It’s been over 50 years since John Lennon and Yoko Ono‘s iconic Bed-In For Peace, filmed at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal back in 1969. Today, new demo footage of the pair recording ‘Give Peace A Chance’ has been posted to Youtube.
The footage, restored and released by John Lennon’s estate, gives an alternative insight into the recording. The artists sit side by side at the Sheraton Oceanus Hotel in the Bahamas, just a couple of days before the iconic Montreal clip was recorded.
The demo was video recorded by Lennon’s film cameraman Nic Knowland, and sound recordist Mike Lax.
As pointed out by SPIN, this footage is now officially the earliest-known recording of the Vietnam-era protest anthem.
This demo will be featured in the upcoming 50th anniversary boxset, celebrating the original Bed-In For Peace. It will also feature outtakes, rare demos, rehearsals and more. The John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band – The Ultimate Collection, will land on Friday, 23rd April via Capitol/UMe.
Watch the demo footage below.