoming break with the Beatles with a completely new style and sound. Without doubt, this newly discovered working manuscript, complete with corrections, is one of the most important Lennon lyrics ever to be offered at auction and it is a privilege for Bonhams to have been chosen to conduct the sale". This key musical icon comes from the Derek Taylor archive.
In the summer of 1968, John and Yoko moved in together, in Ringo Starr's London flat. On March 20, 1969, the couple wed in Gibraltar. The following week, the two media stars hosted a honeymoon "bed-in" for peace in room 902, the presidential suite of the Amsterdam Hilton. The press avidly pursued them, assuming that the famous nudists would make love for their cameras. Instead, the pyjama-clad newlyweds spoke out about world peace. It was the honeymoon as performance art, interlaced with a protest against the Vietnam War.
For a week, John and Yoko give interviews, ignoring the mockery and hostility to spread their words of peace to a global audience.
The newlyweds headed north, taking corner suite rooms 1738-40-42 at the stately Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal on May 26, 1969 to stage their second weeklong bed-in for peace.
As Dave Bist, a reporter for the Montreal Gazette recalled, "All kinds of people came to pay their respects, from comedian-singer Tommy Smothers to L'il Abner cartoonist Al Capp, who kind of betrayed the price of entry by getting into a shouting match with the Peaceful Pair."
On June 1, 1969, recording equipment was brought into the hotel room. Oversize lyrics went up on the walls. And John and Yoko, along with a roomful of people that included Dr. Timothy Leary, Montreal Rabbi Abraham Feinberg, musicians Derek Taylor and Petula Clark, and members of the Canadian Radha Krishna Temple in the chorus, recorded "Give Peace a Chance." The single is credited to "The Plastic Ono Band." Five weeks later, on July 7, the 45 were released in the United States. "Give Peace a Chance" reached number 14 on Billboard's chart and inspired an entire generation to chant a song of peace along with John and Yoko.
GIVE PEACE A CHANCE
Ev'rybody's talking about
Bagism, Shagism, Dragism, Madism, Ragism, Tagism
This-ism, that-ism
Isn't it the most
All we are saying is give peace a chance
All we are saying is give peace a chance
Ev'rybody's talking about
Ministers, Sinisters, Banisters and canisters,
Bishops and Fishops and Rabbis and Pop eyes,
And bye bye, bye byes.
All we are saying is give peace a chance
All we are saying is give peace a chance
Let me tell you now
Ev'rybody's talking about
Revolution, Evolution, Mastication, Flagelolation, Regulations.
Integrations, Meditations, United Nations, Congratulations
All we are saying is give peace a chance
All we are saying is give peace a chance
Oh Let's stick to it
Ev'rybody's talking about
John and Yoko, Timmy Leary, Rosemary, Tommy Smothers, Bob Dylan, Tommy Cooper,
Derek Tayor, Norman Mailer, Alan Ginsberg, Hare Krishna,
Hare Krishna
All we are saying is give peace a chance
All we are saying is give peace a chance
For further information and/or images, please contact Michelle Gonsalves on
020 7468 8340 or press@bonhams.com
Press website – www.bonhams.com/press
Bonhams, founded in 1793, is one of the world's oldest and largest auctioneers of fine art and antiques. The present company was formed by the merger in November 2001 of Bonhams & Brooks and Phillips Son and Neale UK. In August 2002, the company acquired Butterfields, the principal firm of auctioneers on the West Coast of America and in August 2003, Goodmans, a leading Australian fine art and antiques auctioneer with salerooms in Sydney, joined the Bonhams
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