John Lennon, 1980 All We Are Saying, David Sheff And so in early 1971 he became enchanted by the New Left’s belief in radical intervention and popular struggle.
Lennon, for his part, was often quick to align himself with figures who purported to offer guidance, whether spiritual, philosophical or political, from Maharishi Mahesh Yogi to Dr Arthur Janov. They felt such publicity stunts were less effective than direct action. It was published in an edition dated 8–22 March 1971.Īli and Blackburn had previously criticised Lennon and Ono in print for their belief in passive, non-violent means to achieve peace, such as the Amsterdam and Montreal bed-ins, the War Is Over campaign and the Plastic Ono Band’s appearance at the Toronto Rock and Roll Revival festival.
Lyrics power to the people free#
With some unexpected free time, the pair gave an interview to political writers and activists Tariq Ali and Robin Blackburn of the Marxist newspaper Red Mole. The couple returned on 21 January, only to be told that they could have fulfilled their legal requirements by telephone.
However, their plans were curtailed when his lawyers insisted he return to England to deal with the turmoil caused by Paul McCartney’s High Court action to dissolve The Beatles’ partnership. Lennon and Yoko Ono had intended to spend January 1971 in Japan, in part to avoid the reaction to his revelatory interview with Rolling Stone magazine. John Lennon’s fourth single with the Plastic Ono Band, ‘Power To The People’ was his first explicit call for revolutionary action, inspired by the politics of the radical left in the early 1970s. John Lennon: vocals, electric guitar, piano Klaus Voormann: bass guitar Billy Preston: piano, keyboards Bobby Keys: saxophone Jim Gordon: drums Rosetta Hightower and others: backing vocals