Rolling Stone
John Lennon Estate Releases Early Demo Video of ‘Give Peace a Chance’
John Lennon and Yoko Ono rehearsed their famous performance at the Sheraton Oceanus Hotel in May 1969
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The John Lennon Estate has released a never-before-seen video of John Lennon and Yoko Ono rehearsing “Give Peace a Chance,” just days before they premiered the song in May of 1969.
The video was recorded by cameraman Nic Knowland and sound recordist Mike Lax and shows Lennon and Ono running through an ad-libbed demo version of the song in their room at the Sheraton Oceanus Hotel in the Bahamas. Dated May 25th, 1969, the video is the earliest known recording of “Give Peace a Chance,” and was filmed just days before Lennon and Ono premiered the song for the world during their famous Bed-in for Peace at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal on May 31st.